Fact is that Capel isn't recruiting great basketball players

[gracefor24]

Recruiting is the last thing I would be worried about with Capel. The biggest concern is getting his teams to play with the necessary defensive toughness that creates consistency in a program. All the top programs (coaches) get their guys to defend EVERY year: Izzo, K, Self, Roy, Calipari, etc.

 

[NickZepp]

True and I'm not really sure we've ever really been that good on defense under Capel even last year we weren't that great on defense. First year the defense was pretty good but that could have been left overs from Sampson when he preached defense first.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Recruiting is the last thing I would be worried about with Capel. The biggest concern is getting his teams to play with the necessary defensive toughness that creates consistency in a program. All the top programs (coaches) get their guys to defend EVERY year: Izzo, K, Self, Roy, Calipari, etc.

I almost think this team came into the season like they deserved to be a Final Four team, and didnt think they had to work on it...then after the Alaska trip they came out a new team...then a couple of wins over "big" programs and we are back at square one...

I agree with both the statements above.

Right now these guys aren't mentally tough. When something goes bad - a turnover or a call doesn't go their way - they lose their focus instead of becoming more determined to overcome whatever the obstacle might be.

I don't know how you fix that. For most of the time, in most games, we have 2 freshmen on the floor. Sometimes last night, we had 3 freshmen on the floor. The veterans - primarily Tony & Cade - have to set a good example. I think I know how some coaches would go about fixing problems like this. Some coaches would make practice a living h-e - double toothpicks, throw them out of their locker room, remove their names from the back of the jerseys, bench all the starters - you name it. But, I really don't have a feel for how Coach Capel will handle them.

 

[sooneronas]

True and I'm not really sure we've ever really been that good on defense under Capel even last year we weren't that great on defense. First year the defense was pretty good but that could have been left overs from Sampson when he preached defense first.

2009
Field Goal Percentage Defense
## Team G FG FGA Pct
---------------------------------------------
1.Kansas.............. 35 773 2019 .383
2.Oklahoma............ 36 868 2182 .398
3.Texas............... 35 800 1968 .407
4.Iowa State.......... 32 761 1833 .415
5.Missouri............ 38 899 2150 .418
6.Kansas State........ 34 738 1761 .419
7.Nebraska............ 31 638 1482 .431
8.Baylor.............. 39 959 2217 .433
9.Texas A&M........... 34 834 1920 .434
10.Texas Tech.......... 33 891 2010 .443
11.Oklahoma State...... 35 895 2018 .444
12.Colorado............ 31 749 1622 .462

2008

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
## Team G FG FGA Pct
---------------------------------------------
1.Kansas.............. 40 853 2249 .379
2.Texas............... 38 861 2214 .389
3.Texas A&M........... 36 817 2069 .395
4.Nebraska............ 33 687 1710 .402
5.Oklahoma............ 35 796 1924 .414
6.Iowa State.......... 32 769 1850 .416
7.Kansas State........ 33 794 1872 .424
8.Baylor.............. 32 828 1922 .431
9.Colorado............ 32 734 1681 .437
10.Missouri............ 32 794 1807 .439
11.Oklahoma State...... 33 738 1671 .442
12.Texas Tech.......... 31 766 1722 .445

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
## Team G FG FGA Pct
---------------------------------------------
1.Texas A&M........... 34 672 1793 .375
2.Kansas.............. 38 804 2136 .376
3.Oklahoma............ 31 636 1568 .406
4.Texas............... 35 898 2183 .411
5.Kansas State........ 35 796 1891 .421
6.Iowa State.......... 31 736 1744 .422
7.Nebraska............ 31 686 1593 .431
8.Oklahoma State...... 35 858 1987 .432
9.Missouri............ 30 729 1667 .437
10.Baylor.............. 31 777 1751 .444
11.Texas Tech.......... 34 873 1893 .461
12.Colorado............ 27 739 1583 .467

:jcapel

 

[NickZepp]

Last years team allowed a lot of points to average teams like Davidson, Arkansas, USC, Gardner Webb, Purdue, even Oklahoma State scored about 80 in the 2 regular season games.

In Capel's first year there weren't as many higher scoring teams except against teams that were just much better

 

[sooneronas]

True and I'm not really sure we've ever really been that good on defense under Capel even last year we weren't that great on defense. First year the defense was pretty good but that could have been left overs from Sampson when he preached defense first.

we have been GOOD on defense over the entirety of three seasons

 

[buttermaker1]

Wright should be better than he is. He should have balanced his time in the weight room with time on the court. Wright should be doing things we need like blocking shots and rebounding at a high level on the offensive and defensive side.

What? Wright isn't a guard he wasn't letting guys fly by him to the rim. Start with WW, Crock and Davis.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Fact is that Capel isn't recruiting great basketball players

Nick, go put a pancake on your head

 

[NickZepp]

we have been GOOD on defense over the entirety of three seasons

I don't know about last year. We were good but our offense was much better and able to hide some of our defensive issues. We've had good stretches. Last year a big gripe by NBA scouts about Blake was his defense and the fact that he wasn't a great defender inside.

 

[sooneronas]

I don't know about last year. We were good but our offense was much better and able to hide some of our defensive issues. We've had good stretches. Last year a big gripe by NBA scouts about Blake was his defense and the fact that he wasn't a great defender inside.

i think there has been some discussion on this board though about the fact that blake had to play soft at times as to not get in foul trouble

 

[sooneronas]

Nick, go put a pancake on your head

i get what nickzepp is saying, and i think he has more basketball knowledge than most people on this board

he just seems like he's speaking in very black-and-white terms the past couple of days

 

[Shooterms]

I don't know about last year. We were good but our offense was much better and able to hide some of our defensive issues. We've had good stretches. Last year a big gripe by NBA scouts about Blake was his defense and the fact that he wasn't a great defender inside.

So, you know some scouts, and they were griping about this?

Since the dismissal of Coach Capel's ability to coach defense, to recruit, etc. are coming from the same guy who brought us the revelation that Blake Griffin was "a great athlete, but not a good basketball player", I'm going to take it with the proverbial grain of salt.

 

[NickZepp]

So, you know some scouts, and they were griping about this?

Since the dismissal of Coach Capel's ability to coach defense, to recruit, etc. are coming from the same guy who brought us the revelation that Blake Griffin was "a great athlete, but not a good basketball player", I'm going to take it with the proverbial grain of salt.

No I said that at that time he had a long ways to go to be a good basketball player. And he did. You could say the same about a lot of this entire roster. It looks to me that most of these new players have never played team basketball before.

 

[suncoastsooner]

Why do people even reply to pancakes threads? Seriously?

 

[sooneronas]

Why do people even reply to pancakes threads? Seriously?

who is pancakes?

 

[HoHum]

I think a lot of the good defense the last few years came from Sampson holdovers. He was such a big proponent of defense that guys like Austin Johnson and Taylor Griffin carried it over to the Capel era.

 

[Shooterms]

No I said that at that time he had a long ways to go to be a good basketball player. And he did. You could say the same about a lot of this entire roster. It looks to me that most of these new players have never played team basketball before.

Actually, what you said is exactly what I quoted. Regardless, Blake hasn't had "a long ways to go to be a good basketball player" since he was about 10 years old. He didn't go from being a not-good basketball player to POY/top pick in a couple of years.

What you said then, is the same sort of hysterical hyperbole you are employing now, with Coach Capel, thus, the grain of salt.

 

[NickZepp]

Actually, what you said is exactly what I quoted. Regardless, Blake hasn't had "a long ways to go to be a good basketball player" since he was about 10 years old. He didn't go from being a not-good basketball player to POY/top pick in a couple of years.

What you said then, is the same sort of hysterical hyperbole you are employing now, with Coach Capel, thus, the grain of salt.

I probably did say what you said and it was in context. I remember defending that and saying the same thing over and over again. Blake improved more in one year than any OU player ever.

 

[soonermike53]

I think a lot of the good defense the last few years came from Sampson holdovers. He was such a big proponent of defense that guys like Austin Johnson and Taylor Griffin carried it over to the Capel era.

+1

 

[Shooterms]

I probably did say what you said and it was in context. I remember defending that and saying the same thing over and over again. Blake improved more in one year than any OU player ever.

Blake was one the best college basketball players in the country the very first day he stepped on the court in Norman. He definitely improved, as he became the very best player in the country. What you said was impossible to logically defend, and no amount of context would change that. Of course, fortunately you are here, so if I've erred in that assertion, please enlighten us on the context where it makes sense to say that Blake was "not a very good basketball player".