NORMAN — It appears Oklahoma men’s basketball might have found its general manager.
The Sooners are hiring Lucas McKay — who held the role of general manager at Clemson and worked under Tigers coach Brad Brownell for 13 of the past 16 seasons — to an unspecified role, according to a report from TigersIllustrated.com. McKay was previously with Brownell at Wright State. McKay also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at UMKC from 2019-21.
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If he indeed fills the shoes of GM, McKay will be paired with assistant general manager Trae Young, the current Washington Wizards star, who was hired last May to lend support in “player personnel and strategic roster management planning.”
Clemson has made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2024.
“Candidly, we’re not resourced at the level that we need to be resourced,” OU athletic director Roger Denny told The Oklahoman last month of the Sooners’ basketball program. “We as an athletics department, have a long history of outperforming our resources, and in almost every sport that we have, but that only gets you so far, right?”
Denny knows the level of investment it takes to succeed in basketball.
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He previously served as Illinois’ deputy AD. The Fighting Illini reportedly spent $8 to $10 million on their men’s basketball roster this past season and are playing in the Final Four on Saturday.
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“It’s been a great partnership right from the jump,” OU coach Porter Moser said earlier this week. “He made it really clear about the vision of where we want to go. He’s made it really clear that we have to up the resources put into men’s basketball and I really appreciated that. I know he comes from Illinois, and that program — basketball program —the investment made.”
Last offseason, without a GM, chair of athletics and former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson set out to offer Moser and his staff a similar organizational structure to that of the Sooners football program a mile and a half down the road.
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Assistant men’s basketball coach Brock Morris seriously recruited five players out of the transfer portal last spring, only bringing them on campus to meet with Moser once either a structure of a deal was intact or the two parties were aligned on a specific number.
The Sooners signed four of those — Saint Joseph’s guard Xzayvier Brown, Notre Dame forward Tae Davis, Miami guard Nijel Pack and Alabama forward Derrion Reid.
Stephenson brought in former Philadelphia Eagles vice president of football administration Jake Rosenberg to assist, educate and train Moser’s staff on how to navigate the current era. Last offseason, Morris primarily handled the recruiting aspect with Rosenberg’s guidance.
Now, three days before the transfer portal opens, Moser’s staff could be receiving its own general manager to help build a roster to get OU back to the NCAA Tournament.
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The Sooners will play either Creighton or West Virginia in the College Basketball Crown championship game on Sunday.
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Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball reportedly hiring Clemson general manager Lucas McKay
