September 20, 2006
There were so many coaching changes made during the off-season. Think about it ... for various reasons, more than 60 schools have different head coaches roaming the sidelines when they tip it off for the 2006-07 campaign.
It will be interesting to follow Herb Sendek at Arizona State and Jeff Capel in Oklahoma. These two guys are beautiful people, well-liked, well-respected and certainly have excellent credentials in their resumes.
Sendek led his NC State teams to five 20-win seasons in the past seven years. In the ACC, only Duke (seven) had more 20-win seasons in that time (1999-2000 to 2005-2006). His Wolfpack teams went to the past five NCAA Tournaments, matching a school record. I firmly believe Sendek was never appreciated by the fans. He was in the shadows of North Carolina and Duke, and that is not easy.
He is a laid back, easy-going kind of guy. Sendek isn't yelling and screaming and making a lot of noise. He didn't get as much notoriety and publicity and that worked against him in the court of public opinion. Let me tell you, Sun Devils fans should be thrilled because they have a very good coach, tactician and teacher. In the long run, he will have his team prepared and ready to play. Sendek is a solid X and O guy, and it will take a little time to build the program.
It is a similar situation with Capel at Oklahoma as the Sooners try to rebuild. This is a program that lost Taj Gray, Terrelle Everett and Kevin Bookout among its top players. Capel took over when Kelvin Sampson left for Indiana, and the personnel level in Norman will not be the same as it has been in the past.
Capel also has a great track record in a short time. He compiled a 79-41 record over the last four years as head coach at Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams won at least 18 games in each of Capel's four seasons at VCU, including an impressive 23-8 mark in 2003-04. The former Duke guard learned from one of the best as a player under Mike Krzyzewski.
It will take some time, but when it is all said and done, work ethic and sense of pride will equal success for Capel and Sendek.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.
