Hardrick

[Bk2X]

Allen's playing time is not related to ability and he is not in the dog house. It is a personal situation we will leave it at that. Allen will be on the team next year and hopefully will be able to play he can certainly help us.

Allen is a super guy.

People have been saying this for 2 years now, if you are huge factor in practice and can make every single game then what possibly could keep you out of a few minutes a game?

 

[MikeInNorman]

I see it contrary. If they invisioned a future at OU for him, he would have redshirted. They even could have made up some bogus injury excuse to buy him a redshirt. Instead he played. Which means he can use his redshirt year as a transfer year and come in as a Sophomore. If he redshirts this year, sees it in the cards for him to leave, he'll still have to sit out and burn a redshirt, unless he goes to a juco. Personally, I suspect he goes the juco route next year and tries to get a mid major offer in 2012.

Sadly, he's not good enough to play at a mid-major. He'll end up in NAIA.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Sadly, he's not good enough to play at a mid-major. He'll end up in NAIA.

I agree. Good luck to him though.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I agree. Good luck to him though.

How did he get a scholarship to OU? Was he a highly ranked prospect out of HS but never improved at OU? Or was he not very good in HS?

I'm confused...

 

[seniorsooner]

This has been discussed about 8 million times on this board, including in this thread. Just read the first few posts in the thread.

 

[Big Old Booger]

This has been discussed about 8 million times on this board, including in this thread. Just read the first few posts in the thread.

I've already read that. So, sounds to me like he committed 4 years ago and Capel honored his commit regardless of if he was good enough to actually occupy a scholarship.

If that's the case, if any posters on here are in junior high or high school, commit to OU and make sure you get somebody to report it so you too can get a full scholarship. :ez-roll:

Seriously, the kid wasn't even all state last year so how does he get a scholarship? Seems like it would be easy enough to ask him to walkon and try to earn a scholarship and use that ship for somebody who can help.

 

[seniorsooner]

To steal from TU, clown post.

 

[Sooner Quick]

People have been saying this for 2 years now, if you are huge factor in practice and can make every single game then what possibly could keep you out of a few minutes a game?

This hasn't been said for 2 years. Do you remember who he was behind last year? That is why he saw limited action last year. This year he had some personal issues, and since its public information now, he just had a baby girl as well. There is not a better teammate than Orlando Allen, he supports his teammates and is always up cheering every one of them on giving them encouragement and I can tell you he is a favorite with all of the team.

 

[Big Old Booger]

To steal from TU, clown post.

Legitimate question.

Was the kid good enough last year to get a scholarship to OU or was he just given one because it was sort of promised 4 years ago?

Was he not all state last year because he had an injury his sr. year which prevented him from playing? Or was he not all state because he wasn't good enough?

I don't live in Oklahoma, so I can't follow OKlahoma HS sports, and this is why I'm asking.

 

[BanjoCharley]

was he just given one because it was sort of promised 4 years ago?

He was offered. An offer is not a "sort of promise." If you aren't a man of your word you are nobody.

 

[qwertyqaz]

He was offered. An offer is not a "sort of promise." If you aren't a man of your word you are nobody.

Honestly, I find any questioning of Capel's keeping of Hardrick's commitment disturbing.

I understand where people might be coming from, but seriously, winning basketball games isn't everything.

 

[DSMok1]

He was offered. An offer is not a "sort of promise." If you aren't a man of your word you are nobody.

Right, he was offered back when he was a top prospect. He committed; that was that. Unfortunately, he tore up his knee(s?) and didn't grow like was expected. Before the injuries he was very athletic.

It would have been very dishonorable to pull a scholarship that had been offered.

 

[campbest]

Offering a kid a schollie after their freshman season is not a wise decision in my book...unless they are some can't miss project. Hardrick was hardly that.

 

[AdaSooner]

Legitimate question.

Was the kid good enough last year to get a scholarship to OU or was he just given one because it was sort of promised 4 years ago?

Was he not all state last year because he had an injury his sr. year which prevented him from playing? Or was he not all state because he wasn't good enough?

I don't live in Oklahoma, so I can't follow OKlahoma HS sports, and this is why I'm asking.

Kyle was a top 25 recruit in the 2009 class as a freshman. A number of big time schools were recruiting him back then. As some have already said, he was projected to be 6' 10" or bigger when he stopped growing. Both of his parents are really tall. I don't recall how tall they are, but their height and size, combined with Kyle's early growth rate gave his doctor a reason to believe he could be much taller than the 6' 8" he's listed at now.

He was getting quality minutes on a loaded Athletes First AAU team as a freshman and sophomore. But he was never the same after his lengthy recovery from a severe knee injury. I saw him play a couple of times on television when he was a senior, and he was still very tentative. I can't say what he was like before, but I didn't see a player who got me too excited.

I think Coach Capel did the right thing by honoring Kyle's scholarship. The kid had been an OU commit for three years. It would not have set well with some people in Oklahoma if he had been turned away after waiting that long to play at his favorite school. Besides, who could say for sure what kind of player he would become if he could manage to overcome his injury physically and mentally and fulfill the potential predicted for him as a freshman? Kyle continued to be a top 50 player for sometime after he got hurt, so it's not like recruiting services didn't see his potential early on. When the decline started, though, he fell steadily out of the top 100 and later the top 150.

To be honest, I don't know if he will ever get meaningful minutes at OU. One would think that his best bet is to transfer to a mid-major where he can at least get some playing time. But I do not have a problem with what Coach Capel did. I think we all know that most coaches would have said, "No deal, kid. You're not the player we thought you would be," and given Kyle's ship to someone else. I'm glad compassion for people and keeping your word means more to our coach than a scholarship.

 

[campbest]

Don't have a problem with Hardrick's schollie this past year, wasn't like we were short on 'ships because Gerber got one when Capel decided not to pick up anyone else.

As for Hardrick, if you watch any of these mid-major tournaments going on this week, there is no way he could play with that competition. With Capel facing more of a dilemma with personnel, Jeff needs to be honest with him and tell Hardrick he does not belong at this level. Same thing can be said for Willis.

 

[Bk2X]

This hasn't been said for 2 years. Do you remember who he was behind last year? That is why he saw limited action last year. This year he had some personal issues, and since its public information now, he just had a baby girl as well. There is not a better teammate than Orlando Allen, he supports his teammates and is always up cheering every one of them on giving them encouragement and I can tell you he is a favorite with all of the team.

I see him on the side showing great enthusiasm and being a good teammate also hear tons of good comments about his help in practice which is why I am so frustrated with him. He is 6'11 and 250+ lbs so just standing there with his arms up will produce better results than the current situation. A baby didn't slow Crock down...

 

[Big Old Booger]

Kyle was a top 25 recruit in the 2009 class as a freshman. A number of big time schools were recruiting him back then. As some have already said, he was projected to be 6' 10" or bigger when he stopped growing. Both of his parents are really tall. I don't recall how tall they are, but their height and size, combined with Kyle's early growth rate gave his doctor a reason to believe he could be much taller than the 6' 8" he's listed at now.

He was getting quality minutes on a loaded Athletes First AAU team as a freshman and sophomore. But he was never the same after his lengthy recovery from a severe knee injury. I saw him play a couple of times on television when he was a senior, and he was still very tentative. I can't say what he was like before, but I didn't see a player who got me too excited.

I think Coach Capel did the right thing by honoring Kyle's scholarship. The kid had been an OU commit for three years. It would not have set well with some people in Oklahoma if he had been turned away after waiting that long to play at his favorite school. Besides, who could say for sure what kind of player he would become if he could manage to overcome his injury physically and mentally and fulfill the potential predicted for him as a freshman? Kyle continued to be a top 50 player for sometime after he got hurt, so it's not like recruiting services didn't see his potential early on. When the decline started, though, he fell steadily out of the top 100 and later the top 150.

To be honest, I don't know if he will ever get meaningful minutes at OU. One would think that his best bet is to transfer to a mid-major where he can at least get some playing time. But I do not have a problem with what Coach Capel did. I think we all know that most coaches would have said, "No deal, kid. You're not the player we thought you would be," and given Kyle's ship to someone else. I'm glad compassion for people and keeping your word means more to our coach than a scholarship.

Thanks. That's the kind of answer I was looking for.

Given all that info, then Capel did the right thing to honor his offer to Kyle. As another poster said, this is the danger of offering kids 4 years in advance.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

Not sure as to where Capel stands in his personal life, but to me it was a very Christian thing to do to put a commitment that the prior coach had made to that young man before seeking personal glory on the court. Those who respect such things notice, and while I expect that Capel would not expect praise for doing so, he certainly deserves it, particularly when those with whom he competes show very little regard for the people that play for them or the commitments that were mutually made.

With respect to Orlando, he saw considerable minutes last March and looked to be improving as a player on the court; however, as with the Hardrick situation, I believe that Coach Capel is all about doing the right thing for his players...particulalrly when it is regarding off the court issues that do not appear to be the result of poor character or practice habits. Orlando's primary mission in life is now to be a father to his child, I expect that Coach Capel is supportive of that mission and has given Orlando all the support and encouragement that he can.

Bottom line, I am not trying to make Coach Capel out to be a saint, but he has been ragged about his handling of Warren [see Warrens comments in Tulsa World artice], his handling of the four freshmen that he brought in to contribute [and their mistakes], and his overall coaching ability without having Blake Griffin to lean on....for the most part, he has kept his cool, honored his commitments, and for the most part shouldered the burden as his to bear. I actually have more respect for Capel the "person" after this season than I did before, and believe that his high character will pay long-term dividends to the University of Oklahoma both on and off the court.