Blake Griffin was the recruit to bring OU from the bottom

[Seymore Cox]

WW is the recruit that may lead OU to being a strong program years down the line. WW is probably the most looked up kid out of Texas over the last 4 years. He's not of priveledge like Lucas and more relatable to kids in that area. Already, he's delivered us two recruits that weren't even from his AAU program. Next year the top three 2010 prospects in Texas are from his AAU program, and the top 2011 prospects are from the Dallas Metro. Coach Capel said in the article posted tonight that he's already working on recruits. This could mean Dennis, Taylor, Miller, Clark, or Nash. Blake was a great player, but Oklahoma doesn't produce the consistent prospects that would look at Blake and say "I'm going to follow him". When they do, it's usually some stuck up kid who thinks their better than the State universities. WW is the type of guy that will go to the NBA, and start his own AAU organization to reach out to the youth where he lives.

 

[MercedeSooner]

I like the sound of that.

 

[chasephill68]

Great read Dirty but in no way did Blake bring us out of the "bottom"..

 

[tomkar98]

Both players have done great things for this program, and both will continue to do great things for this program. The connection to the Texas market that Willie brings with him is invaluable to OUr bball program. I'm so glad Capel has been able to do great things for this program so far. I fully expect him to continue to do this as well.

 

[BimmerSooner]

"Bottom"? How long have you watched OU basketball?

Good grief.

 

[Seymore Cox]

"Bottom"? How long have you watched OU basketball?

Good grief.

10th place in the conference is the bottom for OU basketball. Going .500 is something that I have never witnessed in my 30plus years of following OU basketball. And it terms of a lost recruiting class, no returning players with experience, and NCAA recruiting sanctions, it was a pretty low point.

 

[skyvue]

10th place in the conference is the bottom for OU basketball. Going .500 is something that I have never witnessed in my 30plus years of following OU basketball. And it terms of a lost recruiting class, no returning players with experience, and NCAA recruiting sanctions, it was a pretty low point.

We tied for eighth place in the conference in 2007, a year that we had Nate Carter, David Godbold, Taylor Griffin, Austin Johnson, Longar Longer, and Michael Neal all returning (plus Kellen Sampson and Chris Walker, if one wishes to get picky about it).

And we finished a game above .500, not at .500, something not at all unprecedented over the past three decades. In your thirty years of watching Sooner hoops, we have finished 3 games above .500 (1980), 9 games below .500 (1981), and two games above .500 (1994). And given that you actually said you've been watching for thirty-plus years, it's worth mentioning that in 1978 -- 31 years ago -- we finished 14-13. Just two years earlier, we went 9-17 (I think that fits within 30+, yes?).

Anything else I can debunk for you?

Coach Capel has done a great job, there's no denying it, but he doesn't need us to overstate the challenges that faced him when he arrived. He took over a very strong basketball program -- one of the top twenty in the country -- and he has upheld the tradition he inherited. There's no need to build his accomplishments up even further -- they stand on their own merits.

 

[Seymore Cox]

We tied for eighth place in the conference in 2007, a year that we had Nate Carter, David Godbold, Taylor Griffin, Austin Johnson, Longar Longer, and Michael Neal all returning (plus Kellen Sampson and Chris Walker, if one wishes to get picky about it).

And we finished a game above .500, not at .500, something not at all unprecedented over the past three decades. In your thirty years of watching Sooner hoops, we have finished 3 games above .500 (1980), 9 games below .500 (1981), and two games above .500 (1994). And given that you actually said you've been watching for thirty-plus years, it's worth mentioning that in 1978 -- 31 years ago -- we finished 14-13. Just two years earlier, we went 9-17 (I think that fits within 30+, yes?).

Anything else I can debunk for you?

Coach Capel has done a great job, there's no denying it, but he doesn't need us to overstate the challenges that faced him when he arrived. He took over a very strong basketball program -- one of the top twenty in the country -- and he has upheld the tradition he inherited. There's no need to build his accomplishments up even further -- they stand on their own merits.

No, I think you proved my point that it is rare for OU to finish so badly and that was one of the worst years in recent OU history. Quite Frankly, that season was bad, and Blake singlehandedly kept OU from having a stretch of bad season. Without him, we're on a three year absences from the NCAA tourney instead of a two year streak. Without him, WW is at Kansas instead of at OU.

 

[MsProudSooner]

No, I think you proved my point that it is rare for OU to finish so badly and that was one of the worst years in recent OU history. Quite Frankly, that season was bad, and Blake singlehandedly kept OU from having a stretch of bad season. Without him, we're on a three year absences from the NCAA tourney instead of a two year streak. Without him, WW is at Kansas instead of at OU.

The problem people have is with the word Bottom in the title of your post. The Bottom is reserved for where Baylor or Colorado used to languish. Were we where we wanted to be? No. But we weren't at the bottom of anything.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I get your point. If you're in your mid thirties like I am, you are very accustom to OU having very good records. I think OU had a 20plus year streak of making a post season tournament. I think Capel's first year broke that streak. I hate to imagine where we would be the last two years without blake.

 

[DannyB]

yes no doubt.remember in ncaa you can win a championship with two people.you can win with three too.

 

[Arkboysooner]

I think it's fair to say Blake took us from the bottom, but if you want to argue semantics instead of the actual point Dirty was making carry on...

 

[MsProudSooner]

I think it's fair to say Blake took us from the bottom, but if you want to argue semantics instead of the actual point Dirty was making carry on...

Words do actually mean something. Some people like to be accurate. Others don't care.

If the title of the thread had been 'Blake Griffin was the recruit to bring OU from Average or Middle of the Road' no one would have commented because it would have been completely accurate.

 

[Sam]

I think not making any form of a post season tournament while being under probation is pretty darn close to the bottom.

 

[DannyB]

to be honest blake is the bested player i have seen in ou since longar longar

 

[MsProudSooner]

I think not making any form of a post season tournament while being under probation is pretty darn close to the bottom.

Read up on Oklahoma basketball during the 1960's. Those years were much closer to 'the bottom' than Coach Capel's first year.

 

[Sam]

Maybe if he added bottom of the recent history?

 

[Flintheart Glomgold]

Read up on Oklahoma basketball during the 1960's. Those years were much closer to 'the bottom' than Coach Capel's first year.

or billy's first year. 16-15 with a couple of decent wins is far from the bottom.

 

[cosmic_sooner]

for some reason i dont consider Blake Griffin to have been a "recruit" in the sense of the definition that "recruit" has taken on.

true, BG was offered by other schools and he wouldnt have gone to OU had Sampson still been the head coach (Taylor was transferring too).

obviously Capel "recruited" BG to come to OU in some sense, but WW is more of a "recruit". Blake is more of a "player to bring OU from the bottom".

anyone catch my drift?

 

[Malcolm X]

no