Capel: Baylor is more talented than us

[oSuJeff97]

Drew can coach and does a good job bringing out the strengths in his roster. Now that he has a complete roster I think you are seeing the fruits of that this year.

If Drew could really coach, we would have "seen the fruits" last year.

That Baylor team was loaded last year... it's basically the same team this year with the exception of Udoh, but adding in Jerrells, Dugat and Kevin Rogers.

No excuse to miss the NCAA Tournament with that amount of talent.

 

[NickZepp]

You could probably say the same about OU this year if you believe in recruiting talent.

 

[DFWHoopster]

If Drew could really coach, we would have "seen the fruits" last year.

That Baylor team was loaded last year... it's basically the same team this year with the exception of Udoh, but adding in Jerrells, Dugat and Kevin Rogers.

No excuse to miss the NCAA Tournament with that amount of talent.

loaded with good college guards and a 6'9" small forward in Rogers. Did Jerrells, Dugat and Rogers make the NBA? No. Loaded to me is a team that has 3-4 NBA players on it- UConn, UK, UT, Kansas, North Carolina.

They were picked 10th this year pre-season so if they finish higher it is good coaching. Baylor is #1 in the nation in defensive FG percentage at 35%. I thought Drew didn't emphasize defense. Must be a misprint.

 

[InTheKnow]

loaded with good college guards and a 6'9" small forward in Rogers. Did Jerrells, Dugat and Rogers make the NBA? No. Loaded to me is a team that has 3-4 NBA players on it- UConn, UK, UT, Kansas, North Carolina.

They were picked 10th this year pre-season so if they finish higher it is good coaching. Baylor is #1 in the nation in defensive FG percentage at 35%. I thought Drew didn't emphasize defense. Must be a misprint.

The criticisms I've always heard toward Drew have been in the area of defense and undisciplined offense. I haven't been able to watch them this season. Are they really playing solid team defense or is Udoh the difference in the FG%?

 

[DFWHoopster]

The criticisms I've always heard toward Drew have been in the area of defense and undisciplined offense. I haven't been able to watch them this season. Are they really playing solid team defense or is Udoh the difference in the FG%?

Udoh makes a huge difference- no doubt. But it really proves the point that sometimes a coach is unfairly labeled based on the talent that he has to work with. Capel didn't forget how to teach defense. He just has bad personnel (and lack of mental toughness with the current team makeup) to play great defense.

Baylor traded Rogers, Dugat and Jerrells for Jones, Udoh and more playing time for Carter/Dunn. That was a great trade defensively. OU traded the Griffins and Austin Johnson for Mason-Griffin, Fitzgerald/Wright and Gallon. That was a bad trade-off defensively.

The criticism about Drew's teams being undisciplined offensively in the past were completely unfounded. Yes he has always been an advocate of taking open 3's in transition where the defense is scrambling. This is just smart coaching- Pitino philosophy. If you have a small, quick lineup and you wait for the defense to get set so that you can take a contested shot against taller players, your FG% goes down. If you have an open look in transition where you have the defense on your heels, your FG% is higher. Baylor's teams in the past always rated highly for offensive efficiency.

 

[inoref]

In his radio interview after the game, Capel said that Baylor was more talented than Oklahoma.

What do you make of this? If true, this doesn't make me feel good about the ability of this team to turn things around...

I agree with the coach

 

[MercedeSooner]

I have a very big problem with that statement simply because its an excuse. Does this team really need more excuses for not playing defense, playing selfishly, and getting blownout ?

 

[oSuJeff97]

loaded with good college guards and a 6'9" small forward in Rogers. Did Jerrells, Dugat and Rogers make the NBA? No. Loaded to me is a team that has 3-4 NBA players on it- UConn, UK, UT, Kansas, North Carolina.

OK... well whatever you want to call it, they had more than enough talent to make the NCAA Tournament.

Do you think OSU had more or less talent than Baylor last year?... because all we played were "good college guards and a 6'8" small forward."

Yet OSU made the tournament, won a game and gave #1 seed Pitt all they wanted in the second round.

That's where good coaching makes a difference, and it's why Drew is never mentioned as "coaching a team up"...

 

[DFWHoopster]

OK... well whatever you want to call it, they had more than enough talent to make the NCAA Tournament.

Do you think OSU had more or less talent than Baylor last year?... because all we played were "good college guards and a 6'8" small forward."

Yet OSU made the tournament, won a game and gave #1 seed Pitt all they wanted in the second round.

That's where good coaching makes a difference, and it's why Drew is never mentioned as "coaching a team up"...

yes- Jerrells and Eaton were probably equal. Would I rather have Muonelo, Harris and Anderson over Carter, Dugat and Dunn? Yes. Anderson and Dunn are probably close in ability but Anderson is 2 inches taller and better overall.

Harris and Obi last year were better players and defenders than Carter/Dugat. You are trading smurf guards for large guards. I remember one of the Baylor coaches preparing the scouting report before the OSU game and saying, "They are a lot like us except their guards are 3 inches taller."

Drew could have been better in conference last year- no doubt. But they overachieved the year before. And underachieved last year in conference. I really think it has a lot to do with what North teams they had on the road last year- Kansas St, Missouri and Iowa State- compared to having those teams at home the year before. You'll see what I am talking about this year when the Cowboys get to go to Manhattan, Ames and Columbia. Good luck with that.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I have a very big problem with that statement simply because its an excuse. Does this team really need more excuses for not playing defense, playing selfishly, and getting blownout ?

this.

OU has had teams with less talent than we have now that have beaten teams with more talent than Baylor. Capel is right, Baylor is far more talented as was Utep and Gonzaga. However, outmatched teams win games all the time. Tennessee has less talent than most mid major teams and beat KU.