Coaches rank OU hoops job >>> Tulsa World

[OUHoops]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsext...ectid=92&articleid=20110318_92_B1_CUTLIN50150

 

[sanguinetti]

Kelvin is pretty gracious here. i mean, he carried the water for the AD in the mid 90's during the Schnelly/Blake years.

also, it's a bit inaccurate to call the 78 team "Sweet 16", insofar as they did beat Texas in the first round, but it was a 32 team field. they were in the game for a while with Indy State and some guy named Larry Bird. Al Beal gets called for a bogus hanging on the rim technical, and then we faded.

i think it's proper to defend the "Sweet 16" moniker when you win 2 NCAA games and are playing the 2nd week.

 

[playmakr]

Great picture of Kelvin there.

 

[Big Old Booger]

The key quote in the entire article and a major reason Jeff didn't succeed:

"I think there were 140 kids from Texas playing Division I basketball last year," Underwood said. "There are many more players from that state than there's ever been. You've got that access."

How many kids from Texas did he sign? 4? Warren, TMG, Clark and Taylor. All 4 are high level prospects. 3 of them didn't stick around, which can also be attributed to Capel for either bringing them in when he knew they weren't going to be here long (TMG moreso than WW because WW was expected to go pro after 1 season) or not being able to keep them once they got here.

How many scholarships did we waste on east coast ballers who had no reason to play basketball in this part of the country and therefore never amounted to anything?

 

[thecynic]

A larger sample of some non former OU coaches and their perceptions would have made this a better article. Obviously from older guys or guys that aren't on anyone's wish list.
Still a good read though.

 

[AdaSooner]

Excellent article and a fair appraisal by two coaches who are as familiar with the opportunities at OU than anyone. It's easily a top 25 job, but you'd be hard pressed to find 15 to 20 jobs that are better than what OU has to offer.

I agree with what BOB said about the importance of recruiting Texas (Oklahoma, too, for that matter). Capel started like a house a fire recruiting close to home at first. But he just as quickly let those inroads all but disappear, as he set his sights on places too far away to have more than spotty success in signing kids with an interest in spending four years in Norman. I personally believe that was one mistake that contributed to his downfall in the end.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Excellent article and a fair appraisal by two coaches who are as familiar with the opportunities at OU than anyone. It's easily a top 25 job, but you'd be hard pressed to find 15 to 20 jobs that are better than what OU has to offer.

I agree with what BOB said about the importance of recruiting Texas (Oklahoma, too, for that matter). Capel started like a house a fire recruiting close to home at first. But he just as quickly let those inroads all but disappear, as he set his sights on places too far away to have more than spotty success in signing kids with an interest in spending four years in Norman. I personally believe that was one mistake that contributed to his downfall in the end.

I agree completely and will add I think Jeff realizes it too. From the emails I read the other day in the TW article where Jeff stated to his asst's that too many kids had left or were leaving and the state of the program had suffered for it. Also, either he mentioned in one of those emails he couldn't get into Texas and wasn't sure why, or somebody else said he had told them that in confidence (I can't remember; memory is the first thing to go they say ).

I would bet if Jeff had to do it over again, he would probably hire a few different assistant coaches and hire somebody who had inroads to Texas.

Just think if we landed just our share of those 140 kids (say 5-6) that stuck around 4 years. Where would we be right now? Probably in the tournament and not on a coaching search.

 

[coolm]

How many kids from Texas did he sign? 4? Warren, TMG, Clark and Taylor. All 4 are high level prospects. 3 of them didn't stick around, which can also be attributed to Capel for either bringing them in when he knew they weren't going to be here long (TMG moreso than WW because WW was expected to go pro after 1 season) or not being able to keep them once they got here.

How many scholarships did we waste on east coast ballers who had no reason to play basketball in this part of the country and therefore never amounted to anything?

I've always contended that an OU coach should basically just stay in Texas to recruit. If you don't get one of the top basketball kids you still have a plethora of amazing athletes to choose from.

Nowadays there are many more basketball players and being able to recruit Texas is just an imperative.

 

[SilliSooner]

The key quote in the entire article and a major reason Jeff didn't succeed:



How many kids from Texas did he sign? 4? Warren, TMG, Clark and Taylor. All 4 are high level prospects. 3 of them didn't stick around, which can also be attributed to Capel for either bringing them in when he knew they weren't going to be here long (TMG moreso than WW because WW was expected to go pro after 1 season) or not being able to keep them once they got here.

How many scholarships did we waste on east coast ballers who had no reason to play basketball in this part of the country and therefore never amounted to anything?

Count Crocker and count Tiny as also from Texas. Also Barry Honore and TJ Franklin. If you want to add a few Sampson holdovers, use AJ and Michael Neal. We've had our share of Texas products.

 

[SoonerLawyer05]

I think that is a fair assessment of the OU job. I think fans and the media weigh attendance far to heavily in assessing the attracativeness of the OU job. The two biggest downers on the OU program are (1) our gym isn't a great baskeball venue, and (2) our attendance isn't good for non big name opponents.

 

[AdaSooner]

Count Crocker and count Tiny as also from Texas. Also Barry Honore and TJ Franklin. If you want to add a few Sampson holdovers, use AJ and Michael Neal. We've had our share of Texas products.

Not really. If there are 140 kids out of Texas playing D-1 basketball, OU is not even close to getting their share. Our neighbor to the south is a hotbed for talent and has been for years. OU has barely scratched the surface in recruiting that state, and it didn't start with Jeff Capel.

While Capel may have been a bit unlucky in going after hard-to-handle kids who did not necessarily choose OU for the right reasons, he started out well not long after his arrival in Norman by appearing at AAU events, being invited to speak to Texas high school coaches and recruiting the Houston area. But for some reason, he fizzled out like a damp firecracker in the last two years of his stay, and it cost him.

As CoolM said, recruiting Texas is imperative if you want to be successful at OU. You'd better believe our football coaches know that. It's also important to do what you can to keep Oklahoma kids from leaving the state.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Count Crocker and count Tiny as also from Texas. Also Barry Honore and TJ Franklin. If you want to add a few Sampson holdovers, use AJ and Michael Neal. We've had our share of Texas products.

You make good points. I had forgotten Tiny, but I thought he was from California anyway.

Honore was a transfer and Franklin is a walk-on so not sure they can be counted.

Go back to the 2008 recruiting class, of which none of the signees stuck around longer than 2 years (Warren, Patillo, Cannon, Willis, Allen). Only WW was from Texas and he went pro whereas the others fizzled out either by not going to class or weren't very good. If we had signed 2 other Texas kids out of that group, where would be right now?

 

[AdaSooner]

Tiny is indeed a California kid. Even he considers Cali as his home state. He played high school ball in Houston before transferring to Oak Hill Academy.

 

[greenbug]

I've always contended that an OU coach should basically just stay in Texas to recruit. If you don't get one of the top basketball kids you still have a plethora of amazing athletes to choose from.

Nowadays there are many more basketball players and being able to recruit Texas is just an imperative.

very few basketball programs nationally limit themselves to just one region. I live in the southeast but use to live in oklahoma. I've seen ball players from oklahoma, texas, and the east coast. a coach would be very foolish not to recruit out east or anywhere for that matter that has good players. basketball is not like football in that recruiting is not as regionally based. if u don't believe me look at rosters across the country

 

[ousooners1baby]

Recruiting nationally means that you can get kids from anywhere not looking for kids everywhere. We should recruit nationally but focus regionally. I am not one of the one's who want to sign every OKlahoma kid out there but, there is something about the pride of wearing your jersey. Local kids normally have it billowing out of them.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Recruiting nationally means that you can get kids from anywhere not looking for kids everywhere. We should recruit nationally but focus regionally. I am not one of the one's who want to sign every OKlahoma kid out there but, there is something about the pride of wearing your jersey. Local kids normally have it billowing out of them.

If you are recruiting 2 players for 1 slot, and you have a local kid who is talented but works his tail off and is a leader and good in the classroom and the other kid is from Maryland who struggles in the classroom (or doesn't like going to class), is a me-first kid, and has no interest in playing in Oklahoma. In this case, you recruit the local kid. He's probably a winner.

 

[152219]

Recruiting nationally means that you can get kids from anywhere not looking for kids everywhere. We should recruit nationally but focus regionally. I am not one of the one's who want to sign every OKlahoma kid out there but, there is something about the pride of wearing your jersey. Local kids normally have it billowing out of them.

In my dream scenario, OU would get a Burger Boy once every 3 years or so (OU will never be UK, KU, UNC, etc, but having one or two on a roster every 4 years or so shouldn't be out of the realm), with key role players mostly from Oklahoma and Texas and sprinkle in players like Godbold, Neal, Davis from Oklahoma. There is a place on the roster for players like that from Oklahoma and it seems like the fliers on Oklahomans works a lot better than ones from the East coast (at least looking at the last 7 years or so)

 

[152219]

If you are recruiting 2 players for 1 slot, and you have a local kid who is talented but works his tail off and is a leader and good in the classroom and the other kid is from Maryland who struggles in the classroom (or doesn't like going to class), is a me-first kid, and has no interest in playing in Oklahoma. In this case, you recruit the local kid. He's probably a winner.

For examples, see Godbold, Davis, and Neal.

 

[Big Old Booger]

In my dream scenario, OU would get a Burger Boy once every 3 years or so (OU will never be UK, KU, UNC, etc, but having one or two on a roster every 4 years or so shouldn't be out of the realm), with key role players mostly from Oklahoma and Texas and sprinkle in players like Godbold, Neal, Davis from Oklahoma. There is a place on the roster for players like that from Oklahoma and it seems like the fliers on Oklahomans works a lot better than ones from the East coast (at least looking at the last 7 years or so)

If getting a burger boy means getting a Tiny, TMG or WW...no thanks.

Give me 5 Cade Davis's any day over that.

 

[152219]

If getting a burger boy means getting a Tiny, TMG or WW...no thanks.

Give me 5 Cade Davis's any day over that.

Give me Blake Griffin, Willie Warren, with 3 Cade Davises