My take on things...

[campbest]

I'm just tired of people looking for someone to blame because we are not winning. I'm tired of people thinking WW has to be a leader instead of just a good basketball player. Capel put this team together. If it doesn't have a leader, that's his fault not WW.

Agree, Capel deserves just as much blame...it is his team and he is in Year 4. However, WW a majority of the time, has only been a "good" player. Maybe he is just not ready to be "great" yet.

I'm tired of people holding WW to some "subjective" standard of effort. Remember Heart, Hustle and Hardwood. Well that legacy or curse reflects in these subjective assessments. I think these assessments of his effort are bull, but we are losing, so he must be guilty of not developing as we were instructed that good players develop.

If we have seen the best effort he can give, then he has a lot of other problems heading his way. Kelvin isn't the only coach to ever preach effort...Self, Howland, K all preach it on the defensive end, so that statement is irrelevant. I still contend that Capel is in a situation where he has to play WW, if this was Duke or KU he would not even be on the floor because someone else would have stepped up and taken his role.

I go to every game, but I also go to a lot of Thunder games now. WW can play in the NBA and so far, I don't see anyone else on that team that is even close. WW is not the problem and if the fan base did not of the previous theory of basketball beaten into our heads, they would understand.

WW is by far the most talented on the team, but which position does he play at the next level? SG? Undersized and bad shooting mechanics. The only spot is PG, but based on his defensive lapses (save OSU) and volume of TOs it's tough for a GM to make him a staple in your line-up. He is already falling on draft boards out of the lottery, I suspect his position will be based on how he performs at the pre-draft camps. As I said earlier, if he played for a more recognized program with more talent, he would had his spot taken weeks ago.

Personally, I think Capel is making a serious mistake to have hold overs like Kellen, Szendri and Neal hanging around. It's obvious he wants his players to drive themselves, but it's harder to do with the past looking over your shoulder.

Capel shoulders a lot of the blame for this team's make-up, but sparing the teams most talented/recognized player and insinuate that two GA's and the SC coach are to partially blame is comical at best.

 

[skyvue]

sparing the teams most talented/recognized player and insinuating that two GA's and the SC coach are to partially blame is comical at best.

The point being made (in somewhat indirect fashion) really seems to be that Sampson is, in fact, to blame.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Personally, I think Capel is making a serious mistake to have hold overs like Kellen, Szendri and Neal hanging around. It's obvious he wants his players to drive themselves, but it's harder to do with the past looking over your shoulder.

The fact that Kellen, Szendri & Mike Neal have a connection to Coach Sampson means nothing since none of the players on this team ever played for Coach Sampson. The only one who seems to feel the past looking over their shoulder is you. I doubt the players look any further into the past than last year.

 

[AdaSooner]

When a team struggles the way this group has done since the season began, you can bet the problem goes deeper than one or two players. WW is catching more of the heat because he set himself up as the team's leader. He has said more than once that he would accept that responsibility. Who knows, maybe it was forced on him by the coaching staff? The fact remains, however, that he embraced the role openly.

While it may be unfair (and inaccurate IMO) to blame Willie for everything this team has been going through. He is the one the younger players have looked to for leadership since long before the season got underway. And, with good reason. No matter what anyone says or thinks, he is the best player on the team. This team flounders like a duck with a ten pound weight on its leg when he goes into one of his funks. The reason doesn't matter.

When Blake was injured last season, Willie took over and carried us through some tough spots. This year there is no one else to do that. Sure, it's a lot to ask of a sophomore two years removed from high school. But, that's what great players like Willie are supposed to do.

 

[MO]

No, I'm not saying it's Sampson's fault. I'm saying it's Capel's fault for not having the strength to run his own program. I hear themes coming from him that echo the public discussions I saw or heard the previous week. I see and hear things that a coach should say to his team but not to the public. He's appears to be carrying around and reacting of the expectations of those outside of the program. The faults we hear reflect the priorities and the expectations to which we have become accustomed. They are carried over from previous program.

You are correct, none of those guys Kellen, Szendri or to some degree, Neal played important competitive roles for their teams. However, if you don't really play that much what do you take away from being on those teams? You take away the style of how you practiced, what was emphasized and how you perceived success. So you have at least 3 guys walking around practice and games thinking to themselves "this isn't how we approached the game". Furthermore, It's normal for like minded associates to verbalize these negative assessments among themselves. That kind of negative undertone can be as much a cancer to a team as a player that is not performing to expectations.

You have a fan base, many that wants to discuss on a public forum their displeasure at a player and air out their own personal assessment of his character and effort. That kind of negative undertone is cancer to a team. Recruits read these boards. Do you guys really want to demonstrate how players are treated at time when they probably need support?

Capel needs to quit worrying about those that judge him and his players. The rest of you need to forget the past and support your team. They will grow. Do you really think they don't care? Do you think they need to be blasted by fans to "get" it. Do you think other than as an outlet for personal frustration this condemnation of a player does any good?