Very quietly, a THIRD post-season college basketball tournament was started two years ago-- the CBI (College Basketball Invitational). Someone out there decided that getting invited to the NIT wasn't quite insulting enough...they felt the need to form a tourney for those NIT bubble teams that just missed the cut. Tulsa won it two years ago. Oregon State won it last year. What-- you don't remember the parade carried live on ESPNews? (I will say that I do really like the best 2 out 3 format when it gets down to two teams).
Ladies and gentlemen, now might be a good time to brush up on your CBI knowledge, because your Oklahoma Sooners may be heading there this year......if they qualify.
I've always wanted to attend a game an OU-OSU game in Stillwater and all of these years living in OK, I had never been inside Gallagher-Iba. With it being a Saturday afternoon game, I figured now was a good opportunity. I felt a little worse about it after our loss Tuesday night. But My Dad, my friend Terry, and myself still decided to make the short trip. On our way there, we heard the news about Willie having mono and Tiny getting suspended. We all look at each other like, "wanna turn around?" but we kept going, passing nothing along the way, headed right into the armpit of Oklahoma.
It takes me all of about 9 seconds to remember why I go so long in between trips to Stillwater. For now, I'll be nice and save my insults for our team. Althought I did see one dude wearing an orange button-down with a black vest and a HUGE black cowboy hat....it was the real life Pistol Pete!
No real sense in "breaking down" the game itself. It was a nightmare. We were competent for about 10 minutes and then the bottom fell out.
This season has had it all in terms of negativity. We've hurt ourselves on the floor. We've hurt ourselves off the floor. We've battled illness. We've battled injury. We've battled selfishness. We've battled laziness. And honestly, we've also battled some bad luck. We've caught teams on hot nights, in bad situations, the list goes on and on. OSU was on fire tonight, and even though we lacked the mental toughness to hang in there, there simply wasn't a whole lot we were going to do with Nick Sedorkis tossing in three's and James Anderson having one of the best games of his career-- it makes no sense that that guy has so many "eh" games-- he is an incredibly gifted player and in my opinion, not only a lottery pick, but worthy of the top 10.
It's hard to say what the injuries, suspensions, and illnesses "cost" us this year. I can't really quantify it. All I know is that for whatever reason, Capel has almost never had a full arsenal all set to go on the same night.
The Texas win marked the high point of the season and it appeared as if we'd have a good opportunity to make the season worth something...then 4 hours later, the momentum is derailed by two knucklehead freshmen. Then Willie gets mono, Tiny gets suspended, and we get destroyed by the Pokes. Awesome.
Once again in the post-game interview as Bob Barry Sr. tried to toss Capel giant softballs, the coach pulled no punches. He made no excuses and called our team "weak." It's honestly too late for him to do any real "fixing" this year. The challenge for Capel will be in how he handles this off-season going forward. Does he chase guys off? Does he get them to buy in? We have two more highly touted players coming in next year....do they come in and have the same issues?
I've said it all along, I'm willing to give Capel a mulligan on this season based on what he did his first three years here. Clearly, he made some miscalculations heading into this year and then was tossed a nice heap of bad luck on top of it. Whatever he's tried to do, hasn't worked. It's a failed season. I have faith he will make it right going forward, but if the same things creep up next year, it will be time to point a much larger finger in his direction.
My faith in this year has been totally destroyed, but I'll still watch to see what they do...hope springs eternal and I'm a fan, so what else am I gonna do? At Colorado Wed. night looks like another loss to me. The Buffs are MUCH better than their record indicates, as they've played VERY tough with some good teams this year including coming one shot away from beating KU in Boulder.
Who knows who will actually suit up for us Wednesday anyway. If they win, I think we stay on the NIT radar...if we lose, it might become CBI or bust....with bust looking more likely.
One good thing from today....as I left the building, amidst the cheering from the orange clad yahoos surrounding me, I did think to myself, "You may have won today, but at least I get to leave."
Originally Posted by Collier11
