How does the transfer change your recruiting outlook?

[campbest]

I talk about others, but I get blasted for not thinking OU will sign 6 lottery picks or 6 MCDAA's.

ABD, I used the word "most".

You'll never hear me complain about bringing up guys which are "under the radar" or aren't highly recruited. Keep it coming.

Shake them haters off.

 

[elmocarp]

I don't get what this has to do with the recruiting class at all...Were people really expecting all of the scholarships to go to top 50 players? We are sitting on a lot of scholarships right now, so why not bring the kid in if Capel thinks he can play? How does it effect the upcoming class at all? Do we think a guy like Terrence Jones isn't coming now because of a transfer? All people have been talking about is how shaky we are up front, so what is the downside here? I just don't get it.

I hope the kid can play, Capel obviously thinks he can. But I don't think it means anything regarding the shape OU is in with anyone...

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Well that would depend on where you think this program is. I dont see how Capel has elevated this program to some crazy level yet, because he hasnt won anything. He has done a great job, dont get me wrong, but he hasnt taken the program to new heights or anything. OU had 3 NBA players last year including the #1 pick (and the National Player of the Year) and didnt win the Big 12 regular season, Big 12 Tournament, or make a Final Four. It was a great season, dont get me wrong, but nothing happened to elevate the level of the program to some kind of powerhouse.

Am I wrong here?

Actually, you couldn't be more right.

 

[Sam]

Because landing an MCDAA every year is unheard of at Oklahoma.

Guess the last three years didn't happen. Also if you look back at my first post on this subject I say top 30 player AKA MCDAAs. Maybe I should've labeled it MCDAA quality because not every top 30 player is going to be an official MCDAA (Eliah johnson, Eric Bledsole, Daniel Orton to name a few).

Well that would depend on where you think this program is. I dont see how Capel has elevated this program to some crazy level yet, because he hasnt won anything. He has done a great job, dont get me wrong, but he hasnt taken the program to new heights or anything. OU had 3 NBA players last year including the #1 pick (and the National Player of the Year) and didnt win the Big 12 regular season, Big 12 Tournament, or make a Final Four. It was a great season, dont get me wrong, but nothing happened to elevate the level of the program to some kind of powerhouse.
Am I wrong here?

Capel hasn't elevated the program to a crazy level yet but it is getting there. Nation wide as far as publicity goes I don't think it is too outlandish to say OU basketball is at it peaks of recent years. The amount of free pub OU has got thanks to Blake is ridiculous, 1st overall draft pick, a main stay among ESPN top 10 plays etc. To the people who rely on ESPN and Sportscenter for highlights and thoughts on college basketball I doubt if our program has ever looked so good. As far as wins go Capel hasn't even reached the top when compared to Billy or Kelvin as they have conference championships and elite eights to fall back on, but in regards to recruiting (the subject we're discussing) we're at a new level.

I expect him to go after top players, but I'm also realistic on the chances of reeling in a McDonald's All-American from Oregon. A lot of the recruiting success Capel is going to have at this juncture in his career is dependent on the talent in our realtive recruiting "area". Look at the McD's we've pulled in already: OKC, Fort Worth and Houston. It's tough to get an 18 year old to move to the Southwest when they might be able to play for a very high profile team on the coasts, in a large media market.

Tiny is a semi exception to that view point, even though he played AAU ball for Houston hoops he still claims California as home and has spent the bulk of his High School time playing at Oak Hill. Oak Hill is one of the premier High School teams in the nation on the east coast and since he had also still seems to love his home state of California, Capel did have to sell him on the southwest somewhat.

I talk about others, but I get blasted for not thinking OU will sign 6 lottery picks or 6 MCDAA's.

I do not recall dirty mess or any of the people like me or him expecting that many MCDAA's. Dirty Mess would usually list a bunch of top 100 recruits (good portion of them not even top 50 kids). If there is somewhere on here that has posted an actual, serious class made up of lets say.
G T.J. Taylor (80-90s)
G Doron Lamb (MCDAA)
F Cam Clark (MCDAA, quality)
F Terrance Jones (MCDAA)
F Tobias Harris (MCDAA)

I know there have been some "dream classes" made up of those but many classes I've seen have only involved one or at the most 2 of the Cam Clarks, Doron Lambs of the world.
Most have had players like Rickey Scott (60s), James Johnson (50s-60s), Jerrian Grant (100s), Trevor Releford (150, but should climb with the new update), Tobi Oyedeji (100s before his commit to A&M many expected him to be a sooner), Cobbins (30s-40s, borderline MCDAAs).

Now I had a prediction last month as this for my class.
TJ Taylor (already committed)
Rickey Scott (not a MCDAA)
Cam Clark (a MCDAA quality player)
Michael Cobbins (a borderline MCDAA quality players)
and a mystery recruit (which my thinking was some juco, a kid in the bottom half of rivals 150 that we didn't know about)

I do not see 6 McDonalds All Americans there.

And here is DM's thoughts from this thread so I am going to go ahead and assume he is one of those 6 MCDAA guys out there.

My dream realistic combo would be Clark, Lamb, Jones, and Cobbins. That would be a top 10 recruiting class. I think in reality OU gets either Jones or Cobbin. I think Clark goes to OU and Lamb goes to KU. I have no Idea about Washburn. I would be OK to substitute Scott or Releford for Lamb and Johnson or Kirk for Jones or Cobbins.

So his dream class is the 6 MCDAA one but in his reality he is expecting only 1.
With a grab bag of of 50 or lower recruits to make up the rest.

 

[campbest]

Guess the last three years didn't happen. Also if you look back at my first post on this subject I say top 30 player AKA MCDAAs. Maybe I should've labeled it MCDAA quality because not every top 30 player is going to be an official MCDAA (Eliah johnson, Eric Bledsole, Daniel Orton to name a few).

Like I said...if we got Clark, Barry, Taylor, Okulemi and Releford or Scott that is an amazing class (especially for this year).

Capel hasn't elevated the program to a crazy level yet but it is getting there. Nation wide as far as publicity goes I don't think it is too outlandish to say OU basketball is at it peaks of recent years. The amount of free pub OU has got thanks to Blake is ridiculous, 1st overall draft pick, a main stay among ESPN top 10 plays etc. To the people who rely on ESPN and Sportscenter for highlights and thoughts on college basketball I doubt if our program has ever looked so good. As far as wins go Capel hasn't even reached the top when compared to Billy or Kelvin as they have conference championships and elite eights to fall back on, but in regards to recruiting (the subject we're discussing) we're at a new level.

True...but the difference in recruiting between now and previous coaches is we are going after more high profile talent, which is a good thing. However, when that happens, you have to expect the Kentuckys and KUs to win a lot of those battles. But like I said, competing with them is a step in the right direction. As it has been said before, Capel likes to recruit and that will pay divdidends in the future.

Tiny is a semi exception to that view point, even though he played AAU ball for Houston hoops he still claims California as home and has spent the bulk of his High School time playing at Oak Hill. Oak Hill is one of the premier High School teams in the nation on the east coast and since he had also still seems to love his home state of California, Capel did have to sell him on the southwest somewhat.

Not an exception at all, he has strong ties to Houston and has a prior relationship with TMG. Oak Hill is basically a glorified AAU team, yeah they're located in Virginia but most of their players aren't confined to one area of the country when they look at potential schools. I'm sure he loves California, but once he left to go to high school in Virginia and play AAU in Houston, all bets are off for the Cali schools.

I do not recall dirty mess or any of the people like me or him expecting that many MCDAA's. Dirty Mess would usually list a bunch of top 100 recruits (good portion of them not even top 50 kids). If there is somewhere on here that has posted an actual, serious class made up of lets say.
G T.J. Taylor (80-90s)
G Doron Lamb (MCDAA)
F Cam Clark (MCDAA, quality)
F Terrance Jones (MCDAA)
F Tobias Harris (MCDAA)

I know there have been some "dream classes" made up of those but many classes I've seen have only involved one or at the most 2 of the Cam Clarks, Doron Lambs of the world.
Most have had players like Rickey Scott (60s), James Johnson (50s-60s), Jerrian Grant (100s), Trevor Releford (150, but should climb with the new update), Tobi Oyedeji (100s before his commit to A&M many expected him to be a sooner), Cobbins (30s-40s, borderline MCDAAs).

Now I had a prediction last month as this for my class.
TJ Taylor (already committed)
Rickey Scott (not a MCDAA)
Cam Clark (a MCDAA quality player)
Michael Cobbins (a borderline MCDAA quality players)
and a mystery recruit (which my thinking was some juco, a kid in the bottom half of rivals 150 that we didn't know about)

I do not see 6 McDonalds All Americans there.

And here is DM's thoughts from this thread so I am going to go ahead and assume he is one of those 6 MCDAA guys out there.

ABD was kidding about the "6 McDAA's", but he has a point. If he brings up a JUCO or anybody else that CAPEL IS RECRUITING people don't want to hear because they aren't good enough. If someone doesn't like Barry or Okulemi, take it up with Jeff. ABD is just sparking conversation about OU Hoops.

So his dream class is the 6 MCDAA one but in his reality he is expecting only 1.
With a grab bag of of 50 or lower recruits to make up the rest.

So, one top 30 and four guys between 30-100? If that happens on a consistent (i.e. yearly) basis I would be absolutely shocked. That's UNC type recruiting.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I love, absolutely love Jeff Capel. Right now though, he's more of a recruiting coach than an X and Os guy. That is one reason I really like him. What we are seeing with this class in regards to Honrore and some of the post players is the failure of last year and the year before. When you invest in guys like Cannon, Pattillo and Allen, and there is attritution, you put yourself in a tough spot to turn around. Also in the spring semester, they passed on going after alot of guys. Glenn Bryant was a name thrown around and a kid that decommitted from Virginia was another guy that was thrown around. In all there were about 5 or 6 guys that OU could have went after and I personally thought it was crucial for OU to sign a post or Hybrid four because the post class of 2010 was poor. Now I think they were holding a scholly for Orton, but if that were the case, it ended up being a bad gamble.

So basically I feel it was a "Jai Lucas" type miscalculation the staff made. Just my personal opinion. But I don't feel it's a critical error and if they can atleast get a 4yr post player this year, it will be fine in the long run. As for some of the posters who don't anticipate or expect OU to be exceptional in recruiting, that is just a reflection of their personal feelings and not indticative of the job that this staff has been doing landing some really good players lately. Just to put this in perspective, Willie Warren and Blake Griffin will be two of the highest drafted sooners ever.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

Keep living in the past. Just keep down playing what's been done. You guys who keep saying this non-sense are also the ones who think that he didn't have to restore the program back to what it is now. But I'm sure that when he does win that first big 12 championship, you guys will come up with something else. We went to the Great 8, had the #1 pick in the whole NBA draft, and have taken our recruiting to new heights. That sure looks like he's done alot to me. Oh yeah he's already sent two players to the NBA in less than five years. That means that players under him have improved enough to move on to the league. The whole program to me looks better to me than it has ever looked. Also, many programs want our coach. Yea, the one that you guys keep down playing. WHAT A JOKE! Keep watching the program get better. We all should want the program to be better than it has ever been. We shouldn't keep dwelling on the past. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!:clap

 

[WaymanFan]

Faithful, I don't know how anyone cannot appreciate your optimism and positive outlook.

In regards to this particular transfer, though, it's human nature for us to not be jumping up and down with excitement. I don't mind that he didn't average double-figures as a frosh because he was their league's Freshman of the Year, anyway. What bothers me is that he didn't improve his stats as a sophomore. I'm sure we all hope that he and Coach Capel can make us eat some crow.

 

[skyvue]

Faithful, I don't know how anyone cannot appreciate your optimism and positive outlook.

Here's how: when he uses that optimism and positive outlook as a figurative finger poking the chest of other devoted and enthusiastic Sooner fans, who also are very excited about the current state of OU hoops.

It's one thing to be optimistic and positive; it's quite another to chastise others who are not prepared to proclaim that the "whole program looks better than it has ever looked" because they were around for many of the previous glories and their frame of reference extends further back than, say, 2003.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

skyvue nails it again.

I like where the program is right now. But I've liked where it's been on several occassions. We have had a VERY good program going back at least a couple of decades, if not longer. Sure, we're missing the NC to validate us somewhat, but that isn't the only barameter.

 

[campbest]

Keep living in the past. Just keep down playing what's been done. You guys who keep saying this non-sense are also the ones who think that he didn't have to restore the program back to what it is now. But I'm sure that when he does win that first big 12 championship, you guys will come up with something else. We went to the Great 8, had the #1 pick in the whole NBA draft, and have taken our recruiting to new heights. That sure looks like he's done alot to me. Oh yeah he's already sent two players to the NBA in less than five years. That means that players under him have improved enough to move on to the league. The whole program to me looks better to me than it has ever looked. Also, many programs want our coach. Yea, the one that you guys keep down playing. WHAT A JOKE! Keep watching the program get better. We all should want the program to be better than it has ever been. We shouldn't keep dwelling on the past. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!:clap

This is funny.

 

[brettromar]

I agree with everything SoonerfanTU has said here.

 

[thebigabd]

Skyvue and TU are right on top of things again.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

I agree with everything SoonerfanTU has said here.

Are you sick? lol

 

[WaymanFan]

Here's how: when he uses that optimism and positive outlook as a figurative finger poking the chest of other devoted and enthusiastic Sooner fans, who also are very excited about the current state of OU hoops.

It's one thing to be optimistic and positive; it's quite another to chastise others who are not prepared to proclaim that the "whole program looks better than it has ever looked" because they were around for many of the previous glories and their frame of reference extends further back than, say, 2003.

I stand corrected, then. However, I still appreciate his enthusiasm toward the hoops program. Keep in mind that I was/am a huge fan of Billy Tubbs, Kelvin Sampson and Jeff Capel so I never got too caught up in a lot of these things you're referring to.

To answer the original poster's question, though, my outlook hasn't changed just because of one player who I'm not enthusiastic about signing. I just hope that at the end of the day there will be plenty of crow for all the skeptics.

 

[McG78]

For all those that have read my posts, you know three things, I'm a huge believer in that our program has progressed, I think we should go after a lot of one-and-done type talent players, and my two-year-old is seriously considering making a jump to the league after his first year of college.

I will say that getting upset over getting what appears to be a solid transfer is ridiculous. People are so uninformed. Two years ago, OU was the only Big XII school to have a McD AA (Willie). Kansas did not have any and they were just coming off their National Championship Season. Texas didn't hae any either. Very few schools nationally sign McD AA every year.

Yes we should go after top recruits. But sometimes you have to evaluate the situation and take a solid player while passing on a dream player. No offense to Omar Leary, but we put all of our eggs in the Jai Lucas basket. And at the end of the day, we had to scramble to find anyone who had heard of the point guard position, let alone could play point guard.

I trust Capel's decisions both on who to recruit and who to sign.

 

[luckyc1423]

McG, I dont think Omar Leary was any slouch coming out of junior college...his team was somewere around 34-2 and omar shot above 40 percent from threes I believe...he earned some junior college honors...I believe leary was alot more talented coming in...

I am fine with signing the kid but it just seems we are signing him so early in the year kinda giving up on getting other great pf/c's....but the thinking could be sign him early bring him in to practice with us all year to hopefully help out our scout team

 

[RonMexico]

I am fine with signing the kid but it just seems we are signing him so early in the year kinda giving up on getting other great pf/c's....but the thinking could be sign him early bring him in to practice with us all year to hopefully help out our scout team

There are other scholarships still....I dont think an elite PF/C will choose not to come to OU b/c of a this kid.

 

[brettromar]

Are you sick? lol

I figured you would say something.

You and I disagree on a lot, however this time I think are you spot on. I am not one of those guys that will argue just because it was posted by a certain poster.

I say what I think or believe. Much like you, I will defend what I believe until I am dead or proven wrong.

 

[campbest]

McG, I dont think Omar Leary was any slouch coming out of junior college...his team was somewere around 34-2 and omar shot above 40 percent from threes I believe...he earned some junior college honors...I believe leary was alot more talented coming in...

I am fine with signing the kid but it just seems we are signing him so early in the year kinda giving up on getting other great pf/c's....but the thinking could be sign him early bring him in to practice with us all year to hopefully help out our scout team

1.) Omar was an All-American, nothing against him, but that's because his team played in the national tournament in Hutchison. The joke in JUCO (at least when I was there) is that to be an AA you better have some hype coming in or your team makes the national tournament. Northeastern (Omar's JUCO) is the best program in an otherwise very weak region...they almost always play in Hutchison. The Jayhawk Conference regularly has more PG talent than most, especially Northeastern's region. Like I said, nothing against him and I appreciate everything he did at OU, but always take the junior college accolades with a bit of skepticism.

2.) Jai Lucas was more talented than Leary coming in.

3.) Barry's signing will acclimate him to Big XII basketball, as well as, develop a relationship with TMG and the rest of the group. No one knows for sure if it will work out, but we're going to be thin in the post next year...can't hurt to have some experience.