A couple of thoughts that are really bugging me

[BigTime]

yet we have as tu put it:

"This team desperately needs for Capel to stop filling a roster with Allen/Fitz/Honore/Hardrick types. It is ludicrous for OU to have four scholarships going to such mediocre players."

and i was told capel has and incredible eye for talent.

It is obvious that Hardrick was brought here only to honor his scholarship that he had on the table since he was in 8th grade (a Sampson offer). Capel wanted to keep an Oklahoma kid from Athletes First. Not a bad idea to try and not piss off the current only legit Oklahoma AAU club by telling a longtime commit to take a hike as one of your first moves on the job. So Capel honors scholarships? I personally like that about him.

Honore is a walk-on. Orlando was brought on as a project. Fitz is a true freshman.

I wanted two JUCOs/Prep kids/international players that love to rebound and defend. They could be terrible on offense (probably the reason for them to still be available at that late stage).

 

[SoonerfanTU]

ok so lets go back to 4 years ago and skip out on capel.
we don't get Blake, Willie, Cam, TJ, Tiny, TMG.
I understand now.

Do you really not think we end up with ANY player on that level? Because I promise you we would have. So it might not have been those 6. We'd have still signed 6 good players.

 

[campbest]

The fact that Allen/Hardrick/Wright are all taking up scholarships is an absolute joke. I can fathom having one of them on a free ride so give me Wright (senior) and get rid of the other two, they have no business in the Big XII.

Everyone talks about integrity when dealing with scholarships, but if I am Capel I bring Hardrick into my office and shoot him straight, hook him up with a very solid Division II or low-level Division I. If he wants to be a Sooner that bad, he can pay his way like Gerber has.

 

[BigTime]

The fact that Allen/Hardrick/Wright are all taking up scholarships is an absolute joke. I can fathom having one of them on a free ride so give me Wright (senior) and get rid of the other two, they have no business in the Big XII.

Everyone talks about integrity when dealing with scholarships, but if I am Capel I bring Hardrick into my office and shoot him straight, hook him up with a very solid Division II or low-level Division I. If he wants to be a Sooner that bad, he can pay his way like Gerber has.

How many times are you going to bag on Hardrick? He is not the problem. We had two other ships...

 

[campbest]

Top end talent.

I've complained about every class when it came to the rest of the players. Outside of Pledger, I haven't been to impressed with any second tier recruits Capel has brought in. And I've been consistent with that opinion.

Exactly, programs are made on these types of players. The superstars come and go quickly, but is the four year guys which give your program a pedigree. Pledger definitely fits this roll.

 

[SoonerMatt27]

Do you really not think we end up with ANY player on that level? Because I promise you we would have. So it might not have been those 6. We'd have still signed 6 good players.

Maybe, but I'm not giving up on Capel, we're not even half way into the season and everyone is seeing this season as a failure. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I'm happy to be where we are at right now compared to when Kelvin left.

 

[BigTime]

Maybe, but I'm not giving up on Capel, we're not even half way into the season and everyone is seeing this season as a failure. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I'm happy to be where we are at right now compared to when Kelvin left.

I am far from giving up on anything. But how can you not be frustrated with the fact that Coach Capel and his staff didn't bring in another couple of post players? I am allowed to be upset with a move that he made/failed to make without giving up on the season.

Willie is really the reason that I am pissed. Don't even get me started with Willie right now.

 

[campbest]

How many times are you going to bag on Hardrick? He is not the problem. We had two other ships...

Not bagging Hardrick, bagging Capel for offering him and not going out to sign a physical post player. Makes no sense to shoot the other two straight, Wright is graduating and Allen will be a senior which gives you one big body in practice for competition (every team has one). Fitz is a frosh, he gets a free pass.

I'm just offering up a suggestion to remedy a problem with post depth. We haven't signed a post for this class yet, is anybody else concerned? Honore seems decent, but he isn't the answer either.

 

[campbest]

Willie is really the reason that I am pissed. Don't even get me started with Willie right now.

Have to echo that statement.

 

[BigTime]

Not bagging Hardrick, bagging Capel for offering him and not going out to sign a physical post player. Makes no sense to shoot the other two straight, Wright is graduating and Allen will be a senior which gives you one big body in practice for competition (every team has one). Fitz is a frosh, he gets a free pass.

I'm just offering up a suggestion to remedy a problem with post depth. We haven't signed a post for this class yet, is anybody else concerned? Honore seems decent, but he isn't the answer either.

Hardrick had an offer long before Capel got here. He had already committed to the program. Don't let Capel's "offer" fool you. It was a foregone conclusion. Again, you don't want to piss off AF when you are in the hunt for Daniel Orton and you are trying to wrap up Blake Griffin.

Again, we had two additional scholarships to get bigs. Hardrick is not the problem. There are more than enough college hoops schollys to have a guy like Hardrick on your bench. He is not the problem.

 

[playmakr]

Hardrick had an offer long before Capel got here. He had already committed to the program.

Are you sure?

 

[BigTime]

Are you sure?

Yes sir. Positive.

 

[playmakr]

Yes sir. Positive.

Your contention is that Hardrick committed when Sampson was still the coach? I remember him committing after Capel came. Maybe early summer of 2006?

To say Sampson was recruiting him was accurate, but to say he committed to Kelvin I don't think is right.

 

[Tony]

Hardrick had an offer long before Capel got here. He had already committed to the program. Don't let Capel's "offer" fool you. It was a foregone conclusion. Again, you don't want to piss off AF when you are in the hunt for Daniel Orton and you are trying to wrap up Blake Griffin.

Again, we had two additional scholarships to get bigs. Hardrick is not the problem. There are more than enough college hoops schollys to have a guy like Hardrick on your bench. He is not the problem.

Are you implying that Capel would not have offered Kyle Hardrick had Sampson not done so before? That does not sound right to me at all.

He was pretty highly thought of at least into his sophomore season.

 

[BigTime]

Your contention is that Hardrick committed when Sampson was still the coach? I remember him committing after Capel came.

Right. That was his official commitment. He had already committed to Oklahoma when Coach Sampson was at the helm. In fact, the reason for his move from Lawton was to be closer to the program. He was a Sooner for life from the very start.

 

[playmakr]

Are you implying that Capel would not have offered Kyle Hardrick had Sampson not done so before? That does not sound right to me at all.

He was pretty highly thought of at least into his sophomore season.

I still recall Hardrick committing when Capel was the coach. We can't just say oh well he was already on board when Capel got here.

 

[MO]

I don't understand the WW bashing. Willie is a terrific player, but average shooter. He's a point guard talent not playing the position and consequently not learning the position.

Also, I tried to make the point weeks ago that WW looked frustrated because the players around him weren't as good. Nobody likes that statement, but the players around WW not being as good, is fact. So, here is the tough question, if that assessment of WW is accurate how can any of you blame him when everyone here is obviously down on this team and acting out their own frustrations?

 

[playmakr]

Right. That was his official commitment. He had already committed to Oklahoma when Coach Sampson was at the helm. In fact, the reason for his move from Lawton was to be closer to the program. He was a Sooner for life from the very start.

So he was a silent commitment? Capel was required to honor that?

 

[Tony]

I still recall Hardrick committing when Capel was the coach. We can't just say oh well he was already on board when Capel got here.

Oh yes, I agree with that. This is the first I have every heard anyone say that Hardrick committed to anyone but Coach Capel.

 

[BigTime]

Are you implying that Capel would not have offered Kyle Hardrick had Sampson not done so before? That does not sound right to me at all.

He was pretty highly thought of at least into his sophomore season.

That is exactly what I was saying. While he was still highly thought of on the national scene, those that cover Oklahoma athletics already knew that he wasn't going to grow and that he was a major work in progress. It was a classic case of an 8th grader expected to be a "7 footer" that a program decided to take a chance on.

Now I don't know for sure if Capel would have eventually decided to take him or not but it doesn't make sense that he would have because it was really obvious that Kyle wasn't OU caliber by the summer of his Junior year, and OU was in on a ton of good recruits in that class.

He and Orton were really good friends. Hardrick played on the only legit AAU team in the state. It could have potentially hurt OU in the local recruiting scene if Coach Capel had dropped him.