How one social media post got ball rolling for OU, Kirill Elatontsev

A lot of the hard work had already been done, so OU head basketball coach Porter Moser decided why not take a shot?

It wasn’t going to be the Sooners fighting and going through hoops with the NCAA. That process was done. Now it was just about convincing a 23-year-old Russian to journey across the world to Norman, Okla., and help the Sooners.

It started innocently enough with a social media post from Jeff Goodman. Russian center Kirill Elatontsev has been deemed eligible by the NCAA and has one year of eligibility, said Goodman on Oct. 9.

Russian big man Kirill Elatontsev has been cleared by the NCAA and has one year of eligibility in college, source told @TheFieldOf68.

Kirill Elatontsev, 23, is a versatile 6-11 center who has been playing for Lukomotiv Kuban in the VTB United League – and been named league’s…

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) October 9, 2025

From there? Time to work for the OU staff. It wasn’t an indictment on what they thought of freshman center Kai Rogers. Just a simple numbers game. Because outside of Rogers and starter Mo Wague, OU lacks size.

This is not news. So if you can snatch a 6-foot-11 center to join you in the middle of the season?  Go ahead and give it a go.

OU didn’t have any built in advantages. Every team had the same opportunity the Sooners had. Was about making it happen.

“Watched him and started recruiting him, did that whole process,” said Moser following Monday’s victory. “In the back of our mind, started going through that process. The whole country saw that tweet, had a lot of calls, not just us. We recruited him and showed we had a need for him.

“We did not do anything in getting him cleared by the NCAA. That tweet, we saw it, he’s already been cleared by the NCAA on Oct. 9. And we were like he’s already been cleared, he’s 6-11, so that’s how it started.”

Elatontsev arrived in Norman last week and had gone through two practices with the Sooners before going through live action Monday.

He had six points, four rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes the 93-69 victory against visiting Mississippi Valley State.

He was forced into action. Rogers was out with an ankle injury. And Wague had one of them head-scratching nights with four fouls in 14 minutes.

Moser wanted to get Elatontsev some minutes. And simply didn’t have a choice Monday – had to be done.

OU isn’t the only school doing the mid-year addition. Liking it and embracing it are two different things, said Moser.

“Whether I like it or not is a different story,” Moser said. “It’s allowed. You’re either going to evolve. It’s like when NIL hit, some people didn’t like it. But the people who just jumped in and evolved faster got a leg up on the other places that took them a while to get going with it.

“Do we need guidelines, guardrails on a lot of things? Yes. But right now, if he’s cleared, he’s cleared and he’s a really good young man. I cannot believe we were able to throw him in after just two practices. They ran 40 minutes of zone. He had to do zone offense. They pressed and we were trying it on the fly. I thought Kirill battled. He’ll get better and better. Literally, two practices in.”

The real games begin

Elatontsev has professional experience in Russia. Moser was grateful to get Elatontsev some action Monday because here comes the SEC. The size, physicality, athleticism. It’s about to be a different game, beginning against Ole Miss on Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

A lot of boxes had to be checked to make this happen. An important one? Fitting in with the team. It’s the only way it would work.

“I would never add somebody that I thought would interfere with the dynamics of the culture of our locker room,” Moser said. “That’s first and foremost. I would never do it. Our guys right away recognized, what a good young man.

“He’s quiet, but what a good guy. He’s trying to learn, trying to do that. And our guys have been awesome. We’ve got awesome guys. They just embraced him, trying to help him in everything we do, our coaching staff.”

Now it’s about integrating him into the Moser culture. Moser said Elatontsev can speak English enough to understand concepts.

First impression was a strong one. And we’ll see where everything goes from here.

“It’s definitely—it’s different just seeing, especially a 7-foot guy,” said guard Xzayvier Brown following the game. “It’s definitely different, but with Kirill he’s been very open and learning and just talking to us, so it’s kind of been easy, also fun. Not like a challenge, but just something new. So, we’ve been having a fun time, especially the last couple days. It’s super cool.

“Super skilled. He’s very smart. He has played basketball professionally, so he’s been doing a good job. We’re just trying to help him, and he’s also giving us his insight on things he experienced in the past.”