Does OU's Jeff Capel Get Another Year?
by OnlyOneOU on Jan 17, 2011 11:22 AM CST
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Jeff Capel has been the head coach of the men's basketball program since 2006. In his first season, his team went 16-15 overall and 6-10 in conference. Not exactly the numbers we are looking for but it was Capel's first year and he did have a winning record. In his entire tenure, Capel is 82-51 giving him a .616 winning percentage overall and .500 in conference and most of these numbers were because of Blake Griffin deciding to play two seasons for Capel. Are these numbers acceptable for a head coach to get paid $1.05 million a year at what some people have called "one of the best programs in the nation"?
Here is a look at Capel's head coaching records, post-season results, and schools.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCU (Colonial Athletic Association) (2002–2006) | |||||||||
| 2002–2003 | VCU | 18–10 | 12–6 | T-2nd | |||||
| 2003–2004 | VCU | 23–8 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 2004–2005 | VCU | 19–13 | 13–5 | T-2nd | NIT Opening Round | ||||
| 2005–2006 | VCU | 19–10 | 11–7 | 5th | |||||
| VCU: | 79–41 | 50–22 | |||||||
| Oklahoma (Big 12 Conference) (2006–present) | |||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Oklahoma | 16–15 | 6–10 | T-7th | |||||
| 2007–2008 | Oklahoma | 23–12 | 9–7 | T-4th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 2008–2009 | Oklahoma | 30–6 | 13–3 | 2nd | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 2009–2010 | Oklahoma | 13–18 | 4–12 | T-11th | |||||
| Oklahoma: | 82–51 (.617) | 32–32 (.500) | |||||||
| Total: | 161–92 (.636) | ||||||||
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Over the past few years Oklahoma's overall talent has gone up. You can bet that this is a direct result of Capel's influence on the program but with the talent, we have also seen a load of trouble and disappointment. I know that I am not satisfied with the current situation of the Oklahoma Men's Basketball program but let's think for just a second.
A lot of people are calling for Capel's head right now (and I am one of them so in no way am I trying to defend him and his "success") but let's take a rational look at the situation shall we? As I mentioned before, the talent level has gone up during Capel's tenure at OU as well as out of state recruits. These, in my book, are positives for Capel. Another positive for me is that it appears that Capel comes into each game with a well thought out game plan (in other words, I think Capel is a good X's and O's coach). However, when it comes down to actual game time coaching, I think Capel is one of the worst. Capel also, in my opinion, does not know how to handle the attitude that comes with recruiting the talent he wants to recruit which can be backed up by players like Warren, TMG, Gallon, etc. Capel had assembled a team with three McDonald's All-Americans with a preseason #16 ranking and finished 13-18 on the season. The only shining moment for Capel recruiting wise is Blake Griffin (pretty much the only reason for the winning seasons OU has had in recent years) who I do not credit Capel for. The University took a shot at an "unproven" coach and this time, it failed! We must remember that Capel was taking over a program with the longest current post-season tournament appearance streak (at the time he took the job). But I am for one am not sure that I would willingly trade Jeff Capel for another unproven coach. No one is sitting back and waiting for this Oklahoma job to open up, so I will be content with Capel till his contract runs out and we can properly interview and think through different candidates.
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I have the feeling that OU
is going to let him stay a few more years because of the contract. That’s just a lot of money for the school to eat. It’s not like the next coach is going to turn the team around in 2 years. And it’s not like fans care about OU basketball one way or the other.
However….personally I would fire him after the season.
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after Kelvins excessess........
what do you expect ?
by Senator-Blutarsky on Jan 17, 2011 3:14 PM CST reply actions
just a few thoughts
Is it possible that Castiglone is reluctant to fire capel as it would be an admission of making a mistake?
Let’s assume that he is fired. WHO is going to want this job right now?
I imagine that his buyout is considerably less than the approximate $7M he is still owed, and I would also assume that whoever they hire they will be able to pay a LOT less than what capel is getting.
for your consideration to replace capel:
Terry Stotts – former OU player; NBA career as a player; former head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks; current assistant with Dallas MAvericks; He certainly has experience plus assumed loyalty to OU – just think about it
Team FIRST, Effort SECOND, Talent THIRD, Selfish NEVER
Good thoughts om
I do think Castiglione might be afraid to admit he pulled the trigger prematurely. However the AD as well as the coaches got raises so I don’t know why you would hand money to someone you considered a mistake. Castiglione also stands behind his hand-picked Coach and belief that Oklahoma and Capel will be able to make the Sooner Nation proud so I don’t see Capel going anywhere soon. I guess what Castiglione is holding onto is that 30-6 season and hoping for a repeat performance…but I think he will be disappointed and forced to make a decision he doesn’t want to make. I personally think Castiglione needs to wake up and realize that the Big XII is one of the better conferences in basketball (not to mention all other sports) and then realize that we aren’t going to get much better on the current road we are on.
Stotts might very well be a viable option but what about bringing (and this is just a shot in the dark) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on staff? Not only will this help with recruiting big men but it will also give us a coaching combo of a back court and front court coach. Kareem is currently a positions coach with the Lakers and has been alleged as lobbying for a head coaching job via twitter. Not sure how good he would be as the next head coach but I think he could be an asset to the Oklahoma team.
i thought i was reaching with stotts
but Alcindor? I LOVE IT
Team FIRST, Effort SECOND, Talent THIRD, Selfish NEVER
Fire him, please
The longer they keep Capel around, the more this program is going to deteriorate. Personally, I don’ t know how much lower they can sink. Time to chalk it up to a bad hire. Some guys just don’t work in certain places. Obviously, Capel doesn’t work at OU.
Continuity is critical
Generally speaking, a successful basketball program is a program with considerable continuity — not just where the head coach is concerned but the assistant coaches as well.
Unless you have a line on a guy that will be a substantial upgrade, changing just for the sake of changing isn’t going to help.
mjc
A good point but
When you are in danger of going 0-16 in Big XII play and possibly repeating that for the next 4 years, what is the appropriate response?
Possibly repeating 0-16?
Maybe a tad bit of an overreaction.
by SoonerDutch on Jan 18, 2011 8:01 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Not an over-reaction
Simply just an exaggeration in order to make a point. Players are dropping like flies from the Oklahoma roster and the talent level won’t improve much. Experience is about the only thing this team can gain and I do not believe we will go 0-16 in conference for the year four years. I’m just saying OU will not be in the top 5 of the conference in the next few years.
by OnlyOneOU on Jan 18, 2011 8:17 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Exactly who are you thinking about
that will make it all better?
You need to do things for a reason.
Do you need a better recruiter? Seems to me you can accomplish that with an assistant shakeup and maybe committing more resources to the recruiting process.
Where football is concerned, OU is a kind of Mecca for the talented player. Where basketball is concerned . . . that is quite another matter.
It this guy’s coaching the problem or not? I must admit I don’t get to see much OU basketball but I cannot say Capel has done anything all that good, bad or ugly — when on the sidelines.
I think you guys are hitting the nail right on the head when you say great players make great coaches. Exceptional talent will make up for all kinds of short comings. On the other hand, you can have the greatest coach on the planet and if you don’t provide him with a competitive talent level, he isn’t going to win.
I think the better question here is how are you going to out recruit Kansas?
mjc
Out recruit Kansas?
I don’t think that is anyone’s expectation here or anywhere else for that matter. It’s not about being better than KU, it’s about being competitive. Very big difference IMO.
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Capel stinks
He’s a terrible coach. Hell, a random guy off the street could’ve taken OU to the Final Four with Blake Griffin on the team. Without Griffin OU has been god awful. OU isn’t known for it’s powerhouse program, but it’s certainly very respectable historically. OU can, and should, do better than Capel. Hell, I’d rather bring Kelvin back than keep Capel around. Kelvin was a great guy and a solid coach, even if he did make too many phone calls!
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