I said this last year.....

[Krugerfan52]

We weren't that great defensively last year but it was OK because we were such a good rebounding team with the two Griffins.

This year we suck on D and we are pretty bad on the boards as well. Thats a combination that will give up a lot of points whether you are playing Gonzaga or San Diego.

 

[j2d2]

I think Capel's first year was a good coaching job. Program left with alsorans, defections galore, morale in the gutter and still won some games: 16-15 record I think. Excellent.

 

[gracefor24]

He was not a top 5 guard. Somewhere around 50th player, I think. Certainly not a top 5 guard, by recruiting services.

LOL, leave it to bocabull to proclaim some crazy thing that he has no evidence to back up.

Price was ranked #53 in RSCI Hoops rankings. He was the 13th PG in the rankings.

 

[Sooner Quick]

We have yet to play as a team this year and until we do we will continue to play poorly. We have all the talent in the world but these guys can't go one on one every time down...we have to play as a TEAM! One unit, one heart!

 

[qwertyqaz]

Hollis Price wasn't top 5, but being ranked top 50 out of HS is pretty freaking good unless people's standards are way different from mine.

Something my parents used to say applies here--people are never as great as everyone says they are, and they're never as bad as everyone says they are. Now I think Capel is a good coach who will likely only get better with time. A 30-6 year doesn't mean Capel is a super-genius, and this year's record does not mean Coach is sub par. I think with what he's done thus far at VCU and here, he is certainly a quality coach and is probably on the rise as far as ability.


Oh yeah, I really dislike it when people portray last year as the "Blake Griffin Show." Yes he was a bad man but good grief please recognize the Seniors on that team cos they were priceless. At least Oklahoma fans should for goodness sake.

 

[DenverSooner]

You gonna complain next year, b/c we won't have any upperclassmen then either.

Honore? Allen? Davis? Willis?

Any of those guys get you excited, b/c those are our upperclassmen next year, as of today.

Some how that will be Sampson's fault too. Capel supporters refuse to acknowledge that Jeff Capel is 100% responsible for this line-up. Heck the guys strength is recruiting.

 

[NickZepp]

Some how that will be Sampson's fault too. Capel supporters refuse to acknowledge that Jeff Capel is 100% responsible for this line-up. Heck the guys strength is recruiting.

I don't follow recruiting so I'm not going to acknowledge that as his strength, but it's pretty obvious he messed up in recruiting some how to have this many scholarship guys that basically don't have a role on this team after a couple years in the program.

 

[38red]

Players always make a coach look better than they are

 

[152219]

How can Blake save our butts when he's part of our butts. Blake was great and obviously was the most talented guy in the nation last year, but he was a sooner so how could he save the sooners.

He cannot. Like you said, he was part of the team.

It is an argument (one that is a fallacy) concocted by a guy who dislikes Capel to make an attempt to take away from the accomplishment of making it to the Elite 8 (losing to the eventual national champs).

 

[SoonerfanTU]

He cannot. Like you said, he was part of the team.

It is an argument (one that is a fallacy) concocted by a guy who dislikes Capel to make an attempt to take away from the accomplishment of making it to the Elite 8 (losing to the eventual national champs).

I dislike Capel? That is a lie.

 

[152219]

I dislike Capel? That is a lie.

Almost 4 years of posts on this board and OUInsider suggest otherwise, including a comment recently how you didn't like the hire at the time. So, if it isn't that you don't like him, then we can just change that to "don't support".

 

[SoonerfanTU]

including a comment recently how you didn't like the hire at the time.

Find that post, and I won't post for 2 weeks.

You won't find it though, b/c the opposite is true. I was the most excited regular poster on the board the night the hiring was announced. I stayed up until about 2am defending the hire, from those that thought we should be able to get any coach who's name wasn't Williams/Self/Calhoun. It's funny, b/c alot of the posters that have been Capel's biggest supporters the last 2-3 seasons, weren't on board anywhere near as much as I was initially.

Has my opinion changed? A bit. It is no secret that I've been disappointed in the end result of pretty much every season except last year. Whether that is right or wrong, it is my opinion and I'm entitled to it. I still think hiring Capel was probably the right move at the time. That is really impossible to evaluate not knowing who else might have been available though. That said, just b/c at the time I thought it was a good hire, doesn't mean I have to feel that way 4 years down the road. Assuming OU wins more than 3-4 games in the Big 12 this year, I'm willing to let next season play out before suggesting Capel isn't going to cut it at OU.

But as I said above, find where I said I was against the hire from the beginning. I never said that. What I've said, since that first season, is that there have been several things I've been disappointed in, once coach had taken over at OU, that I've seen since his first few games.

 

[152219]

I'm not going to go through all of your posts...but if you say you didn't say it then I believe you and I mistook another's post for yours. And I apologize.

But my point still stands about discounting last year's results to strengthen one's argument as it has no validity.

As for this year...obviously, it has been incredibly disappointing so far. As for who to blame, I've always been in the camp that it is the coaches' AND players' faults. Ultimately, it lies at Capel's feet because it is the nature of being the head coach and hopefully this season gets turned around, but the Gonzaga game was disheartening as it was virtually the same as the UTEP game.