Summer Q&A With Jeff Capel - Part Two - University of Oklahoma

Aug. 2, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. -- Last week we posted part one of a two-part summer Q&A with head men's basketball coach Jeff Capel. This week it's time for part two.

In this segment, Capel addresses his team's youth, what he expects from lone senior Cade Davis, the point guard spot, the non-conference schedule, the Big 12 race and staff additions.

Q: With nine new players on the roster, how big of a burden is that? Or do you not view it as one?
A: "I look at it as refreshing. I think all nine new guys are talented and are really good kids. Most importantly, this is the place they want to be. We're excited to get them here and have an opportunity to work with them and help them become better in every aspect of their lives.

"I don't look at it as a burden to coach anyone. You have turnover and change every year. Certainly this will be the most new guys I've had in one year, but that's exciting. Hopefully these guys will bring a new energy to our program that we haven't had in a couple years."

Q: Youth and inexperience aside, how would you describe the makeup of your team?
A: "That's hard to say right now, because I haven't been around them. We have experience in the backcourt with Cade Davis and Steven Pledger, and even a guy like Carl Blair, who has played college basketball (at the University of New Orleans). The only guy in the frontcourt who has experience is Andrew Fitzgerald. The rest of the guys are new to this level. They're going to have to grow up very, very quickly. All of our news guys will. With our schedule, they'll be thrown into the fire early.

"We have to put our guys in positions when we start our workouts in August and when we begin practice in October to learn fast. It's going to be challenging because we'll have to be ready very quickly."

Summer Q&A With Jeff Capel - Part One

Q: Cade Davis has been through thick and thin during his three years here. What are you looking for from him as the lone senior?
A: "We need his leadership. We need him to be 100 percent invested in our team and to be the leader of our team. Cade has a tremendous opportunity because I think he has guys who will follow him. He has guys who will work, will get in here and do extra stuff, who want to be a part of it.

"It's a great opportunity for him to really step up and grow as a leader. He has to work at a very high level every day. He has to get to know all of these guys, know what buttons to push and when to push them. He has to learn how to get the most out of everyone. And he's going to need help doing it.

"I think that help has to come from guys like Andrew Fitzgerald, or Carl Blair or Romero Osby. Even though Romero has to sit out this year (because of NCAA transfer rules), he has a great spirit, a great voice and a tremendous work ethic. We don't want to overburden Cade because we want and need him to have a heck of a senior year."

Q: You return 28 percent of the scoring and 22 percent of the rebounding from last year. Are you confident you have guys who can pick up that slack and produce?
A: "We probably won't be as talented as we were last year. We lost two guys who were drafted (Willie Warren and Tiny Gallon) and another who was an all-conference player and thought he was an NBA player (Tommy Mason-Griffin). So I don't know if we'll have anyone on our team more talented than those three, but I think we can be a better team. I think guys will understand how much we need each other. I think overall, perhaps we'll have a little more quality depth. But mainly, I think we'll have guys totally immersed in OU -- with both feet in -- and what we want to accomplish."

Q: You've said that point guard is the most important and most difficult position. What do you see from that spot on this team?
A: "That's hard to answer right now because I haven't had the chance to work with the guys who'll probably be playing that spot. Getting Carl Blair was really important for us because he brings the experience of playing college basketball. The level will be different, but the fact he was a Division I player last year and played against high-major teams won't be new to him.

"The other guys who can maybe play that position -- like Calvin Newell and maybe T.J. Taylor in some spot minutes -- will be new. They'll be green. There will be a learning curve for them. Hopefully as we go through our workouts, the start of practice and our exhibition game, those guys can grow up fairly quickly."

Q: What are your thoughts on the non-conference schedule?
A: "It's a very, very challenging non-conference schedule. Scheduling is a difficult thing every year. You have to kind of do it early. This year's schedule was put together before last season started when we thought we'd have Tiny (Gallon) and Tommy (Mason-Griffin) returning.

"Obviously, the Maui Invitational field is incredible. Road games at Arkansas and Arizona, the game against Cincinnati in the All-College Classic -- they're all big-time games against very good opponents with strong traditions. The schedule will give us an opportunity to see where we are. We'll compete as hard we can and try to win as many as we can."

Q: The Big 12 lost a lot of quality individual talent from last year. Do you still see it as one of the top leagues for this season and how do you see the league race shaping up?
A: "I think it's going to be a challenging year in the league and a tight race. The majority of teams lost at least their one or two best players, so I think that's going to make things interesting. But there's still a lot of talent.

"When you're talking about talent you start with Kansas and what they return. Baylor may return the best player in the conference in LaceDarius Dunn. You may get a huge argument out of Manhattan, Kan., about that because of Jacob Pullen. Kansas State returns the majority of its team. Oklahoma State returns some good players and had a very good recruiting class. There'll be some debate in Colorado about the best player in the league returning. They have two of the best in Cory Higgins and Alec Burks. Texas Tech returns the majority of its guys.

"So I think it's going to be a really interesting year. It's always competitive and it's always tough to win."

Q: How have Bryan Goodman and Dionne Phelps re-adapted as assistant coaches and what do they bring to your staff?
A: "They've been great. They've brought a jolt of energy to our program. I don't know if people really realize that those guys have combined for more than 25 years of coaching experience. When you talk about 'hot' coaches, Bryan Goodman probably fell under that category just a few years ago when he was an assistant at Bucknell and with what they were able to accomplish. He had to get out of coaching for a little while to take care of his family when his wife had quadruplets. He has a passion -- a passion for the University of Oklahoma, a passion for teaching. His character has been a huge plus for us.

"Dionne Phelps has 16 years of college coaching experience, all in the state of Texas. Being in some of the places he was for all those years will hopefully help us in recruiting the state. Also, Dionne's character, passion and energy will be contagious to the kids in our program and the guys we recruit. So it's been great for me to hear different voices and to have a different type of energy around here."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Summer Q&A With Jeff Capel - Part Two

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