How long until we see a thread like this one...

[the_ouskull]

...about our current coach?

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128672

Are people going to start talking about him "running off players" the way that they say Kelvin did it?

When we have to sit here and watch Scotty Reynolds and Damien (yeah, I know how it's spelled) James in the Big Dance without a Sooner jersey on, then what are we supposed to feel?

What about Bobby Maze? What about Tiny Gallon and Ray Willis in a couple of years?

I'm just saying, if you're going to crack on Kelvin for things to his back, then have the junk to crack on our current coach to his face. I'd like to know why he thought that someone like Tiny Gallon would be a good fit for our team. I'd like to know what rift between TMG and Willie he couldn't, as a coach, repair, even with the season in the balance. I'd like to know where he's taking the program in the future.

I have a rabid rooting interest in Oklahoma Basketball - past, present, and future. But not just the team should learn from the past. The fans should as well. After losing Lavender, Foust, etc.. Kelvin could have packed it in. He didn't. I don't think our current coach will pack it in either, but I'd like to hear, publicly, from him - what is going on with him right now; with the team. Anybody else feel the same way? Right now it seems that all of the basketball news we're getting is from players saying they're leaving, and from the occasional story - usually about said players.

I want to know what's up. I want to feel like I'm not going to have to type a 5000-word (and you f*ckers KNOW I'll do it) essay comparing Kelvin to Capel again, using past quotes from some of you Kelvin bashers that now apply to our current situation. I want to see us in the tournament again. It's amazing how quickly you stop mattering if you're not playing late into March, isn't it? Coach, I want OU to MATTER again. What's up?

the_ouskull

[badger]

I totally agree. After Sherri Coale ran off the likes of four-time All-American Courtney Paris after our rebounding queen gave four years of her playing career to OU? Totally unacceptable that Courtney left. Sherri should be fired *




* If you question the validity of any posts today, check the calendar.

[oumartin]

why don't you pull Kelvins weenis from between your lips. He is long gone.

[soonervegas]

I think Gallon may end up being a good fit still. Maybe I am totally wrong....but I like the guy.

I do think that question is valid for a TMG. Could he not have sniffed out this me 1st mentality and dismissive attitude about school? I didn't seem like he ever tried to hide it.

[NormanPride]

I'm more down on Capel now than I ever was on Kelvin while he was here. Once the word was out on Kelvin's cheating, though...

Jeff's been really good about being candid in interviews, and I'd like to see a reporter ask him some tough questions. He's really shut up recently, though. I'm not sure how much is due to recruiting because he has a Cade and a pot to **** in after this year, and how much is due to him not wanting to deal with media after this whole fiasco.

[the_ouskull]

why don't you pull Kelvins weenis from between your lips. He is long gone.

Who rattled your cage, d*ckhead?

Ah, I guess I did.

So, where are your threads deriding what Capel's (allegedly) done so far, bringing in recruits that won't stick around and players that are getting paid on the side? Losing is a pretty boring f*cking style of basketball too.

the_ouskull

[C&CDean]

I'm with you Danny. All I've heard is "Capel is out recruiting."

I wanna hear him sit down and give us the **** on the whole enchilada. And I don't want to hear "I guess I failed as a coach" cause guess what? No ****ing **** Sherlockpel.

[Crimsontothecore]

I'm with you Danny. All I've heard is "Capel is out recruiting."

I wanna hear him sit down and give us the **** on the whole enchilada. And I don't want to hear "I guess I failed as a coach" cause guess what? No ****ing **** Sherlockpel.

Great! It was his recruiting that got us into this mess to begin with :O

[OU_Sooners75]

I cannot tell you how long. But I can say this for myself:

Until Capel can recruit players that will come in here and want to be a Sooner, then I have all but given up on him.

It has been proven, without the Griffins hanging around in the locker room, his coaching abilities, as well as his judgment of character, is very much in question.

Without Blake Griffin around, Capel has NOT made the NCAA, and we have not been very competitive as a team. We have always lacked quality depth under Capel as well.

Of course I am just stating the obvious.

During his first season, I was critical of Capel. I was told to give him a chance since he virtually only had 6 or 7 guys to work with to give good solid minutes.

Like so many people here, I enjoyed the success we had the two years that Blake led our team. But that is all we have enjoyed with Capel at the helm.

Now I am not saying Capel cannot right this ship. However, it looks really bleak at this point. I want to put faith in him as our coach but it is really hard to do so when your track record is against you.

Can he recruit? Yeah...but can he prepare these kids mentally for the college game? IDK, at this point that is leaning to a resounding no.

[Crimsontothecore]

I cannot tell you how long. But I can say this for myself:

Until Capel can recruit players that will come in here and want to be a Sooner, then I have all but given up on him.

It has been proven, without the Griffins hanging around in the locker room, his coaching abilities, as well as his judgment of character, is very much in question.

Without Blake Griffin around, Capel has NOT made the NCAA, and we have not been very competitive as a team. We have always lacked quality depth under Capel as well.

Of course I am just stating the obvious.

During his first season, I was critical of Capel. I was told to give him a chance since he virtually only had 6 or 7 guys to work with to give good solid minutes.

Like so many people here, I enjoyed the success we had the two years that Blake led our team. But that is all we have enjoyed with Capel at the helm.

Now I am not saying Capel cannot right this ship. However, it looks really bleak at this point. I want to put faith in him as our coach but it is really hard to do so when your track record is against you.

Can he recruit? Yeah...but can he prepare these kids mentally for the college game? IDK, at this point that is leaning to a resounding no.

Agree. Unlike some, I don't adhere to the "he's just a young coach still learning" theory. The guy just finished his 8th year as a D1 head coach. Is he a veteran coach? no, but he's also not fresh out of the belly with the umbilical cord still attached.

From the train wreck I witnessed this year, I'm no longer going to call him a good recruiter either. To me a good recruiter is someone who can go out and get kids who fit the program and want to compete as a team. I'm not impressed with a bunch of micky-d all americans who stay for one season and under perform while they are here all the while having bad attitudes.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

Who rattled your cage, d*ckhead?

Ah, I guess I did.

So, where are your threads deriding what Capel's (allegedly) done so far, bringing in recruits that won't stick around and players that are getting paid on the side? Losing is a pretty boring f*cking style of basketball too.

the_ouskull

I remember my response in most of those Kelvin bashing threads was to say if you want to see real mediocrity than fire Kelvin. Have we achieved true mediocrity yet?

Anyways, I'm done with Kelvin and I still believe in Capel, but confidence is waning. This season and after-season was an unmitigated disaster and we'll see how Capel responds. When I look at our Women's team, that's how I want our men's team to be. I want people that actually want to be Sooners and take pride in that. I know men's bb is different from women's, but I'm sick of guys like TMG and Tiny who don't care about anything but themselves.

[starrca23]

1. There are enough of these threads already. Your rant isn't any more important than the rest of them. USE THOSE THREADS!

2. Running off players of character (like a Lavender) is different than dealing with a TMG or Gallon or losing a Keith Clark that was somewhat of a long shot to begin with. Capel does need to adjust recruiting strategy; but heck, we said the same thing about Bob Stoops a few years ago AFTER he won a national title. The game and the recruiting are ever changing.

3. If you would rather have a winning cheating coach: Go root for kentucky.

4. Capel shouldn't come out and talk until this is over. There is an investigation going on genius.

5. What the hell does this even mean: "I'm just saying, if you're going to crack on Kelvin for things to his back, then have the junk to crack on our current coach to his face." We are on a freaking message board. We all have huge e-junk when we are typing.

6. "When we have to sit here and watch Scotty Reynolds and Damien (yeah, I know how it's spelled) James in the Big Dance without a Sooner jersey on, then what are we supposed to feel?" I'll tell you how to feel: Like they knew big time trouble could be headed to OU if they didn't decide to go else where. Like we would be Memphis the year after Rose and Evans and Calipari left. Feeling used.

7. "I totally agree. After Sherri Coale ran off the likes of four-time All-American Courtney Paris after our rebounding queen gave four years of her playing career to OU? Totally unacceptable that Courtney left. Sherri should be fired." :D

[Crimsontothecore]

3. If you would rather have a winning cheating coach: Go root for kentucky.



Well, considering the fact that we had two guys playing who violated NCAA rules by taking cash, one could conclude that we had both cheating and a losing season.
The lesson here is that you should never assume that cheating results in winning.

[badger]

Like Bob Stoops so elloquently said - and the NCAA accepted - is that programs cannot monitor and hover over student-athletes 100 percent of the time. You can give them guidance on what the NCAA rules are, you can make sure they follow these rules when they are under your direct supervision, and then you have to hope that you've given them the right guidance to obey these rules the few times that they are not being watched by the program.

OU does tons of things right in this regard. Anyone that's been to a football game these past few seasons have seen the signs telling fans to not buy athletes birthday presents. If athletes want jobs, they go through the university to find employment at local businesses.

Alas, there will be an underage Rhett Bomar that goes off to an NBA game who pours alcohol into an unmarked white styrofoam cup.

[Crimsontothecore]

Alas, there will be an underage Rhett Bomar that goes off to an NBA game who pours alcohol into an unmarked white styrofoam cup.

An under age college drinking alcohol? Get outta here!

[NMSooner'80]

Even if Kelvin had just left for Indiana, with no dark cloud of "phone-gate" over his head and the OU program, there's a faction that would have always hated him. That's because he broke someone's sacred tradition by not playing "Billy Ball," end of story.

[OU_Sooners75]

1. There are enough of these threads already. Your rant isn't any more important than the rest of them. USE THOSE THREADS!

Im sorry, who are you to tell someone not to make a thread on this board? If you do not like these type of threads, then do everyone a favor: Instead of bitching about it, don't click on it.

2. Running off players of character (like a Lavender) is different than dealing with a TMG or Gallon or losing a Keith Clark that was somewhat of a long shot to begin with. Capel does need to adjust recruiting strategy; but heck, we said the same thing about Bob Stoops a few years ago AFTER he won a national title. The game and the recruiting are ever changing.

There is a major difference between recruiting for football and basketball. First of all, in basketball you have a lot more exposure due to AAU and other leagues to watch these players and to get to know them. The only way you can get to know a players character in football is by practice, camps, and then high school coaches (which will almost always lie to a college coach to help their player out).

3. If you would rather have a winning cheating coach: Go root for kentucky.

At least that would be better than having players taking cash and losing at the same time.

4. Capel shouldn't come out and talk until this is over. There is an investigation going on genius.

What? Capel should wait to come out and talk about his misjudgments of character before the investigation is over? Players attitudes and how they carry themselves, not to mention players not wanting to be Sooners, does not break any NCAA rules.

5. What the hell does this even mean: "I'm just saying, if you're going to crack on Kelvin for things to his back, then have the junk to crack on our current coach to his face." We are on a freaking message board. We all have huge e-junk when we are typing.

You are the one calling people genius (as insults) so figure it out for yourself genius. I am going on a whim here, but I think he means If people are going to talk crap about Kelvin behind his back, then we should also be able to do the same to Capel.


:pop:

[OU_Sooners75]

Even if Kelvin had just left for Indiana, with no dark cloud of "phone-gate" over his head and the OU program, there's a faction that would have always hated him. That's because he broke someone's sacred tradition by not playing "Billy Ball," end of story.


They would not necessarily hate him, in the very sense of the word, IMHO. However they would still dislike him.

Overall, this fan enjoyed watching OU under Sampson...though it was not the exciting Bill Ball that we witnessed in the 1980s, we were winning.

Now for Capel...Yeah, we are losing. There is a big difference.

[soonerbub]

I loved Kelvinball but at the end knew he had to go. I feel the same about Capel--less than 20 wins next year (all but guaranteed) see ya!! This past season destroyed 30 years of tradition and the coach gets a mulligan? No ****ing way.

[birddog]

:pop:

:kelvin: IT'S COMING!!!:eddie:

[bluedogok]

Reynolds and James were not "run off" by Capel, they effectively were "let go" when Sampson moved to IU. I think that if they would have stayed committed to OU the NCAA punishment would have been more severe, the fact that OU received none of the benefits from those players who were part of the phone infractions by Kelvin was probably a determining factor in the final punishment.

[Scott D]

Well to be fair to the current coach, he has to be out over-recruiting because well, he flat out doesn't have enough players to field a team at this moment does he?

[starrca23]

:pop:

1. I'll tell people whatever I want. Just like you do. That's the whole point of a message board.

2. I'm not even talking specific. Just the similarities that both coaches needed to make adjustment. Since you went there: Who runs football camps? College coaches. They get to see character by placing potential recruits in the right situations. AAU isn't that way. Coaches aren't even allowed to talk to the players. You fail (I know, I know, "Who are you to tell me I failed?! :cry: ).

3. If you would rather cheat than lose go be an aggie.

4. Let's see if I can put this in a way you can understand it: The NCAA says be quite, Joe C. says be quite. This is how all investigations work. GENIUS!!!

5. So let me get this straight: Someone who talks BEHIND Kelvin's back, is suddenly gonna grow mysteriously huge junk to talk to Capel's FACE?! You don't find that odd at all? When you decide to walk up to Capel and call him out let me know. I'll take the day of and drive to Norman.

[OU_Sooners75]

1. I'll tell people whatever I want. Just like you do. That's the whole point of a message board.

2. I'm not even talking specific. Just the similarities that both coaches needed to make adjustment. Since you went there: Who runs football camps? College coaches. They get to see character by placing potential recruits in the right situations. AAU isn't that way. Coaches aren't even allowed to talk to the players. You fail (I know, I know, "Who are you to tell me I failed?! :cry: ).

3. If you would rather cheat than lose go be an aggie.

4. Let's see if I can put this in a way you can understand it: The NCAA says be quite, Joe C. says be quite. This is how all investigations work. GENIUS!!!

5. So let me get this straight: Someone who talks BEHIND Kelvin's back, is suddenly gonna grow mysteriously huge junk to talk to Capel's FACE?! You don't find that odd at all? When you decide to walk up to Capel and call him out let me know. I'll take the day of and drive to Norman.


It is obvious to me that you cannot even follow along.

2. There are more games for a Basketball player to play away from their home school for a coach to get a good gauge of a players character. They may not have permission to talk directly to the players, but they can sit there and watch the players. They can observe them a lot more than any football coach can do. You fail, Einstein.

3. Also, no one said we would rather cheat than lose. However, if we have to decide to win or lose while we are cheating, I would much rather win, than lose. Again, you fail at following along.

4. What is Joe saying to be quite about? Or do you actually mean be quiet?
Quite: wholly, completely
Quiet: marked by little or no motion or activity....can also mean to shut up.
Good job genius. Don't blame this one a misspelling, because you spelled it the same twice.

5. I am not sure. However, people have the right to say what they will about a public figure...and last time I checked, Capel is a public figure.

[the_ouskull]

blah, blah, blah

I was going to quote your last few posts and ask you if you were playing dumb to try to get a rise out of people. Then I realized, thanks to that last public display of your command of the language, that you are not, in fact, one of the greatest thespians of our time, but, instead, just dumb.

Oh, and for clarity...

If people are going to bash Kelvin en masse, then I feel like we should have a few more "wtf, Capel?" threads on here, that's all. And, I don't give a sh*t if he speaks about anything related to the ongoing investigations of our former players... I want him to talk about the season that just happened, and the season that is going to be here in only 6ish months.

If he wants to (is able to) talk about more than that, great, but where's our explanation for this year? This is the other side of college athletics. Success breeds joy. Failure? Well, welcome to it. So far, with the exception of a deep run thanks to a once-in-a-generation type player, Capel's done very little to show me that he's ready to continue coaching at a major conference school. And, before we slather on the praise in re: his recruiting ability, ask yourself if we've ever been anything that could have even kind of been called a "deep" team since he's been here? Being 10-deep doesn't mean crap if 6 of them can't play, ya know?

the_ouskull

[starrca23]

You can have the spelling bee title, that's fine. I'll stand by my points though. To even imply you would rather have Coach Cal is not acceptable to me as a Sooner. Cheating is never acceptable. To imply that you would rather cheat and win makes it seem as though you are okay with cheating. Be less ambiguous and maybe a simpleton like me can follow along. Last, you haven't been around enough AAU tourneys to really know how limited coaches are with players. Kids know it is a meat market and to be on their best behavior. I don't care how many games they see, a kid is going to act different when Coach K or Coach Capel is sitting in the stands. Conversely, Coach V yelling in your face or telling you that guy whipped you gives him the opportunity to test their character up close and personal. i can forgive Capel's bad season IF he turns it around. We all make mistakes. I can't accept Kelvin's cheating. That is why you guys are dissapointed that more people aren't on Capel. If we find out he is a cheater, than I am done with him too.

[the_ouskull]

You can have the spelling bee title, that's fine. I'll stand by my points though. To even imply you would rather have Coach Cal is not acceptable to me as a Sooner.

I've never said that I'd rather have Coach Cal. Ever since that kid from Mississippi State took 36 hours of summer classes back around the 1996 Final Four, I've been skeptical of "cheating coaches."

Cheating is never acceptable. To imply that you would rather cheat and win makes it seem as though you are okay with cheating.

I agree. I think that, if a school is cheating, they should be punished. I think that, if players are cheating - TRULY without the school's knowledge, then the program should still suffer penalties, but much lighter ones. The issue is proving that the school had no knowledge of the cheating.

Be less ambiguous and maybe a simpleton like me can follow along.

Doubtful.

Last, you haven't been around enough AAU tourneys to really know how limited coaches are with players.

I haven't...?

Kids know it is a meat market and to be on their best behavior. I don't care how many games they see, a kid is going to act different when Coach K or Coach Capel is sitting in the stands.

First, it's differentLY... (Spelling Bee, 2010) Second, that kid will only act differently if the appearance of said coach is a new thing, or an individual thing. If the coach is there to watch 15 different kids, it has a different effect than if the coach is there to watch just YOU.

Conversely, Coach V yelling in your face or telling you that guy whipped you gives him the opportunity to test their character up close and personal.

Exactly. I think that the players are being more and more coddled as salaries are driven higher and higher and better and better players have to be recruited each season in order to win games, justifying the high salaries. It doesn't FEEL amateur anymore... ya know?

i can forgive Capel's bad season IF he turns it around. We all make mistakes.

Well, yeah, forgiveness is importan...

I can't accept Kelvin's cheating.

Wait, what?


We all make mistakes.

I can't accept Kelvin's cheating.

So can you, or can't you forgive indiscretions?

That is why you guys are dissapointed that more people aren't on Capel.

Wrong. WRONG! I'm disappointed that more people aren't on Capel because he recruited players that, to even the most casual, but knowledgeable, fan, were me-first guys who either couldn't, or had no interest in, becoming part of a "team" in college. Oklahoma is not a place that kids can come and "do their own thing" for a year or two, and then traipse off to collect the riches they have been divinely decreed. If you're going to play ball here, you need to be ready to put in some hard work. And, for the record, THAT is what I liked about Kelvin. His teams worked their *sses off. But, I most likely haven't been around enough basketball to see the effects of hard work v. talent.

If we find out he is a cheater, than I am done with him too.

Before or after you justify supporting him, even while his team falls to fewer scholarship players than slots on the starting roster, and we've heard hide nor hair?

the_ouskull

[Half a Hundred]

I was going to quote your last few posts and ask you if you were playing dumb to try to get a rise out of people. Then I realized, thanks to that last public display of your command of the language, that you are not, in fact, one of the greatest thespians of our time, but, instead, just dumb.

Oh, and for clarity...

If people are going to bash Kelvin en masse, then I feel like we should have a few more "wtf, Capel?" threads on here, that's all. And, I don't give a sh*t if he speaks about anything related to the ongoing investigations of our former players... I want him to talk about the season that just happened, and the season that is going to be here in only 6ish months.

It was always personality conflicts with Kelvin. Always. People didn't rag on him because he was a bad coach, they ragged on him because he was an obstinate prick. Capel does a much better job of presenting himself than Sampson ever did.


If he wants to (is able to) talk about more than that, great, but where's our explanation for this year? This is the other side of college athletics. Success breeds joy. Failure? Well, welcome to it. So far, with the exception of a deep run thanks to a once-in-a-generation type player, Capel's done very little to show me that he's ready to continue coaching at a major conference school. And, before we slather on the praise in re: his recruiting ability, ask yourself if we've ever been anything that could have even kind of been called a "deep" team since he's been here? Being 10-deep doesn't mean crap if 6 of them can't play, ya know?

the_ouskull

It's just a game. Take a deep breath, and enjoy the game tonight - it should be a good one.

[cheezyq]

This is really a non-thread wondering about a potential future thread matching up with a past thread. To be honest, it's kinda dumb...and I normally respect skull's opinion.

#1 - Kelvin Sampson took over after Tubbs built a solid program from virtually nothing. He had a little to work with to start his OU career. Through his 12 seasons, he did a great job of maintaining that level of performance and building upon it. But in the end, Sampson dug his own grave and put OU in a pretty sizable hole with his recruiting violations.

#2 - Capel comes in as a young coach, having some success at VCU, but inheriting a program in disarray with sanctions and fleeing recruits. While Sampson was taking on a program that was consistently in the Big 8 title race and competing on a national stage, Capel inherited a team that was significantly short on talent. He pieced together a moderate team in his first year. We also have to admit that Blake Griffin saved his hiney for a couple of seasons. Having a player of Blake's caliber is going to mask some problems, and I can totally see how Capel would misjudge players when holding up the standard that the Griffin's set. Plus, the dude has only coached 4 years at OU.

I was never down on Sampson. He put some good runs together with sub-pro talent, proving he's a skilled coach, if not necessarily a skilled recruiter. But cheating is cheating, and he dug his OWN grave.

What excites me about Capel is that he's young and still learning how to coach...but also that he's shown he's capable of digging into the same pool of players that has traditionally been reserved for the elite programs in college basketball. Kelvin never really had that ability or reputation. Given Capel's youth and relative inexperience, I'm willing to give him a pass for whiffing on egotistical selfish bastards like Gallon, Warren and TMG...with the caveat that it helps him evaluate character in the future.

It sucks, and the worst may be yet to come, but in the end I think it's very possible we'll see OU come out MUCH stronger a few years from now.

[starrca23]

Alright my last post on this thread:
Skull I should have clarified that my comments were for 75. It ain't all about you bro. You can have the grammar Nazi title too.
And no, I can't accept Sampson's cheating and maintain that he should be our coach. I didn't say I hate him or couldn't "forgive" him. I just won't tolerate that behavior.

[the_ouskull]

I don't think he should be the coach at OU anymore either... but it pained me, and helped embitter me as a fan, to see the way that everybody just beat the sh*t out of the guy - before the infractions - even though his his played their *sses off and kept winning. And, when we had some offensively-skilled players on the roster, we made a few good runs in the tournament under Sampson - not to mention the conference tournament titles.

People were down on Sampson long before the infractions because he wasn't Billy Tubbs. He wasn't beating exhibition teams by 100 points. He didn't have NBA-caliber talent. (Not so fast, Ryan Minor...) But he DID have a chance to build something of his own. I was at OU for Billy's last years, and Kelvin's first years... the difference was night and day. OU may have still been a football school first, but Kelvin made basketball matter again.

But there were some who couldn't stop rattling off the same "arguments" against Kelvin... the "slow style of play," and the "can't score," and the "can't win in the tournament," even as all of them were disproven by his teams themselves at various times. Man, I'm not just cool with winning. I want to enjoy winning. I enjoyed winning under Sampson in the beginning. When the Drew Lavender's, Brandon Foust's, and Terrell Everett's of the world started showing up, I was enjoying Sooner basketball a lot less.

Anyway, I just feel like Capel has some questions to answer, especially in regards to the future of the program, for which he wont have to mention a single player who may or may not be being investigated for anything they may or may not have done. I also feel like his more ardent defenders have some questions to answer.

But one thing that needs to stop is this whole: "he's still learning how to coach," crap. He grew up in a basketball home, he played the game at the highest levels himself, and he's been a head coach at the Division-I level for eight years now. That's twice as long as Butler's head coach, and they have no Hamburger All-Stars on their team... How much experience do you need?

the_ouskull

[Scott D]

well skull, one thing that kind of sticks out in the Sampson v. Capel argument is that Sampson breathed basketball for pretty much his entire life, but he also had 15 years of coaching experience prior to his getting the OU gig, Capel only had 6 years of coaching experience. Hell, even Billy Tubbs had well over a decade of coaching under his belt before he left Lamar for OU.

Hell one could make the argument that the Jud Heathcoat tree of former assistants has been a hell of a lot more successful than the collective former Coach K kids. I think the bigger difference is that Kelvin got his feet wet in major conference ball with his 7 year stint as the HC at Wazzu, whereas Capel went straight from mid-major land at VCU to the bigtime at OU.

Maybe some of it's deer in headlights, maybe some of it is the same recruiting failures we see at football where he's chasing after 'ratings' rather than recruiting the kind of players that fit the type of system that he wants to run. Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to say "no" to the Keith Gallon's and Tommy Mason-Griffin's of the world because of the success of Blake Griffin. These are things that a young coach has to learn.

You could argue that what has made Butler's HC successful to this point is the same thing that makes Mark Few successful year after year. He's recruiting the players that fit the system that he wants to run. They might not be the all world playground 'ballers' that catch everyone's eye...but they're the fundamentally sound kids that can play the style of basketball that fits the way their coaches coach.

That's the crossroads that Capel is at now in my opinion. His quick ascent is probably the thing that has hurt him the most in his time at OU, and he's probably being forced to adjust his learning curve a lot more than he probably should have if he'd been allowed to develop as a coach in much the same way his two predecessors were able to develop their coaching styles and recruiting methodology. It just remains to be seen as to whether he'll be able to handle it and make the adjustment, or if he's going to flame out like every other "Dookie" to try to make it at a major conference. Right now arguably, the best coach out of that bunch is Tommy Amaker (spent 11 years as an assistant), and he's been slightly above mediocre in his career, but hell even HE has a ton more coaching experience than Jeff Capel at this stage.

[OU_Sooners75]

You can have the spelling bee title, that's fine. I'll stand by my points though. To even imply you would rather have Coach Cal is not acceptable to me as a Sooner. Cheating is never acceptable. To imply that you would rather cheat and win makes it seem as though you are okay with cheating. Be less ambiguous and maybe a simpleton like me can follow along. Last, you haven't been around enough AAU tourneys to really know how limited coaches are with players. Kids know it is a meat market and to be on their best behavior. I don't care how many games they see, a kid is going to act different when Coach K or Coach Capel is sitting in the stands. Conversely, Coach V yelling in your face or telling you that guy whipped you gives him the opportunity to test their character up close and personal. i can forgive Capel's bad season IF he turns it around. We all make mistakes. I can't accept Kelvin's cheating. That is why you guys are dissapointed that more people aren't on Capel. If we find out he is a cheater, than I am done with him too.

Do not get me wrong Einstein, I do not condone cheating. However, from all reports we had, what 2, kids on our team this year that took some money...and we still lost.

As far as Capel turning it around after a bad season...well this track record says no at this point while he has been here at OU.

The first season he was here, he had to deal with a depleted roster. I forgave him of that.

His next two years he had a phenom named Blake Griffin that led the team. He also had another NBA drafted player in Taylor Griffin.

Last year, he had 3 McD AAs and could not win with them. Hell, I can accept losing...but we were not even competitive in quite a few of our losses last year.

Capel may be young, but he has been a Head Coach now for 8+ years. He has had plenty of time to work on his coaching abilities and how to evaluate, not only a players skill, but their character too.

So far he is not showing he very capable. However, I will stand behind him. He is our coach and I believe he may be able to turn this thing around. Last season was a very hard learning season in his coaching career.

However, If we endure one or more years like last season, he will not be with OU very much longer. He, with the help of HIS players, have turned our program into the laughing stock of the Big 12!

[Clever Trevor]

nm