Bigtime couldn't state how I feel more clearly.
I would only add that until last year, I was pleased with the coaching and thought that we were a well coached team.
Jeff lost last years team. Frankly, that is about the worst thing you can say about a coach, e.g. that he lost a team. But, that is the truth.
Personally, I would have never turned our program over to a person as inexperianced and young as Capel. But, joe did that and when you hire someone as young as capel I think you have to expect some youthful mistakes and growth to occur. He was not going to be a finished coaching product when hired due to his youth.
Hopefully, he will learn from his mistakes, grow as a coach, and get this program back on track sooner rather than later. If Osby, Goff and Taylor are decent, we could be back on track next year.
It is my impression that the very thing many on this board loved about Jeff, e.g. I can recruit with anyone for anyone, has been his undoing. He has constantly reached for the stars, only to find himself grabbing scraps off the floor or, worse yet, grabbing stars that were detrimental to the program. Jeff has constantly taken academic risks to get high level athletes, e.g. Maze, Early, Cannon, Clark, Patillo, and TMG. This has left him constantly lacking depth and having to find last minute players that can contribute.
Just my opinion, but he needs to recruit an adequate number of rank and file players from the OKla/Tex/Kansas area that are obtainable and that can stay eligible and then go after a few great players to complement these kids. He needs to get out of the cycle of having to replace his entire lineup each year.
Bottom line, I hope the kids play hard this year. I don't expect them to win much and the reason I don't expect much is that I don't think we are very good. Provided Capel doesn't lose this team, I want to see what he puts on the floor next year and then I will decide whether he has a future here in my opinion. If he can't be competitive against good teams next year, I will probably (there could be some situations arise out of his control) want Joe to go in a different direction. I know some are not this patience but I think it is fair considering the circumstances and the number of lives effected by a change in staffs.
