Driving to Norman today for the smackdown of the Aggies, I was listening to the Sports Animal, and they had Doug Gottlieb on for a bit and asked him what was wrong with OU's basketball team. Gottlieb said he'd watched the tape of the OU/VCU game and was very surprised at how bad we looked. Anyway, he said that he thinks we will get better when we begin adjusting the attitudes of our new guys who have come off the AAU circuit. Gottlieb said that in this day in age, kids who play AAU ball don't care about losing because they play so many games. And he said AAU ball has become about showing up your opponent and less about playing team basketball.
I'm pretty sure we are all aware nobody plays defense in AAU ball, but I had not thought about the fact they play so many games that losing becomes not-such-a-big-deal for the players. But it makes sense if you think about it.
Quite frankly, I think AAU basketball is detrimental to player development. Of course, it's great in the sense that it gives a lot of kids exposure, but I don't think anybody gets better by playing AAU basketball. It's a real shame, but AAU is here to stay, and I doubt the summer schedules of these athletes change either.
Capel will change the attitudes of these guys, but I don't think we should expect him to get it done overnight. For years, Tiny Gallon, Mason-Griffin, Willie Warren have done whatever the heck they darned well pleased on the basketball court. They probably answered to nobody but themselves. Playing a team game is completely different. It's going to take a little bit of time for these guys to adjust to team basketball, but it will happen. When it does, we'll be a much better team.
I'm pretty sure we are all aware nobody plays defense in AAU ball, but I had not thought about the fact they play so many games that losing becomes not-such-a-big-deal for the players. But it makes sense if you think about it.
Quite frankly, I think AAU basketball is detrimental to player development. Of course, it's great in the sense that it gives a lot of kids exposure, but I don't think anybody gets better by playing AAU basketball. It's a real shame, but AAU is here to stay, and I doubt the summer schedules of these athletes change either.
Capel will change the attitudes of these guys, but I don't think we should expect him to get it done overnight. For years, Tiny Gallon, Mason-Griffin, Willie Warren have done whatever the heck they darned well pleased on the basketball court. They probably answered to nobody but themselves. Playing a team game is completely different. It's going to take a little bit of time for these guys to adjust to team basketball, but it will happen. When it does, we'll be a much better team.