Rhino
7/23/2007, 01:32 PM
Capel Breaks Down Hoops Roster (http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/070507aad.html)
The head coach comments on each his 13 players.
July 5, 2007
NORMAN, Okla. - With a 12-man roster, Jeff Capel is looking forward to his second season as OU men's basketball head coach. The seven returning players from last year and a highly regarded five-person newcomer class have Capel and his staff chomping at the bit to get started on the 2007-08 campaign.
The staff won't get a good look at the Sooners until late August when they begin practicing for a Labor Day Weekend trip to Vancouver, Canada, where they will play four exhibition games against local universities.
To help familiarize fans with the 2007-08 squad, Capel recently sat down with SoonerSports.com to break down the roster. Below are his comments on each player.
Longar Longar (Senior, Center)
"He had a good year last season and showed some good signs. We're expecting big things from Longar and I think he can have a very good senior year for us. From what I hear, he's been working hard this summer. He continues to add weight and get stronger, which will benefit him tremendously. I thought he made very good progress last season and now he's excited about his last year and going out with a bang."
David Godbold (Senior, Guard)
"David's been a constant in this program for three years, kind of a utility guy who does a little of everything. He usually guards the other team's best perimeter player. I think he has the potential to be better offensively. That's something he has to work at, though, and he has to become more assertive. Not just as a player, but as a leader. He's the most experienced player we have and the team will lean on that experience."
Taylor Griffin (Junior, Forward)
"Taylor had some moments last year when he was very good. Having the experience of last year -- playing in every game and starting a lot of them -- will help him as a junior. He has physical gifts that you just can't teach. He's a good defender and I think he can be a good offensive player. Taylor just needs to be confident in Taylor all the time. He needs to allow the game to come naturally and not over think things. When he did that last year, he was very good."
Austin Johnson (Junior, Guard)
"A.J. played very well in some games early last season, some of them against good teams. When we played Memphis and Purdue, I thought he was steady. Unfortunately, he had some illnesses and injuries. We need A.J. to be better. We need him to be tougher, more serious about becoming a good player. If he does that, he has the chance to be a really good guard in this league. He's talented, he has a good feel for the game and, because of his length, can create some havoc defensively."
Omar Leary (Junior, Guard)
"We're excited about Omar and excited to get him here and start working with him. We think he'll provide depth at the point guard position and he'll have a chance to contend for a starting spot. He's won everywhere he's been and there's a good reason for that. He has good leadership qualities, he can shoot the ball and he can pass it. He also has the chance to be a good defender. I'm excited about getting the chance to coach him."
Ryan Wright (Junior, Forward)
"Ryan is very athletic. He's a little raw offensively, so I think a year off after transferring from UCLA will be the best thing that happens for Ryan in his career. He'll be able to work with us every day and we expect him to be a great practice player and a very hard worker. He really wants to be good and because of that I think he'll be a very good listener. He has a great body, is strong and comes from an environment of winning. Hopefully the experiences he's already had in college will rub off and help our program. I think he also has a chance to be a good leader."
Keith Clark (Sophomore, Forward)
"Moose is very talented. It's going to be interesting to see how he recovers from his knee injury. I have no doubt that he will be 100 percent -- and maybe even better -- physically. But anytime someone suffers an injury like he did, you worry about the mental hurdle they have to clear. He was starting to play really well last year when he got hurt. He's an inside-outside type guy who can shoot the ball and can pass it. He has a good skill package. Once he's able to get back to playing this summer, he needs to dedicate himself to getting in great shape and working on his game. He hasn't played basketball since Dec. 28. We know there's going to be some rust, but we hope we can get that out of him and he can be the player we all think he can become for us."
Tony Crocker (Sophomore, Guard)
"I thought Tony had a good freshman year and showed flashes of brilliance. He's an athletic wing who surprisingly led our team in 3-point field goal percentage. His shooting was probably a question going into the year but he shot it well. He has the ability to slash, and I thought he was a very good rebounder and defender for us. He needs to improve his ball handling and continue to work on expanding his shooting range. If he can do that, he can make the jump from a good player as a freshman to a very good player as a sophomore."
Beau Gerber (Sophomore, Forward)
"Beau is a guy I love. He's one of my favorites. He's one of the hardest workers on our team and he's a great teammate. He will do anything asked of him. He loves being at the University of Oklahoma and he's a young man who can really help us. I have no reservations about putting him in a game. He knows all of our stuff, he knows how we do things. He's a great communicator and is more or less what you want all your players to be like."
Cade Davis (Freshman, Guard)
"We're really excited about Cade. He has great leadership qualities. I think he already has a Big 12-ready body. I like his ability to shoot the ball, I really like his athleticism and I love his willingness to compete. Cade loves to play; he's a ballplayer. He's not afraid to work, he's not afraid of being physical and we expect him to be a very good player in this program."
Blake Griffin (Freshman, Forward)
"Blake is the most heralded of our newcomers. He's got a Big 12-ready body. He has the chance to be a really, really good player, an impact player on both ends of the floor. I think he has really good leadership qualities. I love everything about Blake. One of the things that people might not realize is how good of a passer he is and how well he can handle the ball. People who have watched him play in high school or in AAU probably didn't see that because he was constantly double- and triple-teamed. He's very skilled for his size. A lot of people just see power when they look at his body. But I love his ability to pass and dribble, so we'll use him in different spots on the floor. His bread and butter, though, will be around the basket."
Tony Neysmith (Freshman, Guard)
"Tony's a guy who comes from a winning tradition at Norcross High School in Georgia. I think he has the chance to be a very good basketball player. I like his size at the guard spot, I like his athletic ability. He has a good feel for the game and has an opportunity to be a very good defender. He's one of those guards who can play just about anywhere on the floor. We'll use him at point some but he can also play off the ball and create some things. He can get out and run on the wing and finish in transition at the rim. He can come in and contribute right away."
The head coach comments on each his 13 players.
July 5, 2007
NORMAN, Okla. - With a 12-man roster, Jeff Capel is looking forward to his second season as OU men's basketball head coach. The seven returning players from last year and a highly regarded five-person newcomer class have Capel and his staff chomping at the bit to get started on the 2007-08 campaign.
The staff won't get a good look at the Sooners until late August when they begin practicing for a Labor Day Weekend trip to Vancouver, Canada, where they will play four exhibition games against local universities.
To help familiarize fans with the 2007-08 squad, Capel recently sat down with SoonerSports.com to break down the roster. Below are his comments on each player.
Longar Longar (Senior, Center)
"He had a good year last season and showed some good signs. We're expecting big things from Longar and I think he can have a very good senior year for us. From what I hear, he's been working hard this summer. He continues to add weight and get stronger, which will benefit him tremendously. I thought he made very good progress last season and now he's excited about his last year and going out with a bang."
David Godbold (Senior, Guard)
"David's been a constant in this program for three years, kind of a utility guy who does a little of everything. He usually guards the other team's best perimeter player. I think he has the potential to be better offensively. That's something he has to work at, though, and he has to become more assertive. Not just as a player, but as a leader. He's the most experienced player we have and the team will lean on that experience."
Taylor Griffin (Junior, Forward)
"Taylor had some moments last year when he was very good. Having the experience of last year -- playing in every game and starting a lot of them -- will help him as a junior. He has physical gifts that you just can't teach. He's a good defender and I think he can be a good offensive player. Taylor just needs to be confident in Taylor all the time. He needs to allow the game to come naturally and not over think things. When he did that last year, he was very good."
Austin Johnson (Junior, Guard)
"A.J. played very well in some games early last season, some of them against good teams. When we played Memphis and Purdue, I thought he was steady. Unfortunately, he had some illnesses and injuries. We need A.J. to be better. We need him to be tougher, more serious about becoming a good player. If he does that, he has the chance to be a really good guard in this league. He's talented, he has a good feel for the game and, because of his length, can create some havoc defensively."
Omar Leary (Junior, Guard)
"We're excited about Omar and excited to get him here and start working with him. We think he'll provide depth at the point guard position and he'll have a chance to contend for a starting spot. He's won everywhere he's been and there's a good reason for that. He has good leadership qualities, he can shoot the ball and he can pass it. He also has the chance to be a good defender. I'm excited about getting the chance to coach him."
Ryan Wright (Junior, Forward)
"Ryan is very athletic. He's a little raw offensively, so I think a year off after transferring from UCLA will be the best thing that happens for Ryan in his career. He'll be able to work with us every day and we expect him to be a great practice player and a very hard worker. He really wants to be good and because of that I think he'll be a very good listener. He has a great body, is strong and comes from an environment of winning. Hopefully the experiences he's already had in college will rub off and help our program. I think he also has a chance to be a good leader."
Keith Clark (Sophomore, Forward)
"Moose is very talented. It's going to be interesting to see how he recovers from his knee injury. I have no doubt that he will be 100 percent -- and maybe even better -- physically. But anytime someone suffers an injury like he did, you worry about the mental hurdle they have to clear. He was starting to play really well last year when he got hurt. He's an inside-outside type guy who can shoot the ball and can pass it. He has a good skill package. Once he's able to get back to playing this summer, he needs to dedicate himself to getting in great shape and working on his game. He hasn't played basketball since Dec. 28. We know there's going to be some rust, but we hope we can get that out of him and he can be the player we all think he can become for us."
Tony Crocker (Sophomore, Guard)
"I thought Tony had a good freshman year and showed flashes of brilliance. He's an athletic wing who surprisingly led our team in 3-point field goal percentage. His shooting was probably a question going into the year but he shot it well. He has the ability to slash, and I thought he was a very good rebounder and defender for us. He needs to improve his ball handling and continue to work on expanding his shooting range. If he can do that, he can make the jump from a good player as a freshman to a very good player as a sophomore."
Beau Gerber (Sophomore, Forward)
"Beau is a guy I love. He's one of my favorites. He's one of the hardest workers on our team and he's a great teammate. He will do anything asked of him. He loves being at the University of Oklahoma and he's a young man who can really help us. I have no reservations about putting him in a game. He knows all of our stuff, he knows how we do things. He's a great communicator and is more or less what you want all your players to be like."
Cade Davis (Freshman, Guard)
"We're really excited about Cade. He has great leadership qualities. I think he already has a Big 12-ready body. I like his ability to shoot the ball, I really like his athleticism and I love his willingness to compete. Cade loves to play; he's a ballplayer. He's not afraid to work, he's not afraid of being physical and we expect him to be a very good player in this program."
Blake Griffin (Freshman, Forward)
"Blake is the most heralded of our newcomers. He's got a Big 12-ready body. He has the chance to be a really, really good player, an impact player on both ends of the floor. I think he has really good leadership qualities. I love everything about Blake. One of the things that people might not realize is how good of a passer he is and how well he can handle the ball. People who have watched him play in high school or in AAU probably didn't see that because he was constantly double- and triple-teamed. He's very skilled for his size. A lot of people just see power when they look at his body. But I love his ability to pass and dribble, so we'll use him in different spots on the floor. His bread and butter, though, will be around the basket."
Tony Neysmith (Freshman, Guard)
"Tony's a guy who comes from a winning tradition at Norcross High School in Georgia. I think he has the chance to be a very good basketball player. I like his size at the guard spot, I like his athletic ability. He has a good feel for the game and has an opportunity to be a very good defender. He's one of those guards who can play just about anywhere on the floor. We'll use him at point some but he can also play off the ball and create some things. He can get out and run on the wing and finish in transition at the rim. He can come in and contribute right away."