OU vs. Villanova, 11:30 a.m.
Porter Moser
Nova?
I'm expecting a championship program, effort, culture and players. I know how good they are. I know how good they're wired. They've had a couple of tough, close losses. Going into Michigan State and that atmosphere, I watched that game. Iowa State is very hot, and that game went into overtime. They played a rivalry game on the road in Philly. So when we look at Villanova, we don't look at their record. We look at who they are. They're a blue blood, championship culture that has championship players who have been in the Final Four. We have just a tremendous amount of respect for them.
I ask about managing egos/mins?
It’s managing minutes, managing mindset is a big part of our job nowadays. It’s not that you’ve lost confidence, you just see the flow of the game going. A great example is Ole Miss. Tanner’s one of our marquee players. It was going well with Sam in there. We were playing a three-guard lineup, Sam was in there and Tanner was on the bench cheering. Tanner sat a good chunk when Sam was rolling, and then when Tanner got in there, he made a play.
He’s a great example of it’s just a matter of what’s working, what’s flowing at that time. You’re always gonna ask those questions when you feel like you have confidence in 10-11 guys. Some nights, guys aren’t getting the minutes and you’re always gonna ask those questions. ‘Well he didn’t get these minutes.’ The challenge is continuing to let them know, ‘Keep staying with it. Keep your mind ready because we need you.’ We do. We need all hands on deck. That’ll be a big part of it.”
Godwin?
"His role is he uplifts us when he gets in there. Whether it's rebounding. Whether it's winning plays. 50-50 balls. Finishing around the basket. An offensive rebound. He's averaging I think 72% from the field. I haven't looked at where that's in the country, but I can't imagine it's not in the top five or 10. If there's 10 guys shooting more than 70% I mean, go the transfer portal. I'm all over you. Probably shouldn't have said that. But Sam is to 72% from the field. He finishes. But the thing I think about Sam is he uplifts the energy. He uplifts it. We talk to our guys about the old Ray Lewis quote: are you a thermostat or are you thermometer? Are you setting the temperature in the room? Or are you just always checking it? And Sam sets it. He's a thermostat, man. He comes in, that energy is going up. The toughness, the ability - and that's nothing against Tanner Tanner is a huge energy guy. I'm just saying sometimes bench guys aren't thermostat guys. He uplifts you man. I think it's his mindset why he's been so valuable."
Bijan?
"I think for Bijan...I think the steps in the offseason were to get stronger so he can defend better and all that. And he's made an improvement of that. And then when he came back, when he got a concussion, you miss 10 days or whatever it was. The steps were mentally keeping yourself sharp because all of a sudden your minutes weren't there. It's easy to get really down. I think normally people go through that. Right when he came back, it took him a minute to get back going and feeling where he was. And I think the steps taken for anybody that gets hurt or misses a bunch of practice time is mentally to stay in it. Make your minutes count. Bring your value. Know your value. Stay confident in your value. And I think I think that's what he's done. He's back full strength. He's coming. And he comes in with a great mindset. I think he's really, really tried on the defensive end, which we've asked him to do. His biggest skill, he can really pass the ball. And he's bigger. He's 6-foot-3. He can see things. When he's defending, and then you add in his offense, he's in a great place. You still don't know how many minutes you're gonna get. You just got to stay ready. He was cooking the other night. I just love that he is taking the steps needed coming back to that concussion to get him where he's at.”
Sherfield the cance--- I mean, leader?
One of the things I like about Grant are the leadership things I hear when the coaches aren’t looking. Anybody can say stuff in front of the coaches, heyyyy. The things that I’ve heard that he does in the locker room, behind the scenes, at the hotel with the guys in the rooms. The things that have gotten back to me has been what I’m most excited about with Grant. Because leadership, sometimes people can give false leadership. They say what they want you to hear. They know what I want them to say and say it when the coach is within the earshot. What I’m hearing about Grant is when it’s just the guys. That’s true leadership. That is something where he’s really earned the respect of the players with that kind of leadership.
