Coming to a big-time BCS conference program like OU from a mid-major like VCU takes a lot of adjustment. At VCU there weren’t a lot of high expectations. And your exposure to high-level recruiting is limited. Then you come to a Big 12 school and suddenly you have access to a greater pool of players, guys who are NBA-bound and have significant potential…but also have major egos. At VCU you’re mainly dealing with 3rd-level talent, guys who are just happy to get an opportunity to play at the college level and get a scholarship.

But guys like Warren, Gallon, and Mason-Griffin just aren’t available at VCU. He wasn’t exposed to those kinds of egos as a coach (maybe as a player at Duke, but coaching is MUCH different). Suddenly, you get these guys, and you’re excited that you’ve got their talents, but you’re not used to their enormous egos. Complicating matters further, Capel’s first big recruit was Blake, who is the ULTIMATE professional. So Capel perhaps misjudged the other recruits, believing that some of these uber-talented guys could conduct themselves in the same way.

I completely agree with Capel in that he just needed more time. He was/is a young coach, and Castiglione KNEW that going in. He had to expect a few bumps on the road. I think it would have taken a few more years, but he would have turned out to be very successful.

Like I said, I’m not unhappy with Kruger (in fact, I’m ecstatic that we got him), and he’s the PERFECT man for a quick turnaround. But I do believe that Capel would have turned things around, if given more time. He’s an excellent game-planner, and his game management skills are VERY good. Given time to get everything else in line with those skills, I think he’ll be a great coach.