Grade Kruger's coaching job so far this season

[bgrch1350]

And there was allot more to clean up with Capel than most on this board know about. I don't always agree with Kruger on who starts and his substitution pattern but I do know our coach operates with integrity and is trying to build something for the long term. Glad he is here and Capel is back at Duke on the end of the bench and hopefully never a head coach again.

Capel is in the past! Kruger is the present! And the Present looks like a pile of crap. And the future doesn't look any better.

Last season, I felt that our team was one or 2 bench players away from winning several more games and even making the ncaa tournament. Kruger is playing his recruits more this year and this team looks like we are a few games away from being at .500 on the season right now.

 

[suncoastsooner]

You are 100% correct. Since the majority of OU fans are glad Jeff Capel is gone, they attempt to justify their opinion by not giving him any credit whatsoever for his successes like signing Blake Griffin, winning 30 games one season, winning every NCAA tournament game which OU was a higher seed, etc. Of course, Jeff Capel then left us with a mess so Coach Kruger will need some time to get this program moving in the right direction.

My low grade on Kruger is because I haven't seen any improvement with this team since early November. Obviously, that can change. To put all of this on Jeff Capel is complete nonsense, but to think that Lon inherited a functional and stable hoops program is equally nonsensical.

I'm confident Coach Kruger will get this turned around. I really am. I just thought, like most, that he'd be a little further along than he is right now.

Voice of reason.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

So many topics and tangents on a message board thread. Might as well add my 2 cents.

1. I am an OU BASKETBALL fan and have had season tickets since 1977. I am happy and thankful that Coach Capel is gone. Very happy and very, very thankful.

2. There is much “common knowledge” that is not true. Max is correct that Kelvin Sampson brought in Taylor Griffin who brought in Blake. Coach Capel did a great job in closing the deal and getting Blake’s signature. Both of these things had to happen to get Blake to Norman. I believe that Kelvin would have also signed Blake, but there is no way for me to prove this. There is also no way for you to prove otherwise.

3. God bless Coach Capel. I wish him the very best future in coaching basketball, the career that he loves. I hope everyone reading this is in a career that they love as much.

4. This is only the second OU season for Coach Kruger, but he has established some positive trends that I hope to see continue. It is sure nice to have a program that does NOT make off-the-court headlines in the newspapers. It is sure nice to NOT be in the news for NCAA violations and probations. It is a joy to go to the games and observe a roster where all the players act like teammates. Again, I hope this continues. These “little things” seem very important to Coach Kruger.

5. Regarding the original post, I give Coach Kruger a B.

6. Some of us (including me) built some overheated expectations for this team based on an early season where our team squeaked out some close wins over mediocre opponents.

7. It is so very hard for me to be patient as Coach Kruger attempts to build the program back up, and does it his way. I think he is trying to build a foundation for long-term success, while I want a top-25 team right now.

8. I am encouraged by the FIGHT that the OU team displays on the court.

9. I am curious to see how the team (and individual players) respond to adversity. How will Buddy respond in the next game after missing the game-tying free throw? Will he make his late-game free throws next time? Will the team continue to play hard on defense and fight on, even when the scoreboard is against them?

(Through years of experience, I know how some fans react to adversity. This is why I do not read message boards for at least 24 hours after a loss. Being human, I also tend to overreact, so it is also best for me to stay away for that reason.)

10. For me to keep my subjective judgment at a grade of B, I expect to see noticeable improvement in the way the 2012-13 team performs. I expect to see the freshmen improve as the season goes on. I expect to see more lay-up attempts go in, rather than just being throw up with no chance. I expect to see the freshmen play smarter. I expect to see more passes to the open man on fast break opportunities. I hope to see the Sooners pull at least one or two upsets by beating some of the top teams in the conference.

11. Boomer Sooner! I cannot wait to go to the LNC for the next game vs. Ohio.

12. Go Sooners! I cannot wait for the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and the game at the Fieldhouse.

Last but not least ... to all of you ... May your holidays be filled with the grace, mercy and forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ!

Merry Christmas!

 

[AdaSooner]

Great post, as usual, Trav! You have a way of putting everything into perspective with a positive spin on our basketball program, and on life in general.

I particularly liked the Christmas message you chose to end your post. Merry Christmas to you and to everyone on this board!!!

 

[WTSooner]

Blake was probably not going to come to OU if Sampson was still the coach and I say that as a still long time KS fan.

That doesn't mean Capel should get credit for him. Just about anybody that was brought in to coach OU could have landed Blake. And OU under Kelvin, without Taylor or Blake, would have been fine too.

Also, the problem with Jeff Capel as coach of the OU basketball wasn't that he didn't accomplish enough. His "good seasons" were fine. The problem is that for a program that should have been established, the lows were FAR too low. That is why he got fired, and why the OU program is where it is today.

 

[bgrch1350]

That doesn't mean Capel should get credit for him. Just about anybody that was brought in to coach OU could have landed Blake. And OU under Kelvin, without Taylor or Blake, would have been fine too.

Also, the problem with Jeff Capel as coach of the OU basketball wasn't that he didn't accomplish enough. His "good seasons" were fine. The problem is that for a program that should have been established, the lows were FAR too low. That is why he got fired, and why the OU program is where it is today.

First of All...Capel gets all the credit for Blake

Coach K gets all the credit for bringing in nothing but McDonalds AA and Roy Williams gets credit for bringing in Hansbrough and so on
Calipari wins with nothing but 1 and done players.

Capel made it to the elite 8 with 2 solid players...it takes Calipari a whole team of 1 and done players to win the championship. He gets the credit and so does Capel

 

[WTSooner]

First of All...Capel gets all the credit for Blake

Coach K gets all the credit for bringing in nothing but McDonalds AA and Roy Williams gets credit for bringing in Hansbrough and so on
Calipari wins with nothing but 1 and done players.

Capel made it to the elite 8 with 2 solid players...it takes Calipari a whole team of 1 and done players to win the championship. He gets the credit and so does Capel

lol

Whatever. :facepalm

 

[bgrch1350]

lol

Whatever. :facepalm

Why give those coaches credit for winning with NBA players but no credit goes to Capel for winning with 1 and a 1/2

 

[bgrch1350]

I didn't see Rick Barnes win a championship with Kevin Durant.

 

[Big Old Booger]

First of All...Capel gets all the credit for Blake

Coach K gets all the credit for bringing in nothing but McDonalds AA and Roy Williams gets credit for bringing in Hansbrough and so on
Calipari wins with nothing but 1 and done players.

Capel made it to the elite 8 with 2 solid players...it takes Calipari a whole team of 1 and done players to win the championship. He gets the credit and so does Capel

top 5 dumbest post of all time right here. And, just when I didn't think you could top some of your previous posts.

:clap :clap :clap :clap

 

[AdaSooner]

lol

Whatever. :facepalm

Do you get the feeling that we're wasting our time in trying to find logic where there is none to be found? My head hurts just thinking about it. :facepalm

 

[Sid]

D

Thank you, Joe C!

:clap

 

[DenverSooner]

Blake was probably not going to come to OU if Sampson was still the coach and I say that as a still long time KS fan.

Even if that is true, it doesn't change the fact that Taylor Griffin had a lot to do with bringing Blake Griffin to OU.

Capel was a joke. His first year and the fact that he was only successful with two or three recruits in 5 years at OU is the real measure of Capel.

TJ Taylor, TMG, Tiny Gallon, WW, Ray Willis, Tony Neysmith, Orlando Allen, Kyle Cannon, Juan Pattillo, Kyle Hardrick, Nick Thompson, Ahmed Abdul, the kid from West Virginia, Carl Blair, etc. etc. are the measure of Jeff Capel. That and his losing record in conference play notwithstanding that he had Blake Griffin for two seasons.

Capel was horrible. He had two good seasons with Sampson's players and Blake Griffin. Capel destroyed the OU basketball program.

 

[Sid]

Do you get the feeling that we're wasting our time in trying to find logic where there is none to be found? My head hurts just thinking about it. :facepalm

This topic has been up for almost 48 hours. You have posted 4 times in this thread. Why are you evading the op's question? Finally, instead of blaming Capel for the current state of the basketball program, you should be blaming Joe C. He created this mess by making a couple of bad decisions. Joe better pray Lon delivers his ... out of this mess.

 

[originalsooner55]

Even if that is true, it doesn't change the fact that Taylor Griffin had a lot to do with bringing Blake Griffin to OU.

Capel was a joke. His first year and the fact that he was only successful with two or three recruits in 5 years at OU is the real measure of Capel.

TJ Taylor, TMG, Tiny Gallon, WW, Ray Willis, Tony Neysmith, Orlando Allen, Kyle Cannon, Juan Pattillo, Kyle Hardrick, Nick Thompson, Ahmed Abdul, the kid from West Virginia, Carl Blair, etc. etc. are the measure of Jeff Capel. That and his losing record in conference play notwithstanding that he had Blake Griffin for two seasons.

Capel was horrible. He had two good seasons with Sampson's players and Blake Griffin. Capel destroyed the OU basketball program.

Could not have said it better - I agree and I think LK will get this program turned around. As a long time OU fan and Oklahoman, I am glad he is hear.

 

[Stikboy]

even if that is true, it doesn't change the fact that taylor griffin had a lot to do with bringing blake griffin to ou.

Capel was a joke. His first year and the fact that he was only successful with two or three recruits in 5 years at ou is the real measure of capel.

Tj taylor, tmg, tiny gallon, ww, ray willis, tony neysmith, orlando allen, kyle cannon, juan pattillo, kyle hardrick, nick thompson, ahmed abdul, the kid from west virginia, carl blair, etc. Etc. Are the measure of jeff capel. That and his losing record in conference play notwithstanding that he had blake griffin for two seasons.

Capel was horrible. He had two good seasons with sampson's players and blake griffin. Capel destroyed the ou basketball program.

+1,000,000

 

[WTSooner]

This topic has been up for almost 48 hours. You have posted 4 times in this thread. Why are you evading the op's question? Finally, instead of blaming Capel for the current state of the basketball program, you should be blaming Joe C. He created this mess by making a couple of bad decisions. Joe better pray Lon delivers his ... out of this mess.

Horse hockey.

You can't use hind sight to call the Capel hire a bad one, at the time it was made. He was a top assistant. He was known as a recruiter, which might have been important given the class we had in limbo, that ended up not materializing. I think some of the names OU fans threw out were probably not very realistic.

And on paper, the Capel hire, at the time it was made, was much more attractive than the Sampson hire, at that time. Sometimes you hire guys that everybody in the industry thinks will be good, and it doesn't work out. Capel didn't work out. I've never understood bashing Joe C. for that. It isn't like he hired some coach nobody had ever heard of.

 

[AdaSooner]

This topic has been up for almost 48 hours. You have posted 4 times in this thread. Why are you evading the op's question? Finally, instead of blaming Capel for the current state of the basketball program, you should be blaming Joe C. He created this mess by making a couple of bad decisions. Joe better pray Lon delivers his ... out of this mess.

Evading the OP's question? He asked posters to grade Kruger's coaching job so far this season. I gave him a C. Unlike you, I'm here nearly every day through the good and the bad. I don't just pop in every few weeks to make cute remarks and repeat the same ol' theme.

Welcome back, by the way. Not that anyone really missed you.

 

[AdaSooner]

Horse hockey.

You can't use hind sight to call the Capel hire a bad one, at the time it was made. He was a top assistant. He was known as a recruiter, which might have been important given the class we had in limbo, that ended up not materializing. I think some of the names OU fans threw out were probably not very realistic.

And on paper, the Capel hire, at the time it was made, was much more attractive than the Sampson hire, at that time. Sometimes you hire guys that everybody in the industry thinks will be good, and it doesn't work out. Capel didn't work out. I've never understood bashing Joe C. for that. It isn't like he hired some coach nobody had ever heard of.

Don't let Sid fool you. I know for a fact that he was happy with the Capel hire at first. Now he's trying to act like he was some kind of soothsayer who saw the train wreck coming. He didn't. None of us did.

 

[playmakr]