Who could we get to replace Capel?

[soonerbms]

It looks like Jeff Capel's tenure at Oklahoma is going to end after next season. With all the defections and controversy, it's going to be damn near impossible for OU to do any better next season. We may have a slightly better record, but we're probably going to miss the postseason again. In that case, Capel will have to go. As I've said in other threads, we're a football school, but we have a rich basketball tradition and two straight seasons without postseason play are intolerable.

My question involves who we could get to clean up the program and return us to prominence. Please don't list names like Bill Self, John Calipari, and Jay Wright like posters did last time we were looking for a coach. I'll get us started:

Tony Barbee, UTEP - OU would definitely be an upgrade from UTEP and he already knows how to recruit the area.

Billy Gillispie - Say what you will about his failed tenure at Kentucky, but he did a masterful job at A&M. His teams reminded me of Sampson's OU teams because of their intense defensive effort and deliberate pace.

Josh Pastner, Memphis - This guy is a hell of a recruiter! He's probably a bit of a reach, however, because Memphis has great facilities and is in fertile recruiting territory.

Chris Mack, Xavier - Did a fantastic job at Xavier this year following the departure of Sean Miller. Xavier's a great program, but OU could pay him far more.

Buzz Williams, Marquette - Similar to Chris Mack. Marquette is probably a better program than OU right now, but we could pay much better.

 

[BigTime]

I don't think Capel will need to be replaced. If that time comes, then I will be happy to try and think of some names, until then, it is pointless.

Aziz and TJones,

Please ignore this thread.

Thanks.

BT

PS I am not really a Jayhawk fan.

 

[NickZepp]

We are not going to replace Capel anytime within the next couple of years. If TMG and Gallon, which we still don't have the information on Gallon, that may buy Capel another couple of years.

 

[soonerbms]

I don't think Capel will need to be replaced. If that time comes, then I will be happy to try and think of some names, until then, it is pointless.

Aziz and TJones,

Please ignore this thread.

Thanks.

BT

PS I am not really a Jayhawk fan.

Why won't Capel have to be replaced? If we have another season like this one, why should we keep him around? All indications are that next season is going to be a tough one.

 

[BigTime]

Another thing (and it is far from just you BMS). Gotta love the average OU basketball fan. He/she has the sense of entitlement of a Kentucky/Kansas/North Carolina fan yet doesn't show up to the games (not even senior night). Ridiculous.

 

[OULad]

Why won't Capel have to be replaced? If we have another season like this one, why should we keep him around? All indications are that next season is going to be a tough one.

I would agree, if we finish with a losing record next year I want him gone.

 

[BigTime]

Why won't Capel have to be replaced? If we have another season like this one, why should we keep him around? All indications are that next season is going to be a tough one.

I'd like to at least wait and see what happens before I call for his head. A bit premature at this point dontcha think?

EDIT: If we have a similar season next year (discipline issues, poor effort, no defense, no leadership) then yes, I think that it might be time to look in another direction, but I am willing to wait and see what happens first.

 

[NickZepp]

I would agree with that if we returned TMG and/or Gallon and we returned Willie. Right now it looks like we'll be 0-3. Where are we really going to get our points from consistently? Cade Davis?

 

[soonerbms]

Another thing (and it is far from just you BMS). Gotta love the average OU basketball fan. He/she has the sense of entitlement of a Kentucky/Kansas/North Carolina fan yet doesn't show up to the games (not even senior night). Ridiculous.

BigTime, you'll soon learn how hard it is for third years to make basketball games. It's not like we have a ton of time off.

By the way, I don't possess the sense of entitlement you describe. I'm not calling for regular Final Four trips or National Championships. I just want a return to Sampson era consistency.

 

[BigTime]

BigTime, you'll soon learn how hard it is for third years to make basketball games. It's not like we have a ton of time off.

By the way, I don't possess the sense of entitlement you describe. I'm not calling for regular Final Four trips or National Championships. I just want a return to Sampson era consistency.

Again, its not you specifically, it is nearly our entire fanbase. I am going to Tulsa, so yes, I probably won't make many games next year, but I will still try and get as many folks to go as possible.

 

[Edmond_Sooner]

 

[bgrch1350]

You are jumping the gun way tooooooo early. We were a 2 seed last year...get over yourself. This freshmen class was over-rated, just look at UNC and UCONN.

 

[Escape Goat]

It looks like Jeff Capel's tenure at Oklahoma is going to end after next season. With all the defections and controversy, it's going to be damn near impossible for OU to do any better next season. We may have a slightly better record, but we're probably going to miss the postseason again. In that case, Capel will have to go. As I've said in other threads, we're a football school, but we have a rich basketball tradition and two straight seasons without postseason play are intolerable.

My question involves who we could get to clean up the program and return us to prominence. Please don't list names like Bill Self, John Calipari, and Jay Wright like posters did last time we were looking for a coach. I'll get us started:

Tony Barbee, UTEP - OU would definitely be an upgrade from UTEP and he already knows how to recruit the area.

Billy Gillispie - Say what you will about his failed tenure at Kentucky, but he did a masterful job at A&M. His teams reminded me of Sampson's OU teams because of their intense defensive effort and deliberate pace.

Josh Pastner, Memphis - This guy is a hell of a recruiter! He's probably a bit of a reach, however, because Memphis has great facilities and is in fertile recruiting territory.

Chris Mack, Xavier - Did a fantastic job at Xavier this year following the departure of Sean Miller. Xavier's a great program, but OU could pay him far more.

Buzz Williams, Marquette - Similar to Chris Mack. Marquette is probably a better program than OU right now, but we could pay much better.

Weak. :jcapel

 

[OUHoops]

It's just going to depend on how the rest of this offseason goes and then how next season plays out. There's still a lot of ifs involved at play here, and a lot also depends on Joe Castiglione's mindset.

If Cade, Fitz and Pledger are the only three contributors to return next year, and if Capel is still Joe C's guy, I think you will see Capel get two more years to right the ship regardless of who he signs this spring.

But, as an addendum to the above, if the there continues to be more off the court issues, suspensions etc. with the players on the roster next year, and it shows on the court, then Castiglione may decide that's enough.

If Willie or Tiny or TMG (or any combination) come back and are added to that group, expectations will be higher next year and it may be NCAA or bust for Capel in Joe C's eyes.

It all just depends on the mindset of Castiglione, and whether he's still confident in his hire or not and how things continue to play out over the next month.

My guess is that Capel loads up in the late period with 5-6 good players and fields a competitive team next year that finishes somewhere around the .500 mark. And then, with all of that group returning except Cade the following season, he gets that year with an NCAA or bust goal.

 

[BigTime]

It's just going to depend on how the rest of this offseason goes and then how next season plays out. There's still a lot of ifs involved at play here, and a lot also depends on Joe Castiglione's mindset.

If Cade, Fitz and Pledger are the only three contributors to return next year, and if Capel is still Joe C's got, I think you will see Capel two more years to right the ship regardless of who he signs this spring.

But as an addendum to the above, if the there continue to be more off the court issues, suspensions etc. with the players on the roster next year, and it shows on the court, then Castiglione may decide that's enough.

If Willie or Tiny or TMG (or any combination) come back and are added to that group, and if Capel signs a good class this spring, expectations will be higher next year and he may just get one year if the results don't improve on the court.

It all just depends on the mindset of Castiglione, and whether he's still confident in his hire or not and how things play out.

My guess is that Capel loads up in the late period with 5-6 good players and fields a competitive team next year that finishes somewhere around the .500 mark, and then he gets another year to get into the dance. And if not, then Castiglione will make the change.

Agreed. It is really hard to even speculate the IFs right now until we see who is coming back and who Coach Capel is able to sign.

 

[trueou]

This may sound a little harsh but I think some of those who are wanting Capel's head were the same ones who were all in a panic that he was going to be hired away from us last year. I'm sorry but those reactions are what one would expect from junior high girls.

This was a tough year. No one could imagine it being this bad. Injuries, bad chemistry, discipline and lack of depth. Who could have thought that Allen wouldn't improve to give good minutes? Longar did. Sometimes players just don't work out. All of the above is Capel's fault. But a year like this can happen to any coach. Look at Barnes, Donovan and Williams, for instance. There needs to be significant improvement next year with the year finishing with a promise for an even better year following. Joe C will give him another year, probably two and there is not much anyone can do about that. So it would be best for us to support our coach in the meantime.

We can take comfort that Joe C will not let the program drift down to perpetual suckage. He has too much pride for that to happen. But he is a smart, good motivator of people. His first reaction to adversity is to support his guy. He will give Jeff plenty of time to right the ship. If he does not, what quality coach would ever want to come to work for him if he will get fired the first time he stumbles?

Let me be clear. Right now Jeff Capel is the coach of my Sooners and he has my support. I liked him last year. I like him this year. Loyalty only has meaning if it carries you through rough times. Loyalty means nothing if it is all about good times and winning.

 

[OUHoosier]

BigTime, you'll soon learn how hard it is for third years to make basketball games. It's not like we have a ton of time off.

By the way, I don't possess the sense of entitlement you describe. I'm not calling for regular Final Four trips or National Championships. I just want a return to Sampson era consistency.

By 3rd years, do you mean law school, med school or other? B/c if you're talking about law school that's just weak. Especially 2nd semester b/c your GPA and class rank are basically set by then. I had season tickets at IU and went to almost every game in LS except around finals and managed to graduate with honors at a top 25 LS. That's really just an excuse. However, if you're talking about a different program, please ignore b/c I have absolutely no clue.

 

[OkieTC]

If our team plays hard, busts their ass on defense, stays out of trouble with the NCAA and the law, and goes 15-15 next year, then I am all for giving Capel more time. I just hated the lack of discipline and effort that we saw this year. I can buy that it was a few problem players this year, but if it happens again, surely the coach has to take the blame. I really hope we can pull it together next year and play with heart and pride. If we can do that, then the record wouldn't be as important to me. This years effort was just plain embarrassing at times!

 

[pillmanj]

This may sound a little harsh but I think some of those who are wanting Capel's head were the same ones who were all in a panic that he was going to be hired away from us last year. I'm sorry but those reactions are what one would expect from junior high girls.

This was a tough year. No one could imagine it being this bad. Injuries, bad chemistry, discipline and lack of depth. Who could have thought that Allen wouldn't improve to give good minutes? Longar did. Sometimes players just don't work out. All of the above is Capel's fault. But a year like this can happen to any coach. Look at Barnes, Donovan and Williams, for instance. There needs to be significant improvement next year with the year finishing with a promise for an even better year following. Joe C will give him another year, probably two and there is not much anyone can do about that. So it would be best for us to support our coach in the meantime.

We can take comfort that Joe C will not let the program drift down to perpetual suckage. He has too much pride for that to happen. But he is a smart, good motivator of people. His first reaction to adversity is to support his guy. He will give Jeff plenty of time to right the ship. If he does not, what quality coach would ever want to come to work for him if he will get fired the first time he stumbles?

Let me be clear. Right now Jeff Capel is the coach of my Sooners and he has my support. I liked him last year. I like him this year. Loyalty only has meaning if it carries you through rough times. Loyalty means nothing if it is all about good times and winning.

Great post

 

[CineSooner]

I'm not saying that I think Capel should be gone, but I'm more just curious: When was the last time Joe C had to fire someone? The closest I can remember is that Larry Cochelle (not sure about spelling, but he was the baseball coach) debacle but I think that he may have resigned. Did he fire John Blake? Forgive my ignorance, I guess I'm on the young side and OU has had a pretty good run of athletics.