runner1182
5/4/2006, 10:48 AM
OUInsider.com caught up with McDonald's All-American point guard and former Sooner signee Scottie Reynolds Wednesday night to get the latest on his trip to LSU, future trips and current thoughts on the Sooners.
JH: How was your visit to LSU?
SR: “It was good. They had a pretty campus and the guys are real close. That is what I look for in a team. The coach has a good fellowship with the team and that is something else I look for. I had a great time.”
JH: What did you think about the team itself and the opportunity for you as a guard at LSU?
SR: “They have a lot of athletic guys, especially big guys. Big Baby (Glenn Davis) is a great post player and they are very athletic inside. It is really a great opportunity for me because their big guys can create so many opportunities for the guards, both for assists and in scoring opportunities. LSU is just a very athletic team. They have the type of team, offensively, where as a unit they can have great success.”
JH: Do they have a need for a point guard at LSU like they do at Oklahoma or some of the other schools you are looking at?
SR: “They have Tack Minor there and he is a good player. He was hurt for them last year. That is really the only guy. I think I could go somewhere else and be a bigger impact on that team. I think that would be the case at Oklahoma, Michigan or Illinois or some other team that really has that deep need. I just think LSU has so many other guys and that just helps you out tremendously.”
JH: So you are saying that the competition there would actually be a benefit for you?
SR: “That's right.”
JH: Who else do you plan on visiting at this point?
SR: “I was going to go to Illinois this week, but it is not going to work out. I am visiting Villanova next weekend.”
JH: Will Villanova be your last visit? SR: “Right now I have not set anything up after that. I have to go week-by-week, so after I get back from Villanova we will see where I stand and go from there.”
JH: How much are you in contact with Coach Capel at Oklahoma?
SR: “With everything going on it is hard to be in contact all the time. We have a good relationship when we talk. It is hard right now to talk every day. I haven’t talked to him in a little bit, but you can’t knock your first love.”
JH: So are you saying that Oklahoma is still in it? Or honestly at this point does Oklahoma have no chance with you?
SR: “I disagree with those that say OU has no chance, but at the same time a lot of things have changed over in Norman. It is not just with Coach Capel, but with players that were coming in like Damion (James) and Jeremy (Mayfield). Things have kind of shifted a little bit. Does that play a roll in it? Definitely. Because those were my guys who I have been with, and those are my boys you know. So that definitely plays a part.”
JH: Do you think if you came back into the fold at OU that they would come back into the fold?
SR: “I believe so. I really believe so. In talking to Damion, that is a fair assumption. Yes sir.”
JH: So is that something that you two are discussing? And what other options do you to have to play together outside of Oklahoma?
SR: “It is tough right now being so late in the game. It would be hard for us to go somewhere, but it could happen. We could go somewhere together, but I don’t know if both of us would be happy. We both understand that. Damion have talked about that. I love that man, I love that boy. You know what I am saying? But we both have to do what is best for each other.”
JH: Well, let me play devils advocate then because what is so hard to understand for anybody following this or looking at it from the Oklahoma standpoint is that both of you could play at OU. So if playing together is so important then what is stopping you from playing together at OU?
SR: “Each of us has different feelings. Each of us has different relationships with Coach Capel. I, personally, feel I have probably the best relationship with him. I don’t really know about the other guys. That is just my personal opinion. With that being said, that is a big thing. Each of the players has their own kind of feelings and I don’t know what that feeling is. You can’t really describe them.
"It is just a feeling thing and you can’t knock anybody for feeling that way. That goes for me too. I feel a certain way and I can’t help that. I would love to be in Norman. I would love to not go through the things I have been through the past month. It is not an easy thing and it is not an easy decision, especially when you have been dedicated to a school for a year or so.”
JH: Has there been any effort made to get Coach Capel, you and Damion on the phone at the same time to see if anything can be worked out?
SR: “That is always a possibility. Let me say that the first time you meet somebody plays a big part in how somebody responds to you. I know how that is with me, but I don’t know how that is with the other recruits.”
JH: How does your recruiting stand as we speak?
SR: “I need to visit one or two more schools to compare things a little bit more. I think it would be unfair for me to not do that. I think I need to see the other campuses and to see those things so I can compare.”
JH: After Villanova, who do you really think the last school will be that you visit?
SR: “I don’t know. Maybe Wake Forest, Illinois or Michigan.” taken from sooner illustrated
JH: How was your visit to LSU?
SR: “It was good. They had a pretty campus and the guys are real close. That is what I look for in a team. The coach has a good fellowship with the team and that is something else I look for. I had a great time.”
JH: What did you think about the team itself and the opportunity for you as a guard at LSU?
SR: “They have a lot of athletic guys, especially big guys. Big Baby (Glenn Davis) is a great post player and they are very athletic inside. It is really a great opportunity for me because their big guys can create so many opportunities for the guards, both for assists and in scoring opportunities. LSU is just a very athletic team. They have the type of team, offensively, where as a unit they can have great success.”
JH: Do they have a need for a point guard at LSU like they do at Oklahoma or some of the other schools you are looking at?
SR: “They have Tack Minor there and he is a good player. He was hurt for them last year. That is really the only guy. I think I could go somewhere else and be a bigger impact on that team. I think that would be the case at Oklahoma, Michigan or Illinois or some other team that really has that deep need. I just think LSU has so many other guys and that just helps you out tremendously.”
JH: So you are saying that the competition there would actually be a benefit for you?
SR: “That's right.”
JH: Who else do you plan on visiting at this point?
SR: “I was going to go to Illinois this week, but it is not going to work out. I am visiting Villanova next weekend.”
JH: Will Villanova be your last visit? SR: “Right now I have not set anything up after that. I have to go week-by-week, so after I get back from Villanova we will see where I stand and go from there.”
JH: How much are you in contact with Coach Capel at Oklahoma?
SR: “With everything going on it is hard to be in contact all the time. We have a good relationship when we talk. It is hard right now to talk every day. I haven’t talked to him in a little bit, but you can’t knock your first love.”
JH: So are you saying that Oklahoma is still in it? Or honestly at this point does Oklahoma have no chance with you?
SR: “I disagree with those that say OU has no chance, but at the same time a lot of things have changed over in Norman. It is not just with Coach Capel, but with players that were coming in like Damion (James) and Jeremy (Mayfield). Things have kind of shifted a little bit. Does that play a roll in it? Definitely. Because those were my guys who I have been with, and those are my boys you know. So that definitely plays a part.”
JH: Do you think if you came back into the fold at OU that they would come back into the fold?
SR: “I believe so. I really believe so. In talking to Damion, that is a fair assumption. Yes sir.”
JH: So is that something that you two are discussing? And what other options do you to have to play together outside of Oklahoma?
SR: “It is tough right now being so late in the game. It would be hard for us to go somewhere, but it could happen. We could go somewhere together, but I don’t know if both of us would be happy. We both understand that. Damion have talked about that. I love that man, I love that boy. You know what I am saying? But we both have to do what is best for each other.”
JH: Well, let me play devils advocate then because what is so hard to understand for anybody following this or looking at it from the Oklahoma standpoint is that both of you could play at OU. So if playing together is so important then what is stopping you from playing together at OU?
SR: “Each of us has different feelings. Each of us has different relationships with Coach Capel. I, personally, feel I have probably the best relationship with him. I don’t really know about the other guys. That is just my personal opinion. With that being said, that is a big thing. Each of the players has their own kind of feelings and I don’t know what that feeling is. You can’t really describe them.
"It is just a feeling thing and you can’t knock anybody for feeling that way. That goes for me too. I feel a certain way and I can’t help that. I would love to be in Norman. I would love to not go through the things I have been through the past month. It is not an easy thing and it is not an easy decision, especially when you have been dedicated to a school for a year or so.”
JH: Has there been any effort made to get Coach Capel, you and Damion on the phone at the same time to see if anything can be worked out?
SR: “That is always a possibility. Let me say that the first time you meet somebody plays a big part in how somebody responds to you. I know how that is with me, but I don’t know how that is with the other recruits.”
JH: How does your recruiting stand as we speak?
SR: “I need to visit one or two more schools to compare things a little bit more. I think it would be unfair for me to not do that. I think I need to see the other campuses and to see those things so I can compare.”
JH: After Villanova, who do you really think the last school will be that you visit?
SR: “I don’t know. Maybe Wake Forest, Illinois or Michigan.” taken from sooner illustrated