How many Big 12 wins does Capel need to save his job?

[Tony]

And more importantly, Taylor was quoted essentially saying the same thing. The story was re-posted on here not too long ago. So I think there's more substance to it than just lacking authenticity.

Here is the story:

The recruiting ground for Blake Griffin’s college decision came at the family dinner table one night in April 2006. Taylor had returned home from Norman, Okla., and soon after the family finished their pre-meal prayer, Taylor quizzed his younger brother about his college future.

He then raved about the direction of the Sooners’ program under the newly hired coach Jeff Capel and the benefits of staying close to home.

“I think if you want to, Oklahoma would be a great place for you to be,” Taylor told Blake. “I’d love to get the chance to play with you again.”

Shortly after replacing the former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson and before Blake’s commitment, Capel had a conversation with Taylor while watching Blake play at an A.A.U. basketball tournament in Dallas.

“You know that Blake almost committed here last year?” Taylor asked, according to Capel.

“Really?” Capel said.

“Yeah, but I kind of talked him out of it,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back.”

Taylor said he did not know if he would still be playing for the Sooners if Sampson had stayed. Even when Sampson left for Indiana after his freshman season, Taylor was unsure of his future.

“I was going to stick around at least for that next year and see how things went and everything,” Taylor said of his sophomore season.

Taylor did not end up having to wait until his sophomore season to know he would finish his career at Oklahoma. He quickly became enamored with Capel, and less than a month after meeting him he made the dinner pitch to Blake about Oklahoma.

 

[stoops4pres]

You and I will have to agree to disagree here because had Sampson not recruited Taylor at all, then no way does Blake come to OU. I don't see any way the 2 brothers would play at different colleges.

I wouldn't say "no way" Blake and Taylor would be separated. Blake had been leaning towards OU for some time, but rumors were floating around that Taylor was so frustrated with KS that Blake wasn't going to go there had KS still been around. This wasn't directly told to me by Blake, just by mutual friends, so who knows if that is true or not. Just what I had heard repeatedly.

I do agree that Capel deserves some credit for getting Taylor on his side and then convincing BG to sign with OU.

Well then I'm not sure what exactly you are agreeing to disagree with me on. If you thought I was implying that Capel deserves all the credit, then my bad. Obviously Capel had some luck involved having Blake's brother already on the roster (thus giving him an easier way to obtain Blake). I was just saying it wasn't all luck that helped Capel land Blake. Capel was an important part of the process as well.

 

[stoops4pres]

Here is the story:

The recruiting ground for Blake Griffin’s college decision came at the family dinner table one night in April 2006. Taylor had returned home from Norman, Okla., and soon after the family finished their pre-meal prayer, Taylor quizzed his younger brother about his college future.

He then raved about the direction of the Sooners’ program under the newly hired coach Jeff Capel and the benefits of staying close to home.

“I think if you want to, Oklahoma would be a great place for you to be,” Taylor told Blake. “I’d love to get the chance to play with you again.”

Shortly after replacing the former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson and before Blake’s commitment, Capel had a conversation with Taylor while watching Blake play at an A.A.U. basketball tournament in Dallas.

“You know that Blake almost committed here last year?” Taylor asked, according to Capel.

“Really?” Capel said.

“Yeah, but I kind of talked him out of it,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back.”

Taylor said he did not know if he would still be playing for the Sooners if Sampson had stayed. Even when Sampson left for Indiana after his freshman season, Taylor was unsure of his future.

“I was going to stick around at least for that next year and see how things went and everything,” Taylor said of his sophomore season.

Taylor did not end up having to wait until his sophomore season to know he would finish his career at Oklahoma. He quickly became enamored with Capel, and less than a month after meeting him he made the dinner pitch to Blake about Oklahoma.

Yes, which is what I was saying. Taylor wasn't sure on his future at OU, thus telling Blake to hold off on committing there. When Taylor became sold on Capel, that's when he voiced his confidence to Blake. So how is that apocryphal?

 

[Tony]

The idea that Taylor Griffin was going to transfer if Kelvin Sampson had remained coach is not true. Yet it has weirdly become an accepted truth on this board. He was going to stay. He said so himself.

 

[stoops4pres]

The idea that Taylor Griffin was going to transfer if Kelvin Sampson had remained coach is not true. Yet it has weirdly become an accepted truth on this board. He was going to stay. He said so himself.

I would say this post is one that is lacking authenticity as well, unless you have something reputable that verifies Taylor was sticking around had KS still been the coach.

And when he said he was "going to stay", the article doesn't specify if Taylor was talking about staying another year had KS still been there, or whether he was willing to stay another year to give Capel a shot after KS had departed. So the article doesn't bolster your stance on KS.

But regardless, my main point was this: The fact remains that Taylor was unsure of his future until he was sold on Capel, and Capel earning Taylor's confidence played a major role in earning Blake's commitment. The article you posted yourself clarifies that. The rest is just arguing over minutia.

 

[Tony]

And when he said he was "going to stay", the article doesn't specify if Taylor was talking about staying another year had KS still been there, or whether he was willing to stay another year to give Capel a shot after KS had departed. So the article doesn't bolster your stance on KS.

O-kay.

 

[WaymanFan]

Bull Boca. If he goes 0-16 he is gone and he should be anyway. Jeff Capel = John Blake as a head coach.:fitz

Not by any stretch of the imagination are those two names equivalent...unless of course one can equate anything John Blake did with getting to the Elite Eight in '09...or the NCAA 2nd round in '08...or a winning record in '07. Yeah, the similarities are just striking. :facepalm


Coach Capel will keep his job if he doesn't "lose" his players like last year. If this team plays with an incredible amount of effort and are competetive in most games, he'll be back next year. In other words, wins and losses won't determine his fate in '10-'11, but they will in '11-'12.

 

[NickZepp]

This story is apocryphal.

I think you can pretty much make a story up about every major OU football player. JC Watts, Billy Sims, Greg Pruitt etc thought about quitting sometime in their careers. It's almost always not really that true. And we really don't know for sure. Taylor probably thought about quitting even after Jeff Capel was hired. He was probably going to get over it if Sampson was here too. But we'll never know for sure.

 

[DenverSooner]

This story is apocryphal.

Exactly. It has gone from a rumor that he was considering transfering to an absolute fact that he was leaving.

 

[DenverSooner]

Not by any stretch of the imagination are those two names equivalent...unless of course one can equate anything John Blake did with getting to the Elite Eight in '09...or the NCAA 2nd round in '08...or a winning record in '07. Yeah, the similarities are just striking. :facepalm


Coach Capel will keep his job if he doesn't "lose" his players like last year. If this team plays with an incredible amount of effort and are competetive in most games, he'll be back next year. In other words, wins and losses won't determine his fate in '10-'11, but they will in '11-'12.

Well I don't know that I agree with these comments. Blake was horrible but Capel missing the post season his first year in Basketball was pretty equivalent to Blake not making a bowl his first season. Furthermore, as bad as Blake was he did have improvement every season. If Capel does not turn things around, I think the John Blake comparisons are fair.

If you haven't noticed, Blake Griffin is not only posting rookie of the year numbers, he is posting NBA All-Star numbers and that is at the worst franchise in the NBA.

 

[Tony]

I think you can pretty much make a story up about every major OU football player. JC Watts, Billy Sims, Greg Pruitt etc thought about quitting sometime in their careers. It's almost always not really that true. And we really don't know for sure. Taylor probably thought about quitting even after Jeff Capel was hired. He was probably going to get over it if Sampson was here too. But we'll never know for sure.

This is the important point. I personally watched Aaron McGhee launch a ball into the stands and storm out of the LNC during a practice, claiming to give up basketball. Nolan Johnson quit the team and was packing to return to New York before Bennie Seltzer talked him out of it. Kevin Bookout quit for a few days his senior year.

College students, even those as seemingly well-grounded as Taylor Griffin, are incredibly unreliable and hard to predict. Of course they are unsure of their future. It comes with being that age. It seems obvious Taylor had his concerns with Sampson. Maybe he would have transferred. Maybe not. I think it's essentially impossible to predict.

 

[Sid]

How many Big 12 wins does Capel need to save his job?

ZERO! IMO, Joe is too dayum stubborn to admit he made a mistake. Apparently Men’s Basketball is 3rd in the pecking order at OU.

 

[Sooner23]

ZERO! IMO, Joe is too dayum stubborn to admit he made a mistake. Apparently Men’s Basketball is 3rd in the pecking order at OU.

Joe C. won't do anything about it with that Get out of Jail Free Stoops Card in his wallet.

 

[stoops4pres]

If Capel does not turn things around, I think the John Blake comparisons are fair.

Absolutely not.

Blake never had any success as head coach at OU in any season. Capel has at least had success. I don't know how anyone can come up with that comparison because of that discrepancy alone.

 

[stoops4pres]

Not by any stretch of the imagination are those two names equivalent...unless of course one can equate anything John Blake did with getting to the Elite Eight in '09...or the NCAA 2nd round in '08...or a winning record in '07. Yeah, the similarities are just striking. :facepalm

Exactly.

 

[WaymanFan]

Well I don't know that I agree with these comments. Blake was horrible but Capel missing the post season his first year in Basketball was pretty equivalent to Blake not making a bowl his first season. Furthermore, as bad as Blake was he did have improvement every season. If Capel does not turn things around, I think the John Blake comparisons are fair.

With all due respect, the comparisons make any OU hoops fan look like a complete neophyte. No, Jeff Capel going 16-15, with at best 17-14 talent is not quite the same as John Blake losing 73-21 to Nebraska and going 3-8 his first year. And, no, Blake really didn't improve as a coach during his three years. He lost 69-7 in year two to Nebraska. The ONLY reason OU managed to go 5-6 and stay reasonably competitve in most games in year three was because Blake was smart enough to hire a great defensive coordinator...who will be on display this Saturday night when the Jets play the Colts.

BTW, please knock off the garbage about Capel's first year being such a disaster. The previous year's team won 20 games and lost its (far and away) three best players - Taj Gray, Kevin Bookout and Terrell Everett. They were replaced with Bobby Maze and Tony Crocker. So, should they have won 21 in Capel's first year?

 

[WaymanFan]

Blake never had any success as head coach at OU in any season. Capel has at least had success. I don't know how anyone can come up with that comparison because of that discrepancy alone.

Absolutely correct. No reasonable person can make that comparison.

 

[Big Old Booger]

With all due respect, the comparisons make any OU hoops fan look like a complete neophyte. No, Jeff Capel going 16-15, with at best 17-14 talent is not quite the same as John Blake losing 73-21 to Nebraska and going 3-8 his first year. And, no, Blake really didn't improve as a coach during his three years. He lost 69-7 in year two to Nebraska. The ONLY reason OU managed to go 5-6 and stay reasonably competitve in most games in year three was because Blake was smart enough to hire a great defensive coordinator...who will be on display this Saturday night when the Jets play the Colts.

BTW, please knock off the garbage about Capel's first year being such a disaster. The previous year's team won 20 games and lost its (far and away) three best players - Taj Gray, Kevin Bookout and Terrell Everett. They were replaced with Bobby Maze and Tony Crocker. So, should they have won 21 in Capel's first year?

They went 11-5 in conference that year and then Capel went a smooth 6-10 the next season. That's a big difference.

 

[40 Cal]

They went 11-5 in conference that year and then Capel went a smooth 6-10 the next season. That's a big difference.

After sampson left the team in ncaa trouble and with no players. That's the difference in why Oklahoma went from 11-5 to 6-10

 

[T Shirt Time!]

Yeah sampson was awesome bring him back so he can get ou you in more trouble with the ncaa, thats just what the programs needs.