PDA

View Full Version : Capel is the real deal



scotplum
2/8/2007, 12:47 AM
As the season winds on the more strongly I feel that we could not have made a better hire than Jeff Capel. His biggest win in his short Sooner career was tonight but we're still nowhere near where he's going to take us in the upcoming years. Great job tonight coach!!

SleestakSooner
2/8/2007, 12:58 AM
As the season winds on the more strongly I feel that we could not have made a better hire than Jeff Capel. His biggest win in his short Sooner career was tonight but we're still nowhere near where he's going to take us in the upcoming years. Great job tonight coach!!

Amen

stoopified
2/8/2007, 01:00 AM
Ditto

IronSooner
2/8/2007, 01:24 AM
I was definitely impressed. Great building block.

King Crimson
2/8/2007, 01:29 AM
I'm pretty happy so far. from all accounts, he did a great job managing the last couple minutes personnel-wise, esp. with Neal a non-factor in the last 10 minutes. can't say enough about Nate Carter.

jdsooner
2/8/2007, 02:14 AM
I picked up a preseason magazine at the store today and we were picked to finish 9th in the Big 12, behind Baylor and Colorado! Capel has done a great job! If we make the NCAA Tournament, he gets my vote for Big 12 coach of the year.

OU_Sooners75
2/8/2007, 07:24 AM
As the season winds on the more strongly I feel that we could not have made a better hire than Jeff Capel. His biggest win in his short Sooner career was tonight but we're still nowhere near where he's going to take us in the upcoming years. Great job tonight coach!!


I do applaud him and the way he has gotten this team turned around since the start of the conference schedule. However, I will also continue to reserve giving him his legitimacy until his recruits take over here at OU.

booomer
2/8/2007, 08:01 AM
I like how he controlled the end of both the T Tech and OSU games with timeouts. He really knows the strengths and weaknesses of his team.

OUSKINS
2/8/2007, 09:02 AM
It's pretty clear that Capel is a great motivator and strategist. What we don't know yet (as 75 mentioned) is how he will do with his recruits. The class looks solid on paper, but a true test for Capel will be how he molds the recruits in with the current roster.

Capel has been able to fly under the radar with this team. No one expected anything from them, and he's basically playing with house money at this point. But with any coach, the pressure will steadily mount, especially once he has more talent.

Capel is off to an A+ start IMO, but there is a long way to go.

okienole3
2/8/2007, 09:13 AM
It's pretty clear that Capel is a great motivator and strategist. What we don't know yet (as 75 mentioned) is how he will do with his recruits. The class looks solid on paper, but a true test for Capel will be how he molds the recruits in with the current roster.

Capel has been able to fly under the radar with this team. No one expected anything from them, and he's basically playing with house money at this point. But with any coach, the pressure will steadily mount, especially once he has more talent.

Capel is off to an A+ start IMO, but there is a long way to go.

I think you can tell already how he will be with recruits. Look at the progress players on this team have made. Carter and Longar are light years ahead of where they were last year (although with Carter I think it might have been a confidence thing more than anything). Also, AJ is turning into a solid PG. Early on, I couldn't figure out what Capel saw in him. Since conference play began, he has become a great game manager. He gets us in good offensive sets and more than anything, he doesn't turn the ball over. In our two biggest games to date, AJ has 10 assists and 2 turnovers (I believe). But, I think the biggest difference is in Michael Neal. He is no long just a jumpshooter. He has become a good passer and can also take it to the rim and create.

OUSKINS
2/8/2007, 09:36 AM
okienole--

No doubt, Capel has done wonders with this crew. Somehow, he and his staff have turned Longar and Carter into a dominant inside force. That's just amazing. And I also agree with your points on AJ and Neal.

But things DO change when expectations rise and the talent becomes more abundant. It's pretty easy for coaches to motivate someone like L2, who clearly needed to be "heavily coached." Things change a bit when you get some big studs on campus-- it's a little bit of a different mind-game. I have no reason AT ALL to believe Capel won't succeed in that as well, but it IS a different story.

lubbocksooner
2/8/2007, 10:20 AM
Not to mention starting to get some productive minutes out of Walker. I think the fatigue was a big factor against osu. Getting AJ some rest with Walker and him not turning the ball over and playing good defense. Not bad, I too wondered "who in the world is Jeff Capel" I think we are getting a good idea of who he is now and I like what I am seeing.

Taxman71
2/8/2007, 10:41 AM
I was impressed with Capel back in December. Our defense is just as good as before he got here, but our offense is light years better and Capel appears to be a natural at relating to his players and fans. A few years from now, we may not be able to keep him here.

The_Red_Patriot
2/8/2007, 10:44 AM
I was impressed with Capel at his introduction.


CAN WE PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS OU/TEX FOOTBAL/OU BASKETBALL TICKET PACAKGES?

ITS KILLING OUR ATTENDANCE!

That and every bandwagon OU fan.

scotplum
2/8/2007, 10:48 AM
I do applaud him and the way he has gotten this team turned around since the start of the conference schedule. However, I will also continue to reserve giving him his legitimacy until his recruits take over here at OU.

That's a fair point. Not only that but wins during tourney time are what makes or breaks a coach as well. I have a good feeling though.

okienole3
2/8/2007, 11:01 AM
Not to mention starting to get some productive minutes out of Walker. I think the fatigue was a big factor against osu. Getting AJ some rest with Walker and him not turning the ball over and playing good defense. Not bad, I too wondered "who in the world is Jeff Capel" I think we are getting a good idea of who he is now and I like what I am seeing.


The minutes with Walker were much more productive against Tech than against OSU. He is scary (bad) with the ball. I would be afraid to ride that train for too long. But, im not a coach.

King Crimson
2/8/2007, 11:23 AM
on the face of it, you have to be impressed with the contributions of Longar, Walker, and Carter....all non factors under Kelvin. I liked Kelvin, but it's hard not to give some credit to the staff for getting these guys to perform at a MUCH higher level (in addition to giving them the latitude to feel comfortable in their own skin on the floor).

it's pretty amazing when you look at it from a production standpoint. I also give a lot of credit to the kids themselves for working hard and keeping their chin up.....but still.

NormanPride
2/8/2007, 11:30 AM
I'm starting to worry that if he keeps doing this well another team will steal him. I hope he keeps winning and bringing this team to higher and higher points, but I also hope Joe C is already working on how to keep this guy here. :D

Taxman71
2/8/2007, 11:30 AM
Bottom line: if Kelvin could recruit high school AA's to OU, I would think Capel could do as well and better. What kid wouldn't want to play for a true baller like Capel, especially considering he doesn't belittle you on national TV.

Grimey
2/9/2007, 10:31 AM
Joe C is looking like a genius yet again. I still go back to that little 64 candidate bracket that was in the paper, and Capel wasn't even mentioned. Amazing!

Rock Hard Corn Frog
2/9/2007, 10:59 AM
The minutes with Walker were much more productive against Tech than against OSU. He is scary (bad) with the ball. I would be afraid to ride that train for too long. But, im not a coach.

Apparently Walker was a good player at his Juco and I've always thought he was a good effort guy and probably a good teammate but I have to be honest, last year I thought they guy was a DII caliber basketball player, maybe borderline DI at a mid-major, small conference school and I would have far rather had Kellen Sampson getting significant minutes. I also never thought I'd see the day when he was on the floor in crunch time against a team like TT or OSU.

I don't know that I still have much confidence in Walker on offense but he has been great on the defensive end and he has certainly improved on taking care of the ball. I give Capel credit for having confidence in him but I also have to give props to Walker for obviously putting in a lot of work because he has come a long way.

King Crimson
2/9/2007, 11:16 AM
if it's there, i'm the biggest Chris Walker fan on planet earth. he seems to value his education and all that. which i think is the primary objective of the university....so it's ****ing great the kid goes on in life with a OU degree and proud of it. but, as a pragmatist, i'm REALLY impressed with Capel's faith in the kid to have him anywhere near the floor in a close game when teams are in the bonus....as bad a FT shooter he is. both Tech and the Pokes, Walker is on the floor in the last couple minutes.

crawfish
2/9/2007, 11:23 AM
The thing that's impressed me about Capel the most is that he lets his players fail on the court. He doesn't immediately pull them when they make a bad decision. I think this has given the entire team confidence and is a BIG reason the team is player very, very smart as of late.

The key to Capel's staying will be how our fans respond to him. I think he should draw bigger crowds than Sampson did, eventually - his style will be much more entertaining. I also think he'll recruit more stars to OU, and that's probably what it will take to get butts in seats at LN.

stoopified
2/9/2007, 11:35 AM
I don't wonder about what Capel can do with HIS players because he had to RE -RECRUIT all these guys after Sampson left.IMHO they ARE ALL his players now.He convinced Crocker and Clark not to jump ship like the TRAMPOLINE THREE (they bounced outta here in a hurry)and he convinced guys like L2.Godbold,and Johnson that THEY could win with him.I still think that the NCAA is a less than 50-50 shot for OU because I think we finsh 17-12 (8-8)or 18-11 (9-7)in the regular season. Given the weakness of the BIG 12 and the fact we have no marquee non-conference wins I think we are NIT bound.

That doesn't mean I don't think Capel hasn't done a great job because I most certainly do.I said in preseason that I thought we could win 17-18 games when most fans were just hoping for 15-16.I stand by my prediction although a 10-6 record with 2 out of 3 wins vs.the trio of UT,KU,aTm) at home ,3 of 4 wins (on the road )vs .KSU,BU,ISU,MU.That is a tall order beating 2 of 3 top 20 teams ,and then winning 3of 4 road games.IF Capel leads OU( which was picked 7,8,9 in the three preseason magazines I saw) to the NCAA tourney he should definitely win some coach of the year honors.I hope my optimistic(seemed so at the time)preseason prediction is wrong and we make THE BIG DANCE.NIT or NCAA Capel has done more with less than ayone expected.Boomer Sooner baby.

SleestakSooner
2/9/2007, 01:31 PM
Bottom line: if Kelvin could recruit high school AA's to OU, I would think Capel could do as well and better. What kid wouldn't want to play for a true baller like Capel, especially considering he doesn't belittle you on national TV.

This and the more upbeat offensive style are what I see as the main differences between what we had in Sampson and what we got with Capel.

Kelvin would see a kid make a mistake on the floor and immediately bench him and proceed to scream at him so loudly and vehemently that you'd think he was Bill Cower yelling at a ref. This would kill the confidence of all but the most self-confident kids. This was why we had so many transfers and underachievers during the Sampson era.

Capel allows the kids to play, reserves the brutal screaming in your face BS for practice (does anyone wonder why Maze hasn't played a minute in the last few games?) and acts more like a part of the team than a field general. The players react better to him and I think the future recruits will as well.

okienole3
2/9/2007, 01:45 PM
I remember that first season and the victory against OSU in overtime to close out the home schedule undefeated. The fans stormed the court and the players and Sampson were a part of the celebration. As time went on, something changed with his relationship with the fans. I think it was the constant wondering if he was staying or going, during the early years. I also think he developed a little bit of a negative attitude.

As for Capel, after a slow, slow start, the fans are really beginning to warm up to him. At the last two games, the crowd has given him nice ovations as he walked out of the tunnel. Also, he has waived his arms to get the crowd pumped up. I really think that we got a good one. If we can somehow win these next two road games, then I think the crowd will really show up for A&M like we haven't seen in a while. I think it will be a good crowd regardless, but if we keep this thing rolling, then A&M better look out.

NormanPride
2/9/2007, 02:09 PM
Sampson hated us because we called him out for playing boring basketball.