Men's Basketball Practice Report

Aug. 21, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - In preparation for its Labor Day weekend exhibition trip to Vancouver, Canada, the Oklahoma men's basketball team held its first practice of the 2007-08 season Tuesday.

Head coach Jeff Capel proclaimed himself more than happy with the two-and-a-half hour workout, especially considering it was the first for this team.

"It was a good day, we got some things accomplished," said Capel. "It was just really good to be out there with the guys and to start implementing some things. We need to get into better shape, but we knew that coming in. Today was a good gauge for us to see where we are. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow to see how we come back after a tough practice today."

The Sooners started the afternoon with their daily skill drills before transitioning into offensive and defensive work.

August 21st Practice Photo Gallery

"We put in one of our transition breaks and then we went into some defensive things, just trying to get our principles down," Capel. "Then we moved on to some offensive areas and implemented a set play with multiple options off of it. After that, we reviewed both the fast break and the set we had just installed by going 5-on-5 using just the break and the set. We also got some work in on our motion offense.

"We got a lot done today, and it really helped that we have several guys who know and remember things from last year. We were able to get through things fairly quickly because of that."

The Sooners leave for Vancouver on Friday, Aug. 31, and play the University of British Columbia on Saturday, Sept. 1 (9 p.m. CT), face Simon Fraser (2 p.m. CT) and Trinity Western (10 p.m. CT) on Sunday, Sept. 2, and visit Douglas College on Monday, Sept. 3 (11 a.m. CT), before returning to Oklahoma later that day.

Oklahoma is allowed to practice up to 10 times in advance of the trip, although Capel said on Monday he wasn't sure if he would utilize all 10 opportunties.

THE MOOSE IS LOOSE
Sophomore forward Keith "Moose" Clark participated in his first team practice since tearing the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee on Dec. 28, 2006, against SMU. Clark was cleared for full activity the first week of July and showed no ill-effects from the injury during Tuesday's practice. According to OU team trainer Alex Brown, Clark will wear a brace on his knee until OU's regular season season begins.

"Keith is doing well," said Brown, "and he's 25 pounds lighter than he was this time last year. I also think he appreciates the talent he was blessed with more now because it was taken away from him while he was out with the injury."

Said Clark, "The knee held up well today. I've lost some weight on my lower half so my brace was a little loose on my leg -- I had to tighten it up pretty good. But it felt good to get back on the practice court and start picking up where I left off as far as learning things last year."

ALL IN THE FAMILY
For the first time since the 2004-05 school year when they were both prepping at Oklahoma Christian School, brothers Taylor and Blake Griffin practiced together on the same competitive team Tuesday. A junior forward, Taylor averaged 6.3 points and 5.2 rebounds a game last year. Blake, a freshman forward who won state high school championships in each of his four years at Oklahoma Christian, is regarded as one of the top collegiate newcomers in the country.

"It was cool," said Taylor. "It was different from when we were in high school because this is a different stage, a different set-up. It'll take some getting used to, but then again we're already familiar with it. I'm looking forward to playing with him again."

CAPEL ANNOUNCES PLAYER ADDITION
Capel announced Tuesday that guard Tyson Seng has joined the team as a walk-on. Seng, who hails from Enid, Okla., and was an All-State player as a senior in 2005-06, is a redshirt freshman in terms of eligibility. Recruited to play baseball, he attended OU for the 2006 fall semester before transferring to Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa for the 2007 spring semester. Seng averaged 19.4 points and 4.7 rebounds a game his senior year of high school.

"We're excited about Tyson," said Capel. "I've seen him on tape and he can really shoot the ball. He had a very good basketball career at Enid High School and we think he'll be a great member of our team who will represent our program well. He'll be a guy who really pushes everyone in practice. He's going to be a valuable asset for us."

Seng will once again play on the OU baseball team, as well.

HOME SWEET HOME...SORT OF
Oklahoma's six newcomers weren't the only fresh faces on the Bruce Drake Practice Court Tuesday, as assistant coach Oronde Taliaferro also made his OU practice debut. Taliaferro, who spent the past four years as an assistant coach at Arkansas, was hired in May to replace Rod Barnes (Barnes is now the head coach at Georgia State).

Taliaferro, who grew up in Detroit, Mich., but was an OU basketball and football fan in part because of trips to visit family in Oklahoma City, said it was great to finally get on the practice court as a Sooner.

"It was a great feeling. I didn't grow up expecting that I'd wind up here. It's kind of like a homecoming, so to speak, considering I grew up watching so many OU games and having family here. It's a weird feeling, but it's a good feeling. It probably means a little more to me (than my other coaching stops) because of my attachment to the city and to some of the history."

Taliaferro agreed with Capel about the success of Tuesday's workout.

"The first practice is always a little bit sloppy, but I was impressed with the way the guys fought through it, pushed each other and rooted for each other. We finished the day with some conditioning and nobody whined or complained. Everyone fought through it and I thought that was a great sign."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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