Men's Basketball Summer Preview
July 28, 2008 NORMAN, Okla. - When Jeff Capel was hired as Oklahoma's men's basketball coach on April 11, 2006, he was strapped with a short roster and was handed the not-so-everyday task of rebuilding a proud program while having to contend with recruiting and scholarship limitations. OU fans looked forward to an exciting and prosperous future under the energetic Capel, but they knew it would take time. Just more than two years later, that promising future appears to have arrived. A combination of veteran returnees, including projected No. 1 overall 2009 NBA Draft pick Blake Griffin, and a highly rated crop of newcomers that features McDonald's All-American Willie Warren, will give Capel his deepest and most talented Sooners squad. A consensus preseason top-25 pick, Capel's third OU team will look to improve on last year's 23-12 season that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. "This is the most excited I've seen our guys since I've been here," said Capel, who is 39-27 at OU. "They talk to me or they text me all the time about the upcoming season. The returning guys are proud of what they accomplished last year, especially with some of the adverse things we had to go through. The way that it ended in the NCAA Tournament with the loss to Louisville, as bad as it was when it happened, it's positive for us now because it let them know we have to work even harder."
An additional positive for the Sooners in 2008-09 is the amount of production that returns from last season. OU welcomes back 69 percent of its scoring, 68 percent of its rebounding and 72 percent of its assists from a team that finished in fourth place in the Big 12. A top-10 national recruiting class comprised of two high school guards and three junior college big men is another plus. And there's also forward Ryan Wright, a transfer from UCLA who sat out last season while practicing with the Sooners. "Our guys know we have a chance to be good, a chance to have a really special season," said Capel. "Because of that, it's really elevated what they've done in their spring individual workouts and the way they're working in the summer to get to another level. "I talk to our guys constantly about how our level of work and level of preparation have to improve. I think they've taken that to heart."
Leading Oklahoma's frontcourt charge is national-player-of-the-year candidate Blake Griffin, a 6-10, 251-pound forward who led the Sooners in scoring (14.7 ppg), rebounding (9.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (.568) last season. Blessed with a rare combination of massive strength, first-rate athletic ability and savvy court sense, Griffin last year became the first OU freshman to earn first-team all-conference honors since Wayman Tisdale did it 25 years earlier. "I think we have the best player in the country," said Capel referring to Griffin, "certainly one of the premier big guys in the country. We look forward to him having a huge year. His numbers may not improve drastically, but he will be more efficient and more effective in helping our team." The physically imposing Griffin averaged 16.9 points and 10.4 rebounds during Big 12 play, discounting OU's game at Kansas when he injured his knee five minutes into the contest. He turned down an opportunity to be a lottery pick in this summer's NBA Draft in order to improve his skills and to experience what he hopes will be a sophomore season to remember. "As good as he was last year, we expect him to be even better this season because of how hard he's been working and how determined he is to become a better player," added Capel. "Because of his size, his speed, his strength, he's a guy teams have to gameplan for." Joining the preseason All-American on OU's frontline is his brother, Taylor Griffin. A chiseled 6-7, 238-pound forward, Taylor Griffin possesses much of the strength and athletic ability of his younger sibling. The senior has started 42 of his 93 career games, including 20 of 35 last year when he averaged 6.5 points and 4.9 boards per outing. Realizing he has just one last go-round, the elder Griffin is prepared to make it as successful as possible. "He's really embracing his role as a senior leader," said Capel of Taylor Griffin. "He's preparing for this season differently than he's prepared for any previous season. I think he's very excited. The thing I want Taylor to do is play with reckless abandon. I want him to be athletic, I want him to be flying all over the place, I want him to play with confidence. When he does that, he's a really, really good player." Expected to play a big role for Capel's crew this year is a face new to the fans but not to the program. Ryan Wright, an explosive 6-9, 231-pound forward who transferred from UCLA, practiced with the Sooners last year but was not allowed to compete in games. Wright appeared in 59 contests over two years with the Bruins and played in a pair of Final Fours. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per game while shooting .571 from the field. Said Capel, "We think Ryan will be an important player for us this season, and a very effective player. He's very physical -- great body, great athleticism and a guy who doesn't mind banging. He should be able to immediately affect our team in terms of defense and rebounding. And he has a better offensive game than many people realize." A trio of junior college transfers will increase OU's size and athletic ability down low and should challenge for immediate playing time. Juan Pattillo was a 2007-08 preseason first-team All-American at College of Southern Idaho who went on to average 17.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game. At 6-6 and 218 pounds, Pattillo can play in the paint or on the perimeter, giving the Sooners the ability to go either big or small with him on the court. He might be the most athletic player on the roster. "Juan is a great athlete," stressed Capel. "He plays hard, has a tremendous body, can play above the rim. He's guy who you don't give a position. He's just a basketball player. He can affect the game in different ways with his ability to slash and his mid-range shot. He should be a really good offensive rebounder and he has a chance to be a really good defender who can match up at multiple positions." Another player to whom his new head coach is reluctant to assign a position is Kyle Cannon. A preseason first-team All-American last year at San Jacinto Junior College in Texas, Cannon averaged 13.5 points and 8.3 rebounds in four games before missing the rest of his sophomore season following knee surgery to correct patellar tendinitis. He averaged 14.8 points as a freshman when he was a third-team all-region selection. Because he missed virtually all of last season, Cannon will have three years of eligibility remaining at OU. "Kyle is a 6-8 skilled player. I wouldn't label him as a post guy, necessarily. Like Juan, he's just a basketball player. When healthy, he's a good athlete. He just has a good feel for the game. He's another guy who will give us flexibility. We could play him, Taylor and Blake together; him, Taylor and Ryan together. We'll be able to do different things because of Kyle's ability to step away from the basket and shoot, and because of his ability to pass." The largest player on OU's roster, Orlando Allen is a 6-11, 267-pound center who transferred from Paris Junior College in Texas. He will also be a sophomore eligibility wise. Considered more advanced defensively than offensively, Allen has lost 65 pounds from his peak weight last year. He didn't play in 2007-08 at Paris, and as a freshman the season before averaged 1.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in limited action for a sophomore-laden team that finished 26-5. Allen was rated by Rivals.com as the Big 12 Conference's top center prospect among players that signed last November. "First of all, he's huge," began Capel. "Orlando's lost about 20 pounds since he got here in late May, so he's really working his butt off to get in shape. When he's in shape, that allows him to be really active on offense, on defense and running the floor. He's really long. It's not just that he's 6-11 - he also has really long arms and big hands. He'll impact our team defensively, but I also think he will offensively because he can take up so much space in the paint. We're really looking forward to working with him." Walk-on Beau Gerber, a junior forward with seemingly no enemies, rounds out the frontcourt. The 6-8, 222-pounder exudes hard work and determination for a shot at minimal playing time. He played a total of 33 minutes in 15 games last year. Capel said he has encountered few players like him. "Beau Gerber is one of my favorite players that I've ever coached. You talk about the ultimate team guy; I really haven't met a guy like him. His teammates love him and he has a heart as big as anything. He works his butt off every day knowing that's he's probably not going to get to play. He gets a beating every day having to lock up with Blake and Ryan and Taylor. The guy has incredible pride to wear 'Oklahoma' on his chest. He can be a great leader for our basketball team because there's no one who values what wearing that jersey means more than Beau does."
Guard play dictated the Sooners' 2007-08 season. When OU's guards played well, victories came in bunches. When they were off their game, the team's struggles were more frequent. Capel is hoping a more experienced backcourt -- the team returns its top two scoring guards -- and the injection of new high-level talent will result in a more consistent performance in 2008-09. Tony Crocker and Austin Johnson made 67 combined starts (out of a possible 70) last year and averaged 20 points per game between them. Johnson averaged 31.3 minutes per contest while Crocker ranked second on the team with his 30.6 minutes per outing. The pair is a versatile one, with both players able to shoot from outside, put the ball on the floor and find teammates for the open look. Crocker, a 6-6, 206-pound junior, ranked third on the team with his 11.3 points per game last year and also averaged 3.8 boards and 1.9 assists. His 64 3-pointers and .424 shooting from beyond the arc led the Sooners in both categories. Capel thinks he can become even more dangerous. "The thing that's imperative for Tony to improve in order to become a better player, a more complete player, is his ball handling. That's something that I talked to him about in my end-of-the-year meeting with him. We obviously want him to maintain his ability to shoot the ball, but we want him to handle the ball better and get stronger. If he does those two things, he has the chance to really flourish and become one of the better guards in our league." Capel added, "When we were working with the players in the spring, there wasn't anyone working harder than Tony Crocker. Hopefully that's translated to the summer and we see it when we get to the fall." Johnson, a 6-3, 170-pound senior, averaged 8.6 points and a team-high 2.7 assists per game while posting a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He ranked second on the squad with 49 treys. Johnson scored in double figures 15 times, with OU going 14-1 when he did (8-0 in Big 12 play). Making it tougher on him was the fact that he fought back pain all season. "He has a really good feel for the game, he can affect the game defensively and he can affect it on the offensive end, especially when he's making shots," said Capel of Johnson. "The big thing with A.J. is health. When he's been healthy he's been a good player for us, at times very good. "If he has a summer that allows him to work and get better, then the question becomes can he have a healthy fall and winter? If that happens, then he has the chance to be a very effective player and really, really help us." Two other returning guards are senior Omar Leary and sophomore Cade Davis. Both first-year players last season, Leary transferred from junior college while Davis was considered the second best high school player in Oklahoma behind Blake Griffin in 2006-07. Leary averaged 3.9 points in 16.8 minutes per game last season primarily as a back-up point guard, and proved capable from the perimeter with his .375 3-point shooting. Davis averaged 3.7 points in 13.3 minutes an outing as a shooting guard and made all 23 of his free throw attempts on the year. Capel thinks last year's experience will greatly benefit the pair during the upcoming campaign. "I thought Omar did a really good job last year. We don't beat Arkansas and Gonzaga without him. As we got to conference, I think the speed of the game wore on him a little. He went through a spell with some inconsistency, which most first-year players do. But I thought down the stretch he played really well for us. He can be a very good shooter for us and a guy that can get us into our offense. We look forward to Omar being better next year because he has a year of Division I experience under his belt." About Davis, Capel said, "I thought Cade made a big jump during the year last year. You look at him at the beginning of the season and then at the end - he may have been our most improved player. He got used to the speed of the game, his passing became a lot better and he gained confidence as the season went on. It's really important for him to improve his ball handling this summer and to get stronger. I love the energy he brings to both ends of the court with how he plays really, really hard. Cade can be a very important contributor to our team, especially with his shooting ability." A new Sooner with whom the OU fan base will get acquainted very quickly is combination guard Willie Warren. OU's second McDonald's All-American in the past two years (he scored a game-high 23 points in this year's All-American game), the-6-4, 207-pound Warren led his North Crowley high school team in Fort Worth, Texas, to a 38-1 record and the Class 5A state title by averaging 24.9 points and 4.7 assists per game. The most highly touted high school guard signee in OU history, Warren was ranked in the top 10 nationally by no less than three online recruiting publications (ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Hoop Scoop). He will impact the team immediately, both at the point and on the wing. "Willie comes in with a huge reputation, and I think it's warranted," said Capel. "He's incredibly talented. He can score in so many different ways, and that puts pressure on the defense. With that, I think he's been unfairly labeled as a selfish player. I think he really does have a good feel for the game. His greatest asset his whole life has been scoring. But just because you can score doesn't mean you can't do other things. Willie has the chance to make his teammates better because of his scoring ability. I think he's a good passer -- an underrated passer. I also think he can be a very good defender." Another talented guard who will vie for court time as a freshman is Ray Willis. A slender 6-6 and 172 pounds, Willis earned first-team all-state honors in Georgia last year by averaging 27.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists at Westlake High School. Ranked No. 61 nationally by Scout.com, Willis set a Westlake single-season record by scoring at least 30 points eight times. He's considered a good all-around player with a bright future. "Ray's an incredibly talented young man," commented Capel. "He's 6-6 or 6-7 and really long, and we think he still has some growing to do. He's a very talented offensive player who can handle the ball and shoot it to three. Because of his size and ability to handle it, he's a very, very good mid-range player. He has to get stronger. That's the most important thing for him. As he begins to get stronger and his body starts to change, down the road people are going to say, 'How did Oklahoma get this guy?'"
Oklahoma's improvement from 16 wins in Capel's first year to 23 wins and an NCAA Tournament second-round appearance last season was enough to satisfy the program's fan base. Now, with improved talent and increased depth, expectations for year No. 3 will escalate. Higher standards don't lay solely with the fans, however. OU's players -- the veterans as well as the newcomers -- are anxious to start the season and improve on last year's successes. "There's an excitement among the guys coming back and also the new guys coming in," said Capel. "I think we'll have a very good blend. All of our returning scholarship players started at some point for us last year. So we have that experience. But we also add six new players. We think all of them are talented, but we have to come together very quickly." Realizing that potential doesn't magically translate into achievement, Capel is quick to point out what must happen for his squad to reach its goals. "It's going to be imperative for our older guys, with the experience all of them gained, to be great with their communication. They have to help teach our new guys how to work, what it takes. There's a buzz our players have sensed that has led to them working at a different level because they want to get to a different level. They've done a good job understanding that. That must continue."
  
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