Capel coping with full-court stress >>> Dallas Morning News

[OUHoops]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/050210dnspocarlton.108ef06.html

 

[Cheno]

Good article. Thanks for posting. I think the bleeding is over.

 

[stoopified]

I can't wait for the upcoming season to start so the nightmare of last season can recede to a faded memory.

 

[EufaulaSooner]

I can't wait for the upcoming season to start so the nightmare of last season can recede to a faded memory.

I can't imagine anyone thinks that the upcoming season won't be even worse than the last.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I can't imagine anyone thinks that the upcoming season won't be even worse than the last.

Our record may not be significantly better but I don't think we will see the same problems with this team. I do expect we will see much better team basketball as well as effort.

 

[scrybe]

I can't imagine anyone thinks that the upcoming season won't be even worse than the last.

It's very easy for me to imagine that the upcoming season will be 1000 percent better than last. While it may not necessarily translate to a huge turnaround in the number of wins in just one year, we are assembling a class that seems to understand the team concept and the value of hard work. That alone should make for a "better," more enjoyable season, and – who knows? – maybe we'll improve in the W-L department as well.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I can't imagine anyone thinks that the upcoming season won't be even worse than the last.

Count me as one that thinks the next OU basketball season will be BETTER.

The team will have less "talent" on paper, but the talent last season was largely a wasted talent. For the upcoming season I foresee:

Better hustle
Better heart
Better team chemistry
Better student-athletes (more students that really want to be here)
Better defense

I foresee a team that I will like better as a fan of the University of Oklahoma.

:OUbball-logo:

 

[skyvue]

Count me in the camp that thinks this season will be a vast improvement over last season, and like some others, I don't necessarily mean that in terms of wins and losses (though I'm hopeful in that area, too).

 

[BigTime]

I'm certainly onboard with the notion that next year's team will be better than last. I will even say that next year's team will have a better record.

The season couldn't start soon enough for this program so that we can put last year's nightmare behind us.

 

[MichSooner]

I can't imagine anyone thinks that the upcoming season won't be even worse than the last.

:clap :clap :clap

I don't have a clue if we will win more games or not. However, I like the way Capel has finally responded to the adversity. I like the kids he is bringing in. And, if they will come in a play very, very hard and unselfishly, I will be quite satisfied.

He had a team of prima donnas and way too little upperclassman leadership. Unfortunately, it seems as if Crocker gets his share of the blame too. If you don't prepare in anything - work, life, sports - you will underperform and get your clock cleaned. We got ours cleaned last year.

We'd all be millionaires or better if we could predict the future based on the past. Hopefully this team will get more enthusiastic fan support. You need all the friends you can get when you are down (and we are). When things are going well, the bandwagon is full of fairweather freeloaders who have minimal committment long-term - they just get off on being associated with a winner.

I love OU sports win, lose, or draw........

 

[AdaSooner]

I don't think in terms of wins and losses when I say this season's team will be better. Webster's defines the word "better" in a variety of ways. But the one that fits what I believe we'll see is: "Having good qualities in a greater degree than another."

Traveler's list of the improvements I expect to see says it all for me. Winning more games than last year would be a bonus.

 

[MNsooner]

I don't think in terms of wins and losses when I say this season's team will be better. Webster's defines the word "better" in a variety of ways. But the one that fits what I believe we'll see is: "Having good qualities in a greater degree than another."

Traveler's list of the improvements I expect to see says it all for me. Winning more games than last year would be a bonus.

I agree. I hope that developing those qualities puts us on the way to getting more wins.

 

[jerry]

Count me as one that thinks the next OU basketball season will be BETTER.

The team will have less "talent" on paper, but the talent last season was largely a wasted talent. For the upcoming season I foresee:

Better hustle
Better heart
Better team chemistry
Better student-athletes (more students that really want to be here)
Better defense

I foresee a team that I will like better as a fan of the University of Oklahoma.

:OUbball-logo:

Capel's problem has not been getting players, but keeping them and getting them to play hard and contribute is another story.

 

[Tony]

Hopefully this team will get more enthusiastic fan support. You need all the friends you can get when you are down (and we are). When things are going well, the bandwagon is full of fairweather freeloaders who have minimal committment long-term - they just get off on being associated with a winner.

Yes, hopefully this team will have excellent fan support. We need all we can get. Which, to be honest, is why I have never liked trashing more casual fans as bandwagon fans. It doesn't strike me as a good way to win people over. If we can get some of those "fairweather freeloaders" out for big games and they have a good time, maybe a few will be won over or their children will be won over and a new, more devoted fan will be born. I don't think antagonizing or shaming people is a particularly effective way to build an enthusiastic fan base.

 

[sybarite]

Count me as one that thinks the next OU basketball season will be BETTER.

The team will have less "talent" on paper, but the talent last season was largely a wasted talent. For the upcoming season I foresee:

Better hustle
Better heart
Better team chemistry
Better student-athletes (more students that really want to be here)
Better defense

I foresee a team that I will like better as a fan of the University of Oklahoma.

:OUbball-logo:

Yep.

I'm not even so sure that it won't be about as good on talent. Some of the players thought a lot more of themselves than I did this past year.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I will root for the team to win every game.

I'm not sure how we can be sure that the incoming guys will be different than the 09-10 group except that there are no McD all-americans.

It will be hard for 4 new starters to compete in the tough Big 12. It is a tough league with tough coaches.

I think that Blair, Newell, Taylor and Clark will contribute along with Davis, Fitz and Pledger. My biggest concern is the bigs. I watched the JUCO game with the Illinois team and Washington is a nice player and apparently plays hard but I think he will be overmatched at least at first by Div I talent. Not sure he is big enough to hold his own.

The 10-11 team is going to have to execute much better than the 09-10 team to do any better.

 

[BigTime]

I will root for the team to win every game.

I'm not sure how we can be sure that the incoming guys will be different than the 09-10 group except that there are no McD all-americans.

It will be hard for 4 new starters to compete in the tough Big 12. It is a tough league with tough coaches.

I think that Blair, Newell, Taylor and Clark will contribute along with Davis, Fitz and Pledger. My biggest concern is the bigs. I watched the JUCO game with the Illinois team and Washington is a nice player and apparently plays hard but I think he will be overmatched at least at first by Div I talent. Not sure he is big enough to hold his own.

The 10-11 team is going to have to execute much better than the 09-10 team to do any better.

The difference (I'm hoping) is that these new guys will have "two feet in" when they enter our program. They will have wanted to be Oklahoma Sooners. And most importantly, they will have the character, attitude, and work ethic that embodies what Coach Capel wants for his program. Coach Capel has stated in nearly all of his recent interviews that he is looking to recruit those type of kids. Hopefully, he has found what he was looking for in this 2010 class.

 

[BigTime]

Another big difference is the perception of these guys by the fans and media. Nobody will be patting these guys on the back telling them how great they are once they make it into Norman. We will be picked to finish 10th at best by the media and fellow coaches. The hope is that it will instill an us against the world mentality in these guys that will make them work and play with a chip on their shoulder. That imo is what made many of Coach Sampson's teams so successful.

 

[Shooterms]

How many McD AA's did Northern Iowa have?

 

[Sooner Quick]

I don't think in terms of wins and losses when I say this season's team will be better. Webster's defines the word "better" in a variety of ways. But the one that fits what I believe we'll see is: "Having good qualities in a greater degree than another."

Traveler's list of the improvements I expect to see says it all for me. Winning more games than last year would be a bonus.

This!