The Sooners took a 10-day preseason tour of Spain and France in August, playing three select teams from Barcelona and Paris. OU won all three games by an average of 42 points.
At a Thursday media day previewing the 2022-23 season, head coach Porter Moser discussed how the trip built up the Sooners’ chemistry. He noted it was a great “bonding” experience, with his players growing closer together during the trip.
“It's a togetherness,” Moser said. “It's a bonding. It’s going over culturally and having that experience with those guys in a different country. … That'll be with them the rest of their lives. I thought our group this summer got out of it. The bonding of being (in) another country and going to walk through different things. … It's just an unbelievable experience that I love doing with the team.”
Players like sophomore guard C.J. Noland shared Moser’s sentiments.
“(The Europe trip) just brought the team closer together,” Noland said. “We learned a lot about us on the court and learned a lot about us off the court. I think that goes a very long way on the court and you can see it in how we play together. We’re more connected.”
Senior forward/center Tanner Groves and the Sooners celebrate with fans after winning the first round of the NIT against Missouri State at Lloyd Noble Center on March 15.
Brady is Sooners’ ‘shot doctor’
Moser hired assistant coach Matt Brady to his staff on June 4, and the Sooners have felt an instant impact since his arrival.
Senior forward Tanner Groves and Hill complimented the former Marist and James Madison head coach Thursday, calling him the “shot doctor.” The pair noted that he tweaked every player’s shot during offseason workouts.
“Coach Brady has been helping me a lot with my shot,” Groves said. “I think my percent is looking really good in practice, so I’ve been working on that a lot.”
Brady spent the previous four seasons as an assistant with Maryland, where he aided two appearances in March Madness and the 2020 Big Ten Championship. The Terrapins had the sixth best 3-point percentage in their conference during the 2020 season.
Coach Brady might be one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” Hill said. “He’ll text us, ‘Let's get in the gym,’ so everyone will get in the gym with him. He’s tweaking guys’ shots and almost everyone is shooting better than last year. If you look at our summer percentages so far, you can see a huge spike, and I think you can expect that coming into next season.”
Hill working on perimeter shooting
After shooting a career-low 20.5 percent from 3-point range last season, Jalen Hill put an emphasis on improving his efficiency this offseason.
The senior forward’s workouts over the summer consisted of ball handling, post work and an added emphasis to perimeter shooting. Hill’s improvement over the summer caught the attention of Moser, who’s looking to maximize his versatility inside the post but also beyond the arc this season.
“He's really done some tweaks and adjustments all summer,” Moser said. “I think the shot looks a lot better. He's more confident off the dribble. He's quicker from point A to point B off the dribble.
“I think he's been working on a lot of those areas. I love posting him up. I posted him up an awful lot last year. He loves it, and we're gonna continue to do that. But I think he’s becoming more of an inside-outside threat this year. Being able to knock down a shot, I think that's a big, big difference in him this season.”
Hill showcased his shot-making ability during the 2020-21 season when he posted a career-best 33.3 percentage from the perimeter. The 6-foot-6 forward’s shooting was an added wrinkle to then-head coach Lon Kruger’s squad that made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2021.
After OU missed out on a spot in March Madness in 2022 and lost 70-68 to St. Bonaventure in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament, Hill’s added improvement could help the Sooners’ chances at a run this season.
