Just when we thought that Oklahoma's basketball roster was set for the 2008-09 season with the commitment of JUCO All-American Juan Pattillo comes the news that Tony Neysmith is transferring. You really can't blame him for wanting to leave because he was already buried beneath a group of mediocre guards and considering the class coming in it just makes sense.

Now the question is, what to do with that extra scholarship? Suddenly Keith Clark is looking like a possibility again. Jeff Capel could keep the scholarship for next year's recruiting class but if Clark has shown that he has gotten his act together he could still be an asset to this team but there is still going to be a question of trust.  

Entry Link :: Comment

The good news just keeps on coming for the Sooners basketball squad this off season. First, Blake Griffin decided to come back for another season, Bill Self didn't take the OSU job and they hired a guy that really stylistically speaking, isn't much different from Sean Sutton, then the recruiting class came together really well with the addition of Juan Pattillo as the final piece, and now, news out of Austin and Lawrence tonight say that both D.J. Augustin, A.J. Abrams, and Mario Chalmers all declared for this summers NBA Draft. All three have not hired an agent but very few expect them to return to school next year.

All of that sets up for what could be a run at a Big 12 Championship for the Sooners if they can continue to improve this off season as they have in each of Coach Capel's first two seasons. Consistent guard play is all that stands between the Sooners and greatness next season. I am going to give you my way too early pre-season prediction for the Big 12 Basketball Conference.

1.Kansas
2.Oklahoma
3.Texas
4.Texas A&M
5.Baylor
6.Missouri
7.Oklahoma St.
8.Nebraska
9.Texas Tech
10.Iowa St.
11.Colorado
12.Kansas St.

There are my rankings, so what are your way too early Big 12 Basketball rankings?

Entry Link :: Comment

Oklahoma used up its final basketball scholarship on JUCO All-American Juan Pattillo in what has turned out to be a stellar recruiting class for Jeff Capel. Pattillo plays the forward position and will give even more added depth behind the Griffin brothers and Ryan Wright. In fact, I'm not convinced that Taylor Griffin will be a starter with the dept in the post. I guess it depends on if Jeff Capel continues use a three guard lineup or not. Regardless this team will have to work really hard to not improve from this past season.

Entry Link :: 6 Comments

A news conference has been called for 1:00 this afternoon for Blake Griffin to announce if he'll be returning for a sophomore season or entering the NBA draft where he is expected to be a top 10 pick. Honestly I think it is about 50/50 right now that he'll return. He could go now and make a lot of money or he could return to OU for one more season improving his free throw shooting and midrange jump shots along with taking the Sooners deeper into the tournament next year. The second option would bring him more attention next season along with more money.

As soon as the announcement is made we'll be here with thoughts and opinions.

UPDATE: Blake Griffin is staying so we can all take a collective sigh of relief. This was the better choice for Griffin. Sure, he’s passing up on a huge payday but in return he’ll get an even bigger one in the future. This also means that OU only has one more scholarship to offer for this signing period. They are actively pursuing Juan Pattillo (See post below) who is scheduled for an on campus visit later next week.

Here are a couple of stabs at the starting lineup for the Sooners next season. Let me know where you thing they’ll go with it.

G Austin Johnson
G Tony Crocker
G Willie Warren
F Blake Griffin
F Ryan Wright

G Austin Johnson
G Willie Warren
F Taylor Griffin
F Blake Griffin
F Ryan Wright

Entry Link :: 2 Comments

The absence of a head coach is starting to cost Oklahoma State basketball recruits and one of them could be heading to Norman. Juan Pattillo, a 6' 7" swingman from College of Southern Idaho is turning away from Oklahoma State and has now narrowed his choices down to Oklahoma or South Florida.

At this point Oklahoma has one scholarship to give and while there is speculation that Keith Clark could return to the team this fall it appears that Jeff Capel is persuing other options to add frontcourt depth and Pattillo could be the answer. He averaged 17.4 points, 6.7 rebounds for a College of Southern Idaho team that averaged 110.4 points per game last season.

Entry Link :: Comment

We'd like to send out a big congratulation to the Kansas Jayhawks for their 75-68 overtime victory over the Memphis Tigers in the NCAA basketball championship game. Thank for stepping up and bringing another national championship to the Big 12 conference and please, please, please don't let Bill Self leave Lawrence for Stillwater.

Entry Link :: Comment

Several media outlets are reporting that Oklahoma State has fired men's basketball coach Sean Sutton. While there is no official word from the university there are enough legitimate media sources reporting it to believe that it's true.

I have mixed feelings about it because I think that he may have received a raw deal but I also felt about him the same way I do of Texas football coach Mack Brown. As long as he is on the sideline OU has an advantage.

Entry Link :: 5 Comments

The success of Oklahoma's men's basketball team next season hinges greatly on three factors - Jeff Capel, Willie Warren and Blake Griffin. Together they can push OU even closer to the top of the conference and deeper into the NCAA tournament. However, remove one of the pieces from this puzzle and it becomes a totally different story.

OU put to rest any rumors that Jeff Capel would be leaving Oklahoma to become the next head coach for South Carolina by giving him a $300,000 per year raise and extending his contract through 2014. Capel will now make a base salary of $1.05 million per year plus incentives for things like winning 20 games, conference championships and advancing in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma's guard play could be described as erratic at best this season. When shots were falling for the guards OU was always in a position to win. On the other hand when they went ice cold so did any chance the Sooners had at winning. Now, enter Willie Warren a 6-4 guard from North Crowley High School, TX. Warren has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor. He can dribble penetrate or pull up for an outside jumper. His ability to move to open spaces without the ball makes him even more dangerous.

Willie Warren dominated the McDonald’s All-American game with 23
points in less than 22 minutes of playing time.

Now the only thing remaining is an announcement from Blake Griffin regarding his status for the NBA draft. Speculation is that he'll return one more season to play with big brother, Taylor. Blake still needs to work on his mid-range jumper and free throw shooting before he would have a shot at becoming an NBA All-Star and what better way to do that than with another NBA prospect on the floor with him drawing away some of the attention.

Oklahoma has a chance to be really good next season in basketball if just a few simple things fall into place. The priority now is convincing Griffin, who nearly averaged a double-double, to return for a sophomore campaign. He has until April 27th to declare and has already stated that he'll take a few weeks to make a decision. Until then we'll just wait as patently as we can while sitting on pins and needles.

Entry Link :: Comment

OU did the right thing by agreeing to give Coach Capel a raise and extension today. Terms were not released and the details of Coach Capel's agreement either Thursday or Friday. We will have more when it becomes available but all we know now is Coach Capel will be back and not taking the step down to South Carolina.

Entry Link :: 2 Comments

Joe Castiglione has a major decision to make and the quicker he makes it the easier the decision will be for Jeff Capel to stay in Norman will be. Anyone who doesn't think South Carolina is going to come hard after Capel with lots of money is foolish and anyone who feels that Capel will stay in Norman just because this is Oklahoma is just stubborn.

Capel made $750,000 this last year at Oklahoma and South Carolina's offer could come in around twice that much. Castiglione's offer not only needs to be quick but it also needs to be significant. I don't necessarily think that he needs to bring $1.5 million to the table but he does need to bump Capel up from being one of the lowest paid coaches in the conference. South Carolina needs to offer a boatload of cash because they fall way short in the area of basketball tradition. OU may be a football school but stacked up against USC they are abundantly richer in basketball tradition. However, what South Carolina does have going for them is that it is a lot closer to home for the Capel family than Oklahoma.

What Oklahoma does have in its favor is that Capel likes it her and while a raise is necessary because of his performance it also necessary to keep him. In a television interview Sunday night Capel said that his first choice is OU.

If OU comes out in the near future and offers Capel a contract extension with a significant raise and an annuity clause for longevity then the South Carolina talk will fade away quickly.  

Entry Link :: 2 Comments

78-48.

Hopefully this isn't the last image of Blake Griffin in an Oklahoma uniform. Griffin said that he will decide in the next three to four week whether or not he will return. Let me put it this way to him: COME BACK! YOU ARE NOT READY!

Louisville played an almost perfect game. Everything they did went right and everything that we did went wrong. Even the little used reserve Will Scott hit a half court shot for Louisville.

David Godbold played another very solid game but he was the only Sooner to do anything before it got way out of hand.

Coach Capel had this to say about Louisville after the game:

"We were just rushed and hurried all night. Since we found out we were playing Louisville, we talked with our guys about playing poised and being strong. We didn't do that."

Coach Capel added this about the growing speculation that he will be the next Coach at South Carolina:

"We just lost by 30, so I don't really want to entertain questions about anything but our program. And I just talked about our future, so I want to be here for a very long time."

We will continue to monitor the Blake Griffin and Coach Capel situations until announcements are made regarding both.

Of course, the end to the third favorite season to Sooner fans means that the second favorite season, Spring Football, can begin.

Entry Link :: Comment

Tip Time: 4:00 p.m. CDT

Location: Birmingham, AL | BJCC Arena

TV: CBS (KWTV Channel 9 in OKC and KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa)

Radio: KOKC AM-1520 in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM-1430 in Tulsa

Webcast: MMOD on Sportsline.com

It is 2nd round action in Birmingham. The Sooners are looking to continue their hot shooting against the Cardinals and advance to their first Sweet 16 since the 2003 Tournament.

This will not be an easy game for the Sooners but as we all know, in the tournament anything can happen. The Cardinals are lead by David Padgett & Terrence Williams inside and Earl Clark & Edgar Sosa on the outside.

Louisville likes to play a very fast up and down game, scoring 71.9 ppg during the regular season, and 79 against Boise St. on Friday. Louisville likes to mix up their defenses mainly playing Man to Man and 2-3 Zone.

The keys to the game are as they always are, if the Sooner hit their shots they are in it until the very end but if the shooters don't show up, we could be in for a long game.

Entry Link :: 5 Comments