OU Basketball: Oklahoma Welcomes New Addition to Porter Moser's Staff

Josh Oppenheimer has a vast array of experience, with a resume that includes an NBA championship.

John E. Hoover | Sep 6, 2024

Oklahoma assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer / Milwaukee Bucks

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Oklahoma Sooners

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN – University of Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Porter Moser announced the addition of Josh Oppenheimer to the staff as an assistant coach on Friday.

Oppenheimer brings 15-plus years of NBA and NCAA DI experience to the program, including time with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets.

"Excited for Josh to join the program and use his wealth of NBA and college experience to help develop our student-athletes," said Moser. "He has a relentless work ethic on the court developing players and was instrumental in the progression of one of the best basketball players in the world. He won an NBA Championship with the Milwaukee Bucks and has been a winner at every stop as a college basketball coach."

Oppenheimer most recently finished his second stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, serving as an assistant coach and aiding the team to the 2021 NBA championship and four Central Division titles. During his time in Milwaukee, he was responsible for player development and on-court coaching, including significant time dedicated to the development and maintenance of NBA All-Star and 2021 NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished second in the league in points per game twice during Oppenheimer's four-year run with the Bucks. In 2023-24, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the regular season, finishing with 57 double-doubles and 10 triple-doubles in 73 regular season starts.

"Coach Moser is one of the preeminent coaches in America today, and I look forward to working with him to develop our student-athletes," said Oppenheimer. "The University of Oklahoma has storied athletic traditions and a history of great coaches such as Moser, Lon Kruger, Kelvin Sampson and Billy Tubbs. I am thrilled to be a part of that history and contribute positively to the coaches, players and program. My family and I are excited to join the OU family."

In 2022, he served as an assistant coach for the Greek men's national team for EuroBasket. Antetokounmpo, who Oppenheimer directly assisted in his preparation, finished as the top scorer at the tournament.

Before his second campaign with Milwaukee, Oppenheimer served as an assistant coach at James Madison in 2019-20, developing All-CAA guard Matt Lewis and 1,000-point scorer Darius Burks.

He spent one season as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets (2017-18) and Houston Rockets (2016-17) after his first stint with the Bucks, spending three seasons as an assistant coach.

Before his start in the NBA, Oppenheimer founded Excel Basketball in 2008, running the company for five years. He developed and conducted daily shooting, skill and conditioning workouts for NBA, WNBA, European and college basketball players, including Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Ben Gordon.

While running Excel Basketball, he was the lead clinician at Nike Skills Academy for Girls (2009-14) and a player development and pre-draft skills trainer for Priority Sports & Entertainment (2008-13). Oppenheimer also worked with Deng and Gordon as a personal player development coach.

From 2005-07, he was the associate head coach at Kent State, helping guide the Golden Flashes to the 2006 MAC regular season and tournament championships and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Oppenheimer developed Deandre Haynes and Jay Youngblood, who earned MAC Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC accolades, respectively. Oklahoma assistant coach Armon Gates played at KSU for two seasons under Oppenheimer's tutelage.

Before his time with the Golden Flashes, he spent three seasons (2002-05) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at DePaul, helping the Blue Demons earn three postseason appearances and the 2004 Conference USA regular season championship.

From 2000-02, Oppenheimer was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Delaware, and he started his collegiate career at Duquesne, serving as an assistant coach for the 1999-2000 season.

Oppenheimer played collegiately at Northern Arizona (1989-91) and Rhode Island (1987-89). He played professionally in the USBL, NBA Summer League, CBA, Israel Premier Basketball League, Polish Premier League, EuroLeague and on the United States Select Team.

Published Sep 6, 2024

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.