Early Signing Failure doomed Capel

[cowboysooner]

I wonder if Capel's failure to sign anyone other than Goff was a key factor in his dismissal. If he had landed several top recruits, Joe would have really had to think about giving him another year. Or, we would have faced the exact situation that existed when Jeff arrived, e.g. we would have had to release all of those players and essentially start the program over from scratch. As is, we may or may not lose Goff, and it is starting to sound like he might not have been the player we thought anyway.

It seems to me, Joe had to assess whether Jeff was going to be able to recruit his way out of our current problems and with no one signed other than Goff and no firm commitments for the late period, Joe was unwilling to bet on the "come line" that Jeff could produce in the late period, or even during the fall signing period.

 

[152219]

Quite possible

 

[StoopsBros]

No doubt IMO, if Capel had a top 10-20 class, he'd still be the coach.

 

[daqman]

Capel admitted he needed better players.
There were none committed/signed.

 

[WTSooner]

No doubt IMO, if Capel had a top 10-20 class, he'd still be the coach.

Tell that to Pelfrey.

 

[StoopsBros]

Tell that to Pelfrey.

Well, Tubby or Pel with the same class? You choose, lol.

 

[Edmond_Sooner]

Do they have to Honor that Goff signing now?

 

[stanley11]

There was no way to have a top 5-10 recruiting class in the fall period with only one scholarship to give.

 

[WaymanFan]

I would have to believe this was the case. Paul Hewitt would have been fired two years ago had he not signed Derrick Favors. The way it looks now, there just isn't much optimism for next season. Even though I was supportive of Coasch Capel getting one more year, I also said he needs to have a great spring recruiting class for this team to even sniff the Dance next season. There just wasn't anything happening in the recruiting world for OU.

 

[scrybe]

So what, if anything, does Capel's firing mean in regard to the kids he (Capel) was trying to sign this spring (Guerrero, Jurick, etc)?

 

[boksooner]

If they are making their decisions before Joe C. hires a new coach, it will hurt. If they wait it out, a good hire could increase our chances. Of course, the new hire may want to bring in his own guys.

 

[scrybe]

If they are making their decisions before Joe C. hires a new coach, it will hurt. If they wait it out, a good hire could increase our chances. Of course, the new hire may want to bring in his own guys.

That may well be true, but who are those "own guys?" There are so few highly rated players left, I would think the new coach would almost have to try to sign the two or three that have listed OU among their favorites.

 

[thebigabd]

Still wouldnt have saved him...

At the end of the day, you can't have two of the worst seasons since the 1960's and keep your job at OU. Overall, he was under .500 in conference games as well. You just cant perform that way over a 5 year stretch and keep your job at a good basketball school.

 

[bgrch1350]

Still wouldnt have saved him...

At the end of the day, you can't have two of the worst seasons since the 1960's and keep your job at OU. Overall, he was under .500 in conference games as well. You just cant perform that way over a 5 year stretch and keep your job at a good basketball school.

He's right. What cost him the job was Warren, Gallon, and TMG all deciding to bolt for the D-League and Europe...b/c no way do we not have a solid team w/ 2 out of those 3 guys coming back...We would be in the ncaa tournament...period.

 

[cosmic_sooner]

Still wouldnt have saved him...

At the end of the day, you can't have two of the worst seasons since the 1960's and keep your job at OU. Overall, he was under .500 in conference games as well. You just cant perform that way over a 5 year stretch and keep your job at a good basketball school.

yep, it's rather simple.

5 years, 3 years of nothing along with losing records (not even NIT's, which at one time were even deemed relatively inexcusable). Given the "bad luck" he had w/ the Sampson kids departing or the blue chippers not panning-out, it's the reality and there wasnt much showing us that things were on the up-and-up.

Perhaps the most promising program guy he landed was Tyler Neal and Bob Barry Jr. couldve been the coach and still landed him.

 

[AdaSooner]

I wonder if Capel's failure to sign anyone other than Goff was a key factor in his dismissal. If he had landed several top recruits, Joe would have really had to think about giving him another year. Or, we would have faced the exact situation that existed when Jeff arrived, e.g. we would have had to release all of those players and essentially start the program over from scratch. As is, we may or may not lose Goff, and it is starting to sound like he might not have been the player we thought anyway.

It seems to me, Joe had to assess whether Jeff was going to be able to recruit his way out of our current problems and with no one signed other than Goff and no firm commitments for the late period, Joe was unwilling to bet on the "come line" that Jeff could produce in the late period, or even during the fall signing period.

I think you hit on one of a number of factors under consideration in the decision to let Capel go. If the majority of posters here could see that Osby and Goff would likely not be enough to resurrect the program next season, one has to believe that it didn't escape the attention of the decision-makers. I doubt if it helped that one of last year's signees spent the last third of the season occupying a valuable scholarship on the bench, or that one of two recruits coming in next year is not even close to living up to his pre-season hype. None of those things gave me much confidence in our future under Coach Capel, that's for sure.