Spring football not what it used to be
The OU spring football game is this Saturday, and OSU’s is next Saturday, and it will be fun to go to both games, because it’s fun to go campus and fun to see players back in shoulder pads. But that’s about the extent of the interest.
Nowadays, spring football doesn’t do much more than remind us that autumn football will return. Time was, spring games were interesting and competitive. Guys really hit, games were really played. These days, the quarterbacks wear blue at OU and green at OSU, and they’ve got a coach-enforced force field around them. You can’t really blame the coaches; quarterback health is paramount in the success of a season. But it makes for bad football.
The old varsity-alumni games have become antique relics. Have you ever seen something old, or been a told story about the olden days, and thought, “Did people really live like that?” Did people use outhouses? Did kids walk five miles to school? Did the whole family sit around a radio at night, listening to a serial?
The answer is yes. And football players in Oklahoma really did play real games in the spring, hitting the quarterback and blitzing and blocking below the waist. Alums from the NFL — the NFL! — really did come back to campus and spend a couple of days practicing and then suited up to play against the varsity. Old guys, 10-15 years removed from their playing days, filled out the alumni roster.
Looking back, such a practice doesn’t seem quaint or charming. It seems archaic. Like performing surgery by putting a piece of wood between the teeth of the patient to withstand the pain.
Oh well. The age of enlightenment has its victims. Playing guitar on a front porch. Sunday afternoon drives. Pie suppers. Put spring football on the list.
Tim Duncan won’t take the bait on Capel
OU basketball coach Jeff Capel told some good stories Tuesday – all flattering — about Tim Duncan. Capel had mentioned a couple of weeks ago how Wake Forest got all the calls back in the mid-’90s, when Duncan was at Wake and Capel was at Duke.
I thought that was the height of irony — a Duke player complaining about protected officiating — but Capel says Duncan was protected and that a defender couldn’t touch Wake point guard Randolph Childress without being called for a foul.
Anyway, I busted Capel about that, and he said these days, Duke might be a protected team, because of the status of Mike Krzyzewski. But back in the ’90s, North Carolina was protected because of the status of Dean Smith. “Have you ever seen a technical foul reversed?” Capel asked. He has, on Carolina’s Rasheed Wallace, for hanging on the rim. Capel still shakes his head at the reversal.
Anyway, Capel started telling some good Duncan stories, how Duke’s game plan was to NOT make Duncan mad. One Duke-Wake game, Duke was in command, and the Duke crowd started chanting “over-rated!” Duncan, to Capel’s best memory, went from about nine points and nine rebounds with 10 minutes left to 27 points and 17 rebounds.
Another time, Duke’s Greg Newton called Duncan “soft” after a Duke-Wake game. The next time the teams played, Duncan wasn’t any more aggressive than usual. Then Kryzewski inserted Newton in the game. “Duncan had like four straight dunks,” Capel said. “I kept yelling over to the bench, ‘Get him (Newton) out! Get him out!’”
Ironically, the same day Capel told those stories, Duncan came through town. One more benefit to the NBA being in town.
Anyway, after the game, I chatted with Duncan. Told him Capel had some good Tim Duncan stories. Asked if Duncan had any good Capel stories.
“I’m afraid not,” Duncan said. “I’m not much of a storyteller.”
OK, what do you remember about Capel? “He was always someone mentioned on our scouting report,” Duncan said. “Heck of a shooter. He obviously had a lot of talented players around him. It was always a big rivalry.”
Surprised he went into coaching? “So young,” Duncan said. Capel was 27 when hired as head coach at Virginia Commonwealth and 31 when hired by OU. “”And he’s doing one heck of a job,” Duncan said. “It’s impressive.”
Duncan’s exactly right. He’s not much of a storyteller.
Texas *: Who cares?
There seems to be much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the sign that put up, then taken down, in the University of Texas football complex. Under Big 12 championships, it read: 2008*.
To which I say, at least they put up the asterisk.
I don’t understand this whole notion of OU fans wanting Texas fans to relax and accept what happened in 2008, that the Longhorns came out on the short end of the three-way tie. The Sooners advanced fair and square; they went on to win the Big 12 title, sans asterisk, and could have settled the whole thing with a victory over Florida, but that didn’t happen.
If the roles were reversed, OU fans would be revolting in the streets, too. We wouldn’t hear the end of how the Sooners beat Texas, but Texas got to play in the Big 12 title game.
One difference, I think, is there probably would have been no sign up in the OU locker room. And I’m hard-pressed to believe that Mack Brown didn’t know about the sign going up. If he didn’t, there are a lot of poor decision-makers walking around that complex. Bad Decision 1: Thinking up the goofy thing in the first place. Bad Decision 2: Don’t ask Mack about it.
But before Soonerville cackles too loudly, remember that OU is the school where the coach suspended his no-excuses policy after the Oregon debacle and where the president asked for the game to be declared no-contest. Yes, it was a series of bad calls in Eugene, but welcome to what Blackie Sherrod called the world of perspiring arts. The University of Texas knows the feeling well.
The truth is, you make Texans shut up about it by winning the game next autumn. If OU doesn’t win, the amplification of the 2008 controversy only multiplies.
OU or OSU: Which is the better job
In my rankings of college basketball’s best 30 jobs a few days ago, I put OU 18th and OSU 27th. Several years ago, I did a similar ranking and had OSU 19th and OU 20th.
What has changed? Well, not a lot. But it doesn’t take a lot. Truth is, you can put all the schools between 14 or so and 30, pull their names out of a hat, write their names down and no one could argue much. They’re all very close.
But here’s why I went with OU ahead of OSU this time:
1. OSU’s fan support has dropped off. It tailed off during Sean Sutton’s regime, then wasn’t revived in Travis Ford’s first season. At the end of the year, the crowds picked up, but fan support was one of the great selling points about Cowboy hoops, and now that’s no longer a given. OU always has had trouble filling Lloyd Noble Center for all but the big games, but you’d have to say now that the crowd support is about even for the Bedlam rivals. Look at it this way: what we’ve said about OU fans for years — that it takes a big game to get them excited — now is true about OSU.
2. Gallagher-Iba Arena is a much better homecourt than is Lloyd Noble. But OU’s practice facility, training complex and offices are much superior, which matters to coaches. OSU shares a practice court with the women’s team. OSU’s practice court, locker room, training facility and offices are spread all over Gallagher-Iba. OU’s are all together. So I would call this a wash.
3. The best way to determine winning tradition is NCAA Tournament wins, and OSU is strong at 38. OU has 35, which gives the Cowboys a slight edge. However, a greater percentage of OSU’s wins came more than half a century ago. Those wins matter, and contribute to tradition, but more recent success carries more weight. So tradition is a push, too.
4. OU has had more successful coaches. Three have been to the Final Four (Bruce Drake, Billy Tubbs, Kelvin Sampson), two others to the Sweet 16 (Dave Bliss, Jeff Capel). OSU has had only two Sweet 16 coaches (Henry Iba, Eddie Sutton), though Travis Ford certainly appears ready to add to that list. To me, this is the No. 1 factor in rating jobs. Have a wide variety of coaches succeeded at the school? That’s why North Carolina, UCLA, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are at the top of the list.
5. Finances. OSU is in much better financial shape than it once was, thanks to Eddie Sutton and Boone Pickens, but OSU needs basketball to be a money-maker more than does OU. Financial pressures are not really a worry at OU, which makes a job more attractive.
6. OU has more stable administration. Mike Holder has done a good job as the OSU athletic director, and the hiring of Ford shows that Holder knows what he’s doing. But Holder’s job status depends on Boone Pickens, and there are some lesser OSU boosters not thrilled with Holder. Joe Castiglione is much more entrenched as the OU AD.
Add it all up, and both schools are good basketball jobs. Three years from now, the rankings might be different. But right now, OU’s is slightly better.
Emails in on Sherri’s hair & Capel’s job status
The new emails are in, and it’s heavy on OU basketball. The women in the Final Four, Sherri Coale’s hair, the OU men’s demise in Memphis and the job status of Jeff Capel.
Rance wrote about Bubba Paris’ call-out of Sherri Coale: “To me, if the characterization of the administration has some validity, it encapsulates why women’s basketball just doesn’t get it. I think it shows a lack of understanding about press coverage. Bubba and Courtney’s comments were repeated around the United States in news reports, online blogs, sports websites etc. Their comments weren’t anything other than opinion and they had the sports world TALKING ABOUT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL! It wasn’t a police report, it wasn’t about steroids, it wasn’t about a player getting pregnant. It was just good old fashioned opinion – followed by a number of stories that included discussion ON OKLAHOMA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL! You can’t buy that kind of exposure. Well I guess you could – but we’d have to borrow the money from the football program.”
Barry wrote about our Press Row discussion about Courtney Paris on newsok.com: “You claim that Courtney hasn’t evolved, or something to that effect. You can’t be serious can you? She was arguably, the best player in the country as a freshman. How can she get better than that? You pointed out that Ashley elevated her game and progressed. Well, Ashley wasn’t as well rounded as Courtney as a freshman/sophomore/junior. You guys are missing the fact that there was not much room for improvement with Courtney. She was already a stud. How do you improve on what she’s accomplished? She’s like no other women’s basketball player to ever grace the court, yet some people sit around and look for ways to tear her down or make her look bad.”
Jim: “Has the whole Paris family gone goofy? Courtney owes the school nothing if they lose, and OU should say so publicly. She has repaid them through the large crowds they have had and the recruiting of other players. Bubba is just showing his rear end and maybe trying to protect his daughter from making good on her promise!”
Roger wrote about the OU women playing at the Ford Center: “I agree no team should apologize for games they win in front of their home crowd. It happens all the time – Villanova. I’m an ACC fan and it kills me that both UNC and Duke play NCAA regional games right in their own backyard every year. However, as much as I would love to see OU win, the truth is Louisville and OU are playing for second place. UConn will not lose; they are just so tough and they’ve been there many times. Truth is, Courtney needs to plan on paying back her scholarship.”
Mark: “The OU girls had me worried last night, but I am glad for Coach Coale. However, they need production right from the first whistle. They can’t have a bad half against UConn or Louisville. Those teams will make them pay, and they won’t have home court. I see them getting beat next round, but it was a good run.”
Clarice wrote about Sherri Coale’s hair: “Thank you soooooo much. I thought I was the only one who noticed. What is going on with Sherri? Loved the picture. Those long tresses have got to be extensions. If she doesn’t get a haircut today, they can’t say you didn’t do your best to help her. Even my husband agreed.”
Lois chimed in: “In my humble opinion, I like her short, curly and tussled look best. She is too old for the teeny look of long-in-your-eyes look. Very unprofessional. Check the do’s of the other female coaches. Trimmed and under control.”
Faye: “You may tell Sherri that we like her hair much better curly. With it straight, she is just another pretty blond, but with it curly she is unique.”
Jo, our resident Bob Stoops critic, wrote: “Sherri Coale has a lot, and has had for 2-4 years, of the highest rated recruits in the country. If Capel had the equal amount of highly rated players that Sherri has, would he have made it to the Final Four or better? Sherri and the gymnastic coach are sitting on the pole (NASCAR reference) for OU sports unless baseball comes around?”
On to the coaching carousel. Bob wrote, “My father, a country doctor, had a saying that I have found to be true. ‘People will never fail to disappoint you.’ Coaches are no different.”
Doug: “I remember at the end of Kelvin Sampson’s tenure at OU when he was getting flack from OU fans for his style of play. There was much hand wringing with some sports radio talk hosts that if they kept up their criticism of Kelvin that the fans would run him off. The fact is that the OU basketball job is a great job that has always attracted good coaches and will continue to do so. The one we need to be worried about keeping is Joe Castiglione.”
Rob wrote: “A possible reason to leave would be access to big time recruits who qualify academically. Oklahoma high schools produce a really great player only once in a while. On the other hand, a city like Indy or Chicago or Houston or Dallas, much more often. Access to a fertile recruiting area is a major consideration. But Norman is hard to beat as a city. And Mrs. Capel is on the OU Law faculty. Talk about a sweet deal! Gated community, good city, cush job for wife.”
Larry: “What better job could there be for Capel? I wouldn’t trade Arizona, Georgia or Memphis for the Sooner position. I’m not sure I would trade Kentucky, UCLA or even Indiana for it. Why? I do think there is one school which, if it came knocking, would get Capel: Duke. The reasons are obvious – and yet, if I were Capel, I’m not sure I’d do it.”
Shannon wrote about OU-Carolina game: “The season ended about where it should have, didn’t it? Always disappointing to lose one step before the Final Four. But while we did not reach greatness, we certainly did not fall short of our potential. UNC was as good if not better team than us. We were tentative. You could see it early. Some shooters were looking to see if their shot was going to fall (Crocker), some had a slight hesitation (Johnson). And our entire team seemed flat footed and a half second slow – think Green’s rebound over Taylor and Blake. How remarkable is it that these UNC guys stayed around long enough to learn from prior experiences? I guess Hansbrough really didn’t have a big pro contract waiting for him but he still stayed. I miss the old days when we were able to watch teams grow and go through the process.”
Becky wrote, “If Blake Griffin goes, then where will the team be? They should call the team Blake Griffin OU. When you depend on one player, it really puts a damper on the game. Now which of these teams is the best?”
Robert wrote: “Maybe I’m the only one that feels this way, but I think that we wasted this year with Blake Griffin by staying with Austin Johnson at point guard. Absolutely no way he is a player that can compete with other point guards. Too much loyalty.”
Finally, John is upset with basketball officiating: “I am an old wrestling coach. Took me years to actually watch a college basketball game on TV. I was so disgusted with the officiating that I begged off basketball for a span of several years. The Billy Tubs era brought me back, but the officiating has grown progressively worse to the point I have decided I need another hiatus. For the most part, the officiating I have seen during this tournament has not been horrible. Officials determine more than 50 percent of the outcomes of close games. Officials are treated like gods – can’t criticize them without paying huge fines. What garbage. As boring as college wrestling has become over the years, the NCAA Championship this year was better than March Madness. I am finding myself being pulled back to the mat at least hoping to see more than three maneuvers during the match. This is my last year for college basketball for who knows how long. Nothing will change. The officials will do whatever they want.”
How good is the Arizona job?
Arizona generally has been included among the nation’s best basketball jobs, and rightfully so. The Wildcats have been to 25 straight NCAA Tournaments. That’s 1985 through 2009. That’s a heck of a run.
‘Zona routinely leads the Pac-10 in attendance, which next to NCAA Tournament wins is as good a place to start as anywhere in measuring the quality of a program. So all in all, Arizona ranks somewhere between 6 and 15 in ranking the best programs in America.
‘Zona is not one of the blueblood schools — North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky and UCLA — but ranks right below them, with the likes of Michigan State, Louisville, Connecticut, Syracuse, Maryland and a few others I’ve probably left out. Just ahead of the likes of the Bedlam rivals, Texas, Purdue, Arkansas, Wake Forest and Georgetown. That crowd.
But as Arizona keeps looking for a coach, and Jeff Capel’s name keeps popping up and will until ‘Zona hires someone else, there is one worrisome issue with Arizona basketball. The Wildcats really never have done anything without Lute Olson.
In the history of ‘Zona basketball, the Wildcats have only four NCAA Tournament victories without Olson, and two of those came this season, with interim coach Russ Pennell. That puts UofA even with Connecticut, which had four NCAA wins before Jim Calhoun took over and turned the Huskies into a national power.
That’s always cause for concern when measuring a job. Is it the program, or is it the coach?
Places like Kansas, where Phog Allen, Larry Brown and Bill Self all coached NCAA title teams, it’s obvious the program is elite. Same with Kentucky, where until Billy Gillispie, Eddie Sutton was the only coach since the Depression who DIDN’T win an NCAA championship (Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith). And UCLA. And Carolina. And Duke.
Even OSU, which was revived by Sutton, won two NCAA titles under Henry Iba, albeit in the 1940s, and the early returns on Travis Ford are promising.
Three coaches have taken OU to Final Fours (Bruce Drake, Billy Tubbs and Kelvin Sampson), and two others (Dave Bliss and Jeff Capel) have taken the Sooners to the Sweet 16.
But you get to UConn and Arizona, and it’s pretty much pioneer-driven. Calhoun at Connecticut and Olson at Arizona.
The basketball culture — along with geography — makes Connecticut likely to remain a power post-Calhoun. UConn is a statewide team with a rabid fan base. And there are a lot of ballplayers in the Northeast.
I think Arizona will retain its status. But it’s not for sure. Tucson is strategically located to continue to recruit great Californians, and the Pac-10 is not a sabertooth conference. Arizona has been its best program for 20 years, and that could continue. But it’s not for certain.
Cincinnati was considered an excellent job but hasn’t done much since Bob Huggins left. Virginia has been mediocre except when Terry Holland was the coach. Nevada-Las Vegas was an elite program under Jerry Tarkanian; it’s been a non-factor since Tark left.
Could Arizona suffer the same fate? You can easily make the argument that ‘Zona is a better job than OU. You also can make the argument that it’s a riskier job than OU.
Coaches & prep seniors hold the power
I write a lot about how college coaches (basketball in this case) hold all the power, while players have virtually none.
Coaches, who have supposedly-legal contracts, jump schools whenever it suits them, with no penalty other than lost honor. But players, who have only one-year contracts (scholarship agreements), can’t transfer without the penalty of sitting out.
But there is one group of players who have forged their little power structure: high school seniors. The guys who have signed with schools that then lose their coaches can ask for a release of their letter of intent, and schools have resigned themselves to granting the release, knowing the NCAA is likely to rule in favor of the players if they appeal.
Which means blue-chip players become even more valuable, since in the spring, the pool of difference-maker recruits is so much smaller.
We saw that switch with Scottie Reynolds (Villanova), Damion James (Texas) and Jeremy Mayfield (UAB) bolting OU after Kelvin Sampson left, and we see it again now that Putnam City’s Xavier Henry, who signed with Memphis but now says he won’t honor that letter, since coach John Calipari bolted for Kentucky.
Bully for these high school seniors. It’s time someone besides coaches looked out for themselves.
Now, if we can get some power and liberty for the already-on-campus players, this will be a more equitable sport.
The truth is, the power structure of college basketball (and football, though the gridiron seems less oppressing) is heavily weighted against the athletes. Coaches have all the power. Schools have some of the power. Athletes have no power. Except some high school seniors who have carved out a small rebellion.
Ford Center crowd great, but not huge
The crowd at the Ford Center on Tuesday night for the OU-Purdue Elite Eight game was great. Seemed louder than any Thunder or Hornets game ever did, and much louder than any college game I’ve covered at the Ford Center.
But attendance was just 11,529, some 7,500 below capacity. Why was it not a sellout? Why wasn’t the Ford Center packed to the brim?
Some blamed the 9 p.m. start for the similar Sunday crowd, but that argument lost its luster when the same size attended an 8 p.m. Tuesday tipoff.
I think it has to do with location and demographics. A large number of OU women’s fans are older Oklahomans — not that there’s anything wrong with that. These Sooner fans feel a connection with Sherri Coale, a small-town Oklahoma girl, and her team, which like much of women’s basketball is a throwback to a basketball they knew 40 years ago, before dunks and posturing were all the rage.
Those fans are in their comfort zone at Lloyd Noble Center. Free parking. Easy parking. Familiar surroundings. Downtown Oklahoma City isn’t like mid-town Manhattan. But any urban downtown can be daunting to someone who isn’t familiar with it. Where to park? How much will it cost? Is it safe?
For those of us who are in Bricktown or downtown OKC all the time, that’s no big deal. We don’t even think about it. But if you’re a senior citizen who doesn’t go downtown once a year, the idea of sitting home and watching the Sooners is more appealing than dealing with the hassles.
The TV numbers for OU women are excellent. The OU-Pitt game Sunday night drew a 12.0 rating on ESPN2 in the Oklahoma City market. That’s a great number for cable. So the fans are out there. Not as many fans as the men, but still impressive. It’s just that many prefer to watch on the tube.
Memphis & OSU wait on Calipari
John Calipari has Kentucky and Memphis on hold, sleeping on an offer to jump from Blues City to Big Blue. And he’s keeping Oklahoma State waiting, too.
The Cowboys wait with crossed fingers and baited breath that Kentucky will hire someone not named Travis Ford, who in his first season in Stillwater brought the Cowboys back to not just the NCAA Tournament, but success once they get there.
Ford is from Madisonville, Ky., and a beloved player on Rick Pitino’s 1993 Final Four team at Kentucky. He would be a natural selection if UK’s efforts to land a major name (Pitino, Billy Donovan, Calipari) fail, and no one could blame Ford for taking the job. UK is one of those destination jobs, plus Ford is a grad.
Losing Ford would be a major blow to the Cowboys. Another coaching change would give OSU four head coaches in a 38-month span: Eddie Sutton, Sean Sutton, Travis Ford and the new guy, all since February 2006.
There’s no way that can be good. Ford appears to be instilling and installing a system in which the Cowboys can thrive. The loss of Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris will be difficult enough, but the loss of Ford, too, would set back the Cowboys who knows how far?
Mike Holder’s search skills were proven by the hiring of Ford. He found a good man for the job, which means he could do it again. But it’s doubtful the new coach could get the Cowboys up and running as quickly as did Ford, primarily because there’s no Eaton available. A point guard is like a quarterback; experience means things run much more smoothly.
I don’t know if Ford can repeat his maiden success at OSU in Year 2, but I wouldn’t put it past him. However, without Ford, the Cowboys almost surely would take a step back.
Which is why OSU needs Calipari to take the Kentucky job.
