Elvis has entered the building: Kobe Elvis commits to OU
OU basketball is on the board. The Sooners have been very selective about the guys they have been bringing in for official visits, and it had been a rough and rocky couple of weeks.
But now head coach Porter Moser has his first one in the fold for this cycle. Former Dayton guard Kobe Elvis announced his commitment to the Sooners on Tuesday morning.
Kobe Elvis, G, Dayton (1 season)
The line: 9.4 ppg, 2.4 rebs, 3.5 assts, 0.6 steals, 38% FG, 37% 3-pt, 85% FT
It’s not the splashy type of name to begin things, but Elvis is a solid piece. Elvis played three seasons at Dayton, following a freshman season at DePaul.
Elvis was a key figure in helping the Flyers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this season, losing to Arizona.
A very experienced guard, Elvis averaged nearly 30 minutes per game last season. He has a better than 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, someone who knows the pressure of handling the ball. Elvis is originally from Ontario, Canada.
He was one of two official visitors last weekend that OU is hoping to lock down. Former North Texas forward Aaron Scott was also in town, and the Sooners feel good about their chances there. Scott is the brother of OU women’s forward Liz Scott.
OU also has Clemson forward transfer Randall Godfrey on a visit right now. Godfrey is just the sixth visitor for Moser during this portal window.
OU portal outlook
The Sooners worked the portal well last season, earning the 20 wins in the regular season for the first time in eight years. It just turned out to be not enough, being named the dreaded First Team Out of the NCAA Tournament.
So it’s back to the transfer portal. OU has had four players transfer out (Otega Oweh, John Hugley, Milos Uzan, Javian McCollum), meaning five open scholarships remain.
Forward Jalon Moore also announced his intention to go through the NBA Draft process, but he will keep his NCAA eligibility with OU. Moore could absolutely return to the Sooners. Sources believe Moore is expected to be the OU leader in 2024-25.
“There’s gonna be no less acceleration on our efforts for Oklahoma basketball,” said Moser last month. “We’ve got competitors. My staff, myself. Faith, family, friends, togetherness, this awesome University of Oklahoma. The outpouring of people. I’ll say this. My good friend that I’ve really developed a great friendship in the last three years and a friend to everybody here, Bob Stoops. He uses the term OUDNA a lot. We’ve talked about it.
“The OUDNA just doesn’t talk about at the top of the hill. The OUDNA is really strong as you’re climbing the hill. That’s where this staff, these players, this program is going to rely on that OUDNA to fight through this adversity. That OUDNA never has to be more relevant – it’s almost more important on the way up than it is at the top. That’s what we’re going to lean on moving forward.”
