Postseason Play

[WaymanFan]

Of the top 5 players in the Capel era 4 were probably Sampson recruits.

No, Nick, they weren't. Obviously, Blake Griffin and Willie Warren were #1 and #2. The next three are debatable, but even if Longar Longar sneaks in to the top 5, it was Jeff Capel who developed him. It's too bad the guy got hurt halfway thrugh his senior year because prior to that injury, he was light years better than when Coach Capel stepped onto campus.

 

[NickZepp]

I think the top 5 would be Blake, Nate Carter, and Austin Johnson, easily. With Griffin 1 and the rest in some order or another. I'm not sure I would put Warren in the top 5 but he's in the discussion. His first year was definitely among the best we've had. But I think Cade Davis, Longar Longar, and Taylor Griffin probably deserve that discussion as well. Willie Warren's 2nd year was so bad that it really hurt him.

 

[WaymanFan]

I think the top 5 would be Blake, Nate Carter, and Austin Johnson, easily. With Griffin 1 and the rest in some order or another. I'm not sure I would put Warren in the top 5 but he's in the discussion. His first year was definitely among the best we've had. But I think Cade Davis, Longar Longar, and Taylor Griffin probably deserve that discussion as well. Willie Warren's 2nd year was so bad that it really hurt him.

Willie Warren is playing in the NBA...probably will for a long, long time. He's easily the second best player at OU in the Jeff Capel area. Feel free to debate #3 - #5. I'm trying to think who I would put at #3, but no one jumps out at me. Hopefully, a year from now, I'll be saying Cam Clark or Andrew Fitzgerald.

 

[campbest]

Posts like these are why I appreciate posters like Seniorsooner - someone who doesn't like the job Coach Capel is doing, but won't revise history to make his point.

There is nothing really to debate about Coach Capel's first season. Most objective people will stipulate that a seasoned coach would have squeezed an extra victory or two out of that team...big deal. To say he should have won 20 games with that team is completely absurd. The team only won 20 games the previous year - and lost their top 3 players with no one of impact to replace them. Is it really that difficult to conclude 2007 was going to be a rebuilding season?

As for year two, Jeff Capel actually exceeded expectations. How? For only the second time in 20 years, OU actually won a 1st round NCAA Tournament game with a seed lower than #3. We were a putrid 1-7 the previous 20 years, despite three of those seven losses as a #4 seed. That's a FACT, not some revisionist theory.

Great post.