Oklahoma hires Loyola’s Moser to replace Kruger
Porter Moser orchestrated one of the great underdog stories in sports in recent years, coaching the Loyola University Chicago men’s basketball program — a low seed from a mid-major conference — to two deep runs in the NCAA tournament with the blessing of Sister Jean.
Moser’s teams won’t surprise anyone now.
Oklahoma hired Moser on Saturday, filling a vacancy created by Lon Kruger’s retirement. Moser embraces the challenge of coaching at a Big 12 program that reached the Final Four in 2016 and featured NBA talents Buddy Hield and Trae Young in the past decade.
“I’ve always said there are reasons why you win,” Moser said in a released statement. “If you look at the standards that the programs at Oklahoma have set, there are reasons why they’ve won. The coaches, infrastructure and community are all championship caliber. You just want to be a part of that. To play in a premier league like the Big 12 and be a part of this championship culture excites me.”
Kruger led the Sooners to a 195-128 record in 10 years and reached seven of the past eight NCAA tournaments. In Kruger’s final season at Oklahoma, the Sooners went 16-11 and finished with a loss to top-seeded Gonzaga in the second round.
“He’s all about winning the right way,” Moser said of the 68-year-old Kruger, who announced his retirement after the season ended. “I look forward to continuing that blueprint and continuing the blueprint we had at Loyola: winning the right way.”
Moser led Loyola to the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 this year. He went 188-141 in 10 years at Loyola and has a 293-242 record in 17 seasons as a college head coach, with stops at Arkansas-Little Rock (2000-03) and Illinois State (2003-07).
“It is impossible to properly thank Porter for all he’s done for our basketball program and University,” Loyola athletic director Steve Watson said. “His vision and leadership brought Loyola to new heights, and Ramblers everywhere will be eternally grateful.”
The Ramblers went 32-6 in their Final Four season and charmed the nation in an unexpected run buoyed by one last-second shot after another. Along the way, their 98-year-old nun and team chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, became a celebrity, with bobbleheads and athletic apparel and national TV interviews. The 11th-seeded Ramblers beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada and Kansas State to reach the national semifinals, where they lost to Michigan.
Loyola made another run this year, led by the nation’s stingiest scoring defense. The Ramblers went 26-5 in their fourth straight year with 20 or more wins. They earned their first AP Top 25 ranking since 1985 and won the Missouri Valley Conference tourney for the second time in four years.
Sister Jean, now 101 and fully vaccinated, was on hand again for the NCAA run this year. She watched in Indianapolis as eighth-seeded Loyola beat Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion Georgia Tech and dominated top-seeded Illinois in the second round before falling to Oregon State.