The NCAA Tournament

First, just because I feel like taking you guys inside the operation a little bit, the OU-Notre Dame game began around 8:45 central time, maybe a little later. It went overtime, so I’m guessing it ended around 11 p.m. But I’m not sure, because I couldn’t find a boxscore with a time on it and I never looked at my watch. At the Transcript, typically, we have to hand our pages over at 11:30 p.m. for a midnight press run. It used to be midnight for a 12:30 run, but that was before our press began printing the OU student paper. However, thank goodness, because there was something that had to  be done with the student paper after printing, it ran early, giving us a little extra time with the Transcript on a night we absolutely needed it. Whatever the case, in this morning’s paper, I’ve got a column, a sidebar story, and a postgame notepad. All together, about 1,500 words, and I finished it about 12:10 a.m. central time. I just wanted to know the time to see how fast I was. Rare is the night we’re up against so much. By the way, if you’re a reader of our paper product - or, I suppose, a regular reader of us online - I’d love some feedback on something. I chose to do a column, sidebar and notes, because if I had written a game story, I could not have written the sidebar. I wouldn’t have had time. However, in writing the column, I didn’t have to wait on the players for quotes or even really dig through the game to tell the story. A columnist who knows what he’s writing should always be faster than a guy with the game story. Also, in making that decision, it also meant we ran the associated press game story, which we don’t like to do. Still, by using the AP game story, we were able to have four items from the game in the morning paper, even on deadline and even with such a late, late, late buzzer. So, my question is, are our readers best served by that decision to use the wire story on the game, which allows us to put more in the paper. Or, are our readers better served without the column, but with a Transcript staffed game story? Believe it or not, we wonder about this stuff. Frankly, I would always rather write the column, but it pains me to use anything from a wire service from an event that we staffed. Of course, the Oklahoman and the Tulsa World, with a large enough staff to send two writers, don’t face these questions. All right. On to the game.  I’ve been telling people this to get their reaction. Not that I don’t happen to think it’s the case. If this was  a football team, it would be time to fire the coordinators. Now that doesn’t mean Sherri Coale needs to get rid of Jan Ross, Stacy Hansmeyer or Chad Thrailkill, but what it does mean is that this Oklahoma women’s basketball season must be looked at as a failure, and the search for answers cannot stop with third and fourth viewings of game film. Instead the entire dynamic of the program has to be examined (Bo Overton’s available, though he left the Chicago Sky under questionable circumstances). Personally, I wonder if Coale is quick enough to acknowledge the issues on the team. For instance, she said the team was very close at a time it was struggling. the next game, OU played great start to finish and beat Texas Tech by almost 40. I even asked her that day if they were really close to “that” or did the performance come out of nowhere. She said they were really close and she meant it. The next game, OU was very good start to finish against Georgia. Well, you can’t be close, then find it, then prove you’ve found it, and then struggle down the stretch and start reminding everybody how young you are all over again. It just doesn’t wash. It’s as though she believes in her players to a fault. Perhaps there’s nobody around her to tell her when the team is going down an incorrect road . I don’t know, but it’s one thing to win your conference and then fail miserably on the national stage, but it’s another to do what the Sooners did this season, which was underachieving all season to the point that they don’t really have to apologize for a round of 32 loss to Notre Dame, because it was a coin-flip game … a coin-flip game because this team never overcame the issues that plagued it all season long (and didn’t last year either until imploding the starting lineup, even after returning everybody but Laura Andrews and Beky Preston from a 19-0 run through the conference; point being, not overcoming issues is now a two-season issue). And, while we’re at it, Bob Stoops had plenty to answer for after winning the conference but losing another BCS game, which is kind of what the OU women had done the last two seasons; but not this season when what they did was akin going 8-4 AND LOSING THE HOLIDAY BOWL and doing it after returning 80 percent of their starters INCLUDING THE NATION’S BEST PLAYER. That about it? Later 

We’re about a half hour away from tip here at Mackey Arena where either Oklahoma’s or Notre Dame’s season will come to an abrupt end. The Sooners are the fourth seed in the Oklahoma City Regional and the Fighting Irish are the fifth seed, though in my last Associated Press Top 25 ballot, I had the Irish No. 15 and OU No. 20. So there’s that.Just for the record, here’s my final poll, end of the year awards and first-, second- and third-team All-Americans.

1. UConn 2. North Carolina 3. Maryland 4. Stanford 5. Tennessee 6. LSU 7. Rutgers 8. Texas A&M 

9. Duke 10. Cal 11. Oklahoma State 12. Old Dominion 13. Utah 14. Baylor 15. Notre Dame 

16. Louisville 17. West Virginia 18. Kansas State 19. Marist 20. Oklahoma 21. Virginia 

22. George Washington 23. Vanderbilt 24. UTEP 25. Ohio State  

Coach of the year: Elaine Elliott, Utah  

Player of the Year Candace Parker, Tenn  

First Team 

Courtney Paris, OU 

Candace Parker, Tenn. 

Angel McCoughtry, Louisville 

Candice Wiggins, 

Stanford Kristi Tolliver, Maryland  

Second Team Amber Holt, MTSU 

Natalie Doma, Idaho State Sylvia Fowles, LSU 

Aquonesia Franklin, Texas A&M 

Andrea Riley, OSU  

Third team 

Crystal Langhorne, Maryland 

Tina Charles, UConn 

Maya Moore, UConn 

Erlana Larkins, NC 

Leilani Mitchell, Utah You know, just if you’re interested.As far as predictions go, I don’t have one because what I know of the Irish is what I know by following their results all season, though not an opinion based upon watching them play. What I know is that it would be a shame for Oklahoma to lose playing a dud. That has to be the Sooners’ greatest fear. To go down as though lost, the way they went down at the Big 12 Tournament. Two days ago, they took a step.  They need to take another one tonight. 

The Sooners’ talk with the media has concluded and, yes, we have a story. Even down the stretch Sunday, Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale refused to call plays for Courtney Paris. Consider it a calculated risk, even if it hasn’t been presented in just that way, that to get where the Sooner ultimately want to get, they must get more players involved, even if, in the very short term, it opens them up to unintended consequences, like having to play a really tight game against Illinois State. So, while I am still unconvinced the Sooners are as confident as they want everybody to believe they are, I do believe they’re taking at least one important tactical step to address those confidence issues and, confidence aside, become a better and more balanced basketball team at a time they need to be. I suppose it’s something. Later 

Here we are back at the building across the street from Mackey Arena where in just a few minutes Sherri Coale, Ashley Paris and Danielle Robinson will address the media. I have no idea what angle I’m going to take with tomorrow morning’s pregame story, or this evening’s if you’re a Transcript Web devotee.It’s interesting that Courtney Paris is taking a powder on this one, though I’m pretty sure they’ll open the locker room for about 15 minutes after the press conference — yes, men (and women) in a women’s locker room; they let us in after game’s, too, which means the NCAA takes a view similar to professional sports while most collegiate athletic departments are forever looking for ways to regiment (and restrict) access — so everybody will be available. And still, I don’t even know what to ask.To me, the most interesting thing about this team right now is the gap between the confidence the players continue to insist they have and what’s really showing up on the court. I’ve yet to hear anything that sounds authentic and authoritative enough to the point it makes me believe it’s not a simple case of the Sooners trying to talk themselves into it. Yet, by the same token, I feel compelled to give them the benefit of the doubt … but that’s a lot of doubt. Aside: The P.A. guy here sounds just like Elaine’s boss on Seinfeld. J. Peterman. Can’t remember the actor’s name but he hosts Family Feud and won the first Dancing with the Stars.  How do I know this stuff? Later. 

After Oklahoma’s lopsided loss to Louisville Sunday, all talk turned to next season.
The Sooners’ two most pressing questions are will Jeff Capel spur South Carolina and return to the OU bench next season, and will Blake Griffin return for his sophomore season?
My best guess, and these are only guesses, is yes to both questions.
I talked to OU athletic director Joe Castiglione at length following the game and he said all the right things. OU, “will be proactive” when it comes to keeping Capel.
I believe this all comes down to money, and you can’t blame Capel for that. Most people see someone making close to $800,000 a year and wonder how money could be a concern. The money doesn’t last forever. Capel mentioned former LSU coach John Brady as an example: in 2006, he was coaching the Final Four. Now he’s unemployed. OU will match just about any offer the Gamecocks can come up with.
I think what bothers Castiglione — and he’s right about to feel this way — is that anyone believes a coach would leave OU for a program that is clearly unequal. South Carolina has zero winning tradition and creating any is going to be tough with Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee in the same division of the SEC.
Any coach that values winning would remain at Oklahoma.
As far as Griffin goes, he has several options. He told me after the game he would make as decision in the next three or four weeks.
He could annouce he’s coming back or sign with an agent and turn pro.
My guess is he’ll do neither. Instead, he’ll make himself eligible for the draft and not sign with an agent. He can attend the draft camp (the NBA’s version of the NFL combine) and see where he stacks up. My guess is he’ll hear he needs to develop a 10-15 foot jumper to make himself a legitimate lottery pick.
Then he’ll use his sophomore season to develop one.
Plus, I think the lure of playing another season with his brother, Taylor, is pretty strong and will factor heavily in the decision.
If Capel and Griffin are both back at OU next season, it should put them in shape for the program’s best season since 2003 ended in the Elite Eight.
But at least OU basketball should remain interesting in the coming weeks even though the season has ended.

Oklahoma’s down 17 points with a little over 5 minutes left in the first half and its game with Louisville has the potential to get really ugly.
OU can’t ball the ball inside and is struggling against the Cardinals’ press. If something doesn’t change quickly, the Sooners will get run right out of BJCC Arena.

The game is about 2 minutes from starting and Louisville fans outnumber OU’s contingent about 5-to-1.

Oklahoma’s game against Louisville is expected to start at around 4:40 p.m. The game was delayed after Tennessee’s 76-71 victory over Butler in overtime.

Not by much, but the Oklahoma women got past Illinois State Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena, and in ending the Redbirds’ season via a 69-61 decision, the Sooners gave their nation just about anything it might be looking for. For the doubters, OU played a near-horrible first half and allowed ISU a possession to tie the game even after taking a 17-point second half lead. For the true believers, OU played its best 3 or 4 minute stretch in a very, very, very, very, very long time, scoring the first 13 points of the second half by scoring on 6 of 7 possessions. When was the last time the Sooners made it look easy? Hard to remember. And who would have ever thought it, but Rose Hammond, from Depew,  almost the forgotten recruit in the class that included Jenna Plumley, Abi Olajuwon and Amanda Thompson, might have been the best player on the court on a day the Sooners needed somebody to step up.

Oklahoma just finished it’s best five possession since the first half against Texas when the losing streak began. If the Sooners somehow bring it all together for a deep tournament run, this is where it began, with their 10-0 start to the second half against Illinois State. Finally, what everybody’s been waiting for … Still, be nice to see somebody hit a 3.