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OU HC Porter Moser relied on faith through the adversity, block out 'job security' noise

Bob Przybyloby: Bob Przybylo03/30/26BPrzybylo

The outside noise was loud, as loud as it has been in a long time for OU basketball. After starting 11-3 overall and 1-0 in the SEC, the Sooners took a nosedive.

One loss after another after another, until it ended up as a nine-game losing streak. And at 11-12 overall, the story was written for head coach Porter Moser.

The fifth season in Norman would be his last.

Except it wasn’t. And it isn’t.

OU woke up down the stretch, winning six of its final eight regular season games. Then went to Nashville and took two more there before being ousted by Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

From 11-12 to 19-15, more than most thought could have been possible. The end result wasn’t what OU was hoping for, once again being tabbed as the First Team Out of the NCAA Tournament.

However, it did show there was no quit in the team. No quit in Moser.

And the faint chants of ‘Fire Moser’ that rang out of the Lloyd Noble Center in a loss to Texas on Jan. 31, well, that just comes with the territory.

And Moser was not about to let that bring him down.

“How I handle adversity in life is my good Lord, Jesus Christ,” Moser said. “I put everything on Him. In times of trouble, everything in The Bible, everything in my faith growing up. Everything is about trust and knowing there is a plan and combine that with family and friends. I was just consumed with our guys, our family, my faith. That is how I handle adversity in life. It is the best way, the best way. Every day, I kept believing. I didn’t let it overwhelm me. Is that hard? Yea, it is hard. Nobody loves having people say certain things about you.

“That is my No. 1 way to get through adversity. My faith in the Lord. Knowing that, man, there is nothing He is going to give me I cannot handle. I trust in His path. I have great guys in the locker room, great family, great friends. There is nothing more, anybody who knows me, how hard I have driven for this program for five years in a transitional period. A complete industry disruption that has gone on. Men’s basketball has felt a huge industry disruption. To have someone come out and to say the resources have not met the expectations, I appreciate that so much. My expectations, when I took this job, are still the same. Nobody is going to work harder to drive that direction than me.”

Moser was given the vote of confidence from first-year athletic director Roger Denny a day after the Sooners’ defeat to the Razorbacks.

Denny didn’t mince his words, after all, no beating around the bush. Moser is going to be retained by OU for a sixth season. And it’s up to the administration, just as much as Moser and staff, to provide the resources to make something special happen.

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