No
How do you define success?
Jeff Capel, the new OU men's basketball coach, is not exactly my definition.
A 79-41 record in four seasons as head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University is not bad. No, it's not.
But that was at Virginia Commonwealth University. Where?
When did a .658 winning percentage at a no-name school become the benchmark for a major college basketball job?
If it seems as if there are a lot of questions in this article, it's because Capel has a lot of questions to answer.
Former coach Kelvin Sampson held a 279-109 record at OU, which is a .719 mark. That was at a major NCAA program.
Sampson averaged 23 wins a season in his 12-year OU career, and the team's 156 victories were sixth in the nation from the 1999-00 to 2004-05 seasons. The team also had a 3.14 GPA this season. I call that success.
That said, Sampson still could not turn a football school into a basketball
powerhouse.
Of course Capel is not Sampson, but he will be judged the same.
With that I say welcome to OU Coach Capel, and good luck. You're going to' need it.
Yes
Joe Castiglione didn't hit a home run with the hiring of Jeff Capel, but I guarantee that when all is said and done, the move will turn out to be a game-winning bunt for the Sooners.
Sooner fans need to trust in their athletic director, Castiglione.
The man has not failed them yet, and he got the coach he wanted.
Unlike NC State, he didn't go around getting turned down by big coaches.
He got the man he wanted in his sights and hunted him down.
Capel took a team at Virginia Commonwealth that did not have the same level of talent as OU nor the ability to get that level of talent, and he won.
The guy was a winner as a player and thus far has been a winner as a coach.
Just because he isn't a big name doesn't make this a bad hire.
I've seen many OU fans react by saying "Well, who is this guy? I thought we were getting a big name!"
Fans are spoiled, and they need to realize that just because the coach isn't a big name doesn't mean he's a loser.
Give Capel time. Don't expect him to win immediately.
Let him institute his system and let him get his recruits in here and you will be satisfied.
Everyone was a nobody at one time or another.
hello there & you too
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