Sooners Hire Floor Slapper

Well at least it’s not Steve Wojohowski.

Former Duke guard Jeff Capel was named head coach of the Oklahoma basketball team yesterday, replacing Kelvin Sampson who took the Indiana job. At 31, he is one of the youngest coaches in Division I.

I guess there isn’t much more Capel could ask for. To be this young and get a job at Oklahoma is quite impressive, especially since he has only been a head coach for four years. During that time, he did lead Virginia Commonwealth to both the NCAA tournament and the NIT once each.

As for Oklahoma, I’m not sure what they are thinking. This is not some run of the mill job. It’s the chance to coach one of the best teams in the Big 12. I know it’s not like becoming the school’s football coach, but I would definitely put it right next to, if not higher than the NC State job. Couldn’t they have gotten someone with at least a little more experience?

Let us not also forget that Capel’s loyalty probably lies in Durham. Considering Tommy Amaker and Quinn Snyder have pretty much pissed away their shot at inheriting Coach Krzyzewski’s throne, I would bet that he has a pretty decent chance to become the next head coach at Duke.

Assuming he would take that job if it was offered to him, the Sooners could see two consecutive coaches leave for other jobs. Since when did the Oklahoma job become a feeder to bigger and better things?

In the end, this could prove to be a bad hiring by Oklahoma. Capel is going to do a fine job, but there are other coaches that could do just as well with less risk of departure.