Published: March 24, 2008 10:40 pm            

Capel staying or going?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Following Sunday’s loss to Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel talked about the bright future of the program.

Meanwhile, newspapers, radio stations and Web sites in South Carolina continued talk of him becoming the Gamecocks’ next head coach.

The future will remain murky until either Capel announces he’s staying at OU or South Carolina hires a coach.

“I’m really excited about our future,” Capel said. “I think we have a good class coming in with the four guys that we have signed. I think we have some guys coming back that are good players.”

Those words don’t sound like they would be coming from a man intending to take another job.

OU athletic director Joe Castiglione doesn’t envision a scenario in which anyone but Capel will be coaching the Sooners next season.

He pointed out the number of times other schools expressed interest in either football coach Bob Stoops or former basketball coach Kelvin Sampson over the last decade.

OU always did what it needed to do to keep Stoops. It took one of college basketball’s elite programs — Indiana — to lure away Sampson.

“We’re going to be in this position quite often. People shouldn’t assume once someone has some level of success they should be looking to go somewhere else,” Castiglione said. “Oklahoma is a destination job. I’ve always said if there’s something outside of our control, we’ll deal with that as best we can. But we’ll do the best we can to control what we can control and operate from a position of strength.”

OU’s position of strength is the job it has to offer.

With this year’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed, the Sooners have entered the Big Dance as a six seed or higher 16 times since 1984. It’s undeniable proof OU has a consistent Top 25 program.

That’s something a school like South Carolina cannot offer.

And there are signs the Sooners’ return to the national stage wasn’t a one-year engagement.

If Blake Griffin returns for his sophomore season, OU will three starters and all of its bench back for next season. It should also be bolstered by the addition of McDonald’s All-American guard Willie Warren.

Griffin said he’ll make his decision in the next three or four weeks. He has three options.

• Announce he will be back next season and put an end to the discussions.

• Turn pro, sign with an agent and end his collegiate career.

• The third option is to make himself eligible for the NBA draft, but not sign with an agent. He could attend the NBA’s pre-draft camp and get a solid evaluation. He could then return to school if he doesn’t think he will be taken high enough.

“I really don’t know what I’m going to do right now,” Griffin said.

He followed that up by there’s plenty to return to at OU.

“It’s definitely on its way up,” Griffin said. “You can’t sit back and admire this year. You have to keep moving forward if we want to keep playing at a high level.”

But Griffin’s future at OU could very well be tied with Capel’s. The Sooner coach said he’s already talked with Castiglione about a new contract. Capel’s current deal is for $750,000 a year plus incentives and runs through 2012.

“As a coach you want as much security as you can possibly get,” Capel said.

Both sides are confident a new deal can be reached.

“I’m confident in OU and Joe,” Capel said. “Joe is one of the main reasons I came to OU.”

Castiglione said the talks have to go beyond he and Capel for a new deal to be solidified.

“It’s more than just a discussion between and athletic director and a coach. It involves a president. It involves a board,” Castiglione said. “All of that takes place at the appropriate time. That’s standard operating procedure.”

That procedure will be a big part of what direction OU basketball heads in. This season was a breakout year in terms of getting back to the national stage.

What happens over the next month will decide if is ready to stay there.



John Shinn writes for The Norman (Okla.) Transcript.