Taylor Griffin started tonight for the Suns in OKC

[Sam]

Played the Thunder at the Ford Center and the Suns let him start the game. Pretty cool honor, saw Coach Capel, Tommy and Gail Griffn, Beau Gerber and Coach Goodman all at the game.
Taylor had a rough start with a few turnovers but ended up with 4 points and a couple boards by my count from the stands.

 

[Boomer]

That's cool of the Suns.

 

[CoachTalk]

Played the Thunder at the Ford Center and the Suns let him start the game. Pretty cool honor, saw Coach Capel, Tommy and Gail Griffn, Beau Gerber and Coach Goodman all at the game.
Taylor had a rough start with a few turnovers but ended up with 4 points and a couple boards by my count from the stands.

I was looking for him on Yahoo! and couldnt find his name on the bench... Then I was shocked when I saw that he started!

Thats a great story!

 

[jmill1200]

Does anybody else feel like Capel was a big reason why the Suns drafted Taylor?

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Does anybody else feel like Capel was a big reason why the Suns drafted Taylor?

Only in that Capel not recruiting a better player to start over Taylor gave him some exposure he ordinarily wouldn't have gotten.

 

[BigTime]

Only in that Capel not recruiting a better player to start over Taylor gave him some exposure he ordinarily wouldn't have gotten.

Yeah let's ignore the fact that Capel and Cline made Taylor a much more complete player. See LL, Nate Carter, T crock, and Blake from year 1 to year 2 if you need more evidence.

C'mon, TU. You are better than that.

 

[Tony]

I do not even understand what point TU is attempting to make.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Yeah let's ignore the fact that Capel and Cline made Taylor a much more complete player. See LL, Nate Carter, T crock, and Blake from year 1 to year 2 if you need more evidence.

C'mon, TU. You are better than that.

LMAO. LL is the only player on there you get any credit for. And where is he playing now? Same place a TON of ex Kelvin players are, overseas.

Carter was pretty good under Kelvin, but needed minutes and a year to mature. Crocker? He didn't even play under Kelvin. Good Lord.

Not sure what point you are trying to make. If it is that Kelvin never developed players, you are wrong, he did. If it's that those players above would never have developed under Kelvin, we have no way of knowing. If it is that those above that actually played for Kelvin have been better under Capel, well duh, they are older and more experienced.

 

[BigTime]

LMAO. LL is the only player on there you get any credit for. And where is he playing now? Same place a TON of ex Kelvin players are, overseas.

Carter was pretty good under Kelvin, but needed minutes and a year to mature. Crocker? He didn't even play under Kelvin. Good Lord.

Not sure what point you are trying to make. If it is that Kelvin never developed players, you are wrong, he did. If it's that those players above would never have developed under Kelvin, we have no way of knowing. If it is that those above that actually played for Kelvin have been better under Capel, well duh, they are older and more experienced.

This had nothing to do with Kelvin. It has everything to do with Capel and how he develops his players. The Griffins have both given him a lot of credit for it. Its not like it is some big secret.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

I do not even understand what point TU is attempting to make.

Two very SIMPLE things:

1. That Taylor was drafted for his athletic ability a heck of alot more than for his basketball skills. That athletic ability was there long before Capel got to OU.

2. That Taylor showed signs of being a good player under Kelvin. Remember the osu game in stillwater his frosh year? Capel isn't more responsible for his being in the NBA just b/c he got to coach Taylor's upperclassman years, as opposed to his underclassman years.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

This had nothing to do with Kelvin. It has everything to do with Capel and how he develops his players. The Griffins have both given him a lot of credit for it. Its not like it is some big secret.

And acting like Taylor was some skilled cat on the court is ridiculous. He is in the NBA, for the time being, b/c he is about as athletic as it gets. He fits on a team like that, as he is big and can run.

Funny. Alot of you guys thought Capel could/would turn Taylor into a legit SF/3. That never got close to happening. Not a knock on Capel, Taylor just wasn't cut out for it. I just didn't notice any super development out of the kid. He looked better, and his numbers were better, b/c of Blake, and b/c he was finally getting minutes his senior year. Had Chris Walker been allowed to start a bunch of games his senior year, he'd have looked better. Not saying he'd have looked "good", but he'd have looked better. Getting minutes tends to do that.

 

[Tony]

Two very SIMPLE things:

1. That Taylor was drafted for his athletic ability a heck of alot more than for his basketball skills. That athletic ability was there long before Capel got to OU.

2. That Taylor showed signs of being a good player under Kelvin. Remember the osu game in stillwater his frosh year? Capel isn't more responsible for his being in the NBA just b/c he got to coach Taylor's upperclassman years, as opposed to his underclassman years.

Well, I happen to agree with these things, but they and the statement that Capel had a lot to do with Taylor Griffin being drafted are not mutually exclusive. Is it your contention that Jeff Capel being the Oklahoma basketball coach had no effect on Jeff Capel's draft status? Or even that he was drafted despite Jeff Capel? I don't understand where you are going with this.

 

[Sam]

Taylor got drafted and plays in the NBA as a 3, now has a decent jump shot.
Hmmm.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

I don't understand where you are going with this.

The other poster asked if anybody thought that Capel was a big reason that Taylor got drafted. I took that to mean that Capel is somehow one of the better "development" coaches around, and that Taylor developed under Capel to a level that he likely wouldn't have under most coaches.

I don't agree with that. I still don't think Taylor is very skilled. Not a knock on the kid, I just don't he is. Athletic? Hells yea. Skilled? I don't see it. I don't see how he can have any success in the NBA playing SF. He simply can't score or defend those guys well enough, IMO. Time will tell.