Live blog: OU vs. North Carolina
OU-Syracuse live blog
Hoop dreams
It was the first football practice following spring break, but both the OU men’s and women’s hoops teams making the Sweet 16 was a hot topic for the football coaches and players.
“I wish we weren’t practicing or I’d try and go to some games,” coach Bob Stoops said Wednesday. “I just want to wish them the best of luck. Coach Coale and her staff and all her ladies and of course Jeff and the basketball team and their whole staff – they’re both real proud and they’ve played great. They really look like they’re playing at a great level right now which is great to see. I just wish them the best of luck. I’ll be rooting for them.”
Stoops said he’s grown fond of watching how Capel manages his team and conducts himself during games.
“He’s the best,” Stoops said. “I watch him and his team always plays hard and I think he manages the game well and I don’t know anything about it but he seems to call timeouts at the right times. I see him in some frustrating calls and he makes his point and moves on. You can tell he doesn’t belabor it or let it affect his team, his emotions and the way he may feel about it.”
After that, the topic of conversation veered toward who would outfit a starting five comprised of OU football players.
“We’d have a good team, you know?” said Stoops. “You think about it and Sam (Bradford), of course, was a great player and played with Taylor and Blake (Griffin) and I believe Dom (Franks) was their point guard on their AAU team. And then you throw Jermaine Gresham in there and he could play with about anybody.”
As for who would be the fifth player, a debate ensued. Stoops didn’t think much of the suggestion that Adrian Taylor, a defensive tackle, could make the team.
Instead, Stoops went with wide receiver Adron Tennell, who actually was an outstanding basketball player in high school.
But fellow defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said his head coach wasn’t giving enough credit to the big men.
“That’s wrong. You’ve got to have a big body in the middle,” McCoy said. “You’ve got to have a big man.”
“Adrian can play. You need a big man, so I would Adrian in there.”
By Jake Trotter
DT McCoy predicts pair of Sooner titles
One of the Oklahoma men’s and women’s basketball teams’ biggest fans is Sooner defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who attended numerous games at Lloyd Noble Center.
His prediction for the two Sooner squads in the NCAA tournaments?
“I think our guys are going to win it, if you want me to be honest,” McCoy said. “Blake Griffin, he could probably be a tight end on offense, or a receiver. You seen that guy jump? You just have to throw the ball up and he’ll go up and get it. Blake’s the man.
“I think our girls are going to win it too. That was a bold statement Courtney (Paris) made, guaranteeing a national title. But I think they’re going to back it up. Honestly, both of our teams are the best in the country. I love OU and I love my teams.”
By Jake Trotter
OU-Michigan live blog
Beating Michigan starts outside
By John Helsley
Who’s your MVP today?
If you’re going with Blake Griffin, that’s understandable, considering he’s the most dominant player in the country — by far.
But if Griffin and the Sooners are to thrive and survive at the Sprint Center, success will start out front, putting Willie Warren, Austin Johnson and Tony Crocker in focus.
I wrote in Saturday’s paper about how OU’s guards are on the spot in the Sooners’ second-round game against Michigan.
The Wolverines are a scrappy undersized bunch who have bought into coach John Beilein’s zone principles. Michigan’s defense is built around switching between zones with some man-to-man, with about 75 percent of what they do coming in some sort of zone.
Today, when the Griffins are on the floor, expect little, if any man-to-man.
Simply put, it’s up to OU’s guards to shoot Michigan out of the zone, thus loosening things up inside for Blake and Taylor Griffin.
Therein lies the chess game taking place on the sidelines.
Beilein will mix and match strategies to try and guys from being exposed. The Wolverines start just one player taller than 6-5.
If the zone is effective, Capel must find a hot hand, whether one of the starters or Cade Davis or Omar Leary off the bench.
The Sooners are the better team with the best player.
They should win.
But it’s up to the Sooner guards to make sure the game’s best player gets off — and the team gets to the Sweet 16.
Obama likes the ‘Cuse
President Barack Obama picked his NCAA Tournament bracket, which was taped by ESPN and aired Wed.
Obama picked Syracuse to upset Oklahoma in the Sweet 16.
This is what Obama said on SportsCenter about picking ‘Cuse to beat OU in the Sweet 16…
“They have the player of the year,” Obama said of the Sooners. “But they only play like seven guys.
“I think they’re going to get worn down.”
By Jake Trotter
Capel could become hot commodity
By John Helsley
Virginia fired its basketball coach, Dave Leitao, on Monday and within minutes of word hitting the streets, Jeff Capel’s name was attached to the opening.
Yes, Sooner fans, your Jeff Capel.
Capel’s name has been dropped before and still is with lesser jobs like Alabama and Georgia, which may be less than lateral moves, considering they are football schools, too, and have no great basketball tradition or sustained success.
But Virginia, that’s a real basketball job. And if you think you haven’t heard from them in a while, you’re right, but it’s no reason to think it’s not a gold mine in waiting.
There’s an almost-new gym, John Paul Jones Arena, opened just three years ago at a cost of $130 million. There’s lots of money among a committed group of boosters who ramrodded Leitao’s ouster. And there’s Sylven Landesberg, who led the Cavaliers with a 16.6 scoring average as an exciting freshman.
“A very good job,” said one plugged-in source. “Huge money. New arena. Best freshman in the ACC.”
The Cavs finished 11th in the ACC at 4-12 and went 10-18 overall.
That won’t do in Charlottesville, where they take their basketball very seriously.
So now Virginia is in search mode, with at least one eye on Capel.
The Sooner coach isn’t alone on the list and may not even be the frontrunner. Many at Virginia felt the school should have hired Minnesota’s Tubby Smith when the job was void five years ago. But they opted instead to write a smaller check.
Stories on the East Coast suggest Capel was on the radar then, as well, when he was a young-30s coach at Virginia Commonwealth, yet seen as too inexperienced at the time. That’s no longer an issue.
Money, apparently, won’t be an issue this time.
That’s why Smith and Capel, along with Michigan’s John Beilein, Villanova’s Jay Wright, VCU’s Anthony Grant and Xavier’s Sean Miller are the hot rumored candidates this time.
Smith might be the primary target, if they get him. His wife is from Richmond and he showed interest the last time. Former UVA great Ralph Sampson sent his son to play for Tubby at Minnesota.
But Smith is well compensated at Minnesota, long-term, too.
Capel’s appeal would be obvious, given his former success at VCU, his track record for recruiting the area and his quick turnaround of the Sooners serving as proof he can pull off a quick rebuilding job, although the ACC is a different monster entirely from the Big 12.
Maybe there are reasons for Capel to stay away from Virginia.
He’s already done the rebuilding thing and has a stout recruiting class with two McDonald’s All-Americans on the way, suggesting the program is in good shape going forward.
Athletic Joe Castiglione will up the ante to keep money from being the determining factor.
And if Duke is Capel’s ultimate dream destination, does he really want to go to work recruiting and matching wits with Coack K, his mentor, on a regular basis?
Maybe. Maybe not.
This much is sure, the coming weeks could keep you Sooner fans antsy, as ADs and boosters make inquiries into Capel’s interest.
He’s a good coach. And others will want him. His name will be in play until he removes it or Joe C. gets his name on an extension.
Sooners seek new/old vibe
By John Helsley
Jeff Capel admitted Monday that his Sooners have misplaced their mojo.
Not exactly major news for anyone who’s seen them struggle in recent weeks, yet still a somewhat revealing admittance by the OU coach.
The question becomes, of course, can the Sooners recreate the magic that had them 25-1 and rolling to the nation’s No. 1 ranking before Blake Griffin took an accidental blow to the head and missed six quarters of two losses that seemed to allow doubt to seep into some minds?
The feeling Sunday, as the Big Dance card was revealed, was that a clean slate could cure OU’s ills. Dancing has a way of putting some music in the soul. While not exactly the same, look what a fresh start did for Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament.
There’s a freedom the Tournament brings, not to mention a sense that you’re on the doorstep of all you’ve been working toward. The Big 12 battles are behind. New teams and new challenges and new perspectives come into play.
The grind of the season is replaced by the grand appeal of the season.
And the realization that your next loss is your last.
I wrote in my OU Insider this morning about the NCAA Tournament can provide an elixir of sorts for the Sooners. How the adrenaline of this time of the year can play painkiller to the injuries and the ailments and even the mental/attitude issues.
With the Sooners in need of some outside love, the NCAA committee delivered, rewarding OU with a No. 2 seed and a favorable starting locale in Kansas City.
They were rewarded, despite a shaky finish, for their “body of work.”
And it’s an impressive body of work — so far.
But in the end, for these Sooners, the body will only hold its appeal with an extended dance.
And it will take some mojo to pull it off.
Ashley hits milestone, Courtney closes on another
During Friday’s victory over Kansas, Ashley Paris became the fourth Sooner to reach both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career; she has 1,205 points and 1,003 rebounds. The others are Courtney Paris (2,651 points and 1,955 rebounds), Molly McGuire (2,147 points and 1,071 rebounds) and Caton Hill (1,653 points and 1,044 rebounds).
Meanwhile, OU women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer with 2,651 points, Courtney is close to passing Wayman Tisdale (1983-85) as the career scoring leader for both men’s or women’s basketball at OU. Tisdale’s total of 2,661 points came in just three seasons. Paris needs 37 points to match Tisdale’s mark, which, barring upset, she should reach this Big 12 Tournament.
By Jake Trotter
