In the all of the commotion over Capel leaving VCU as head coach for the basketball team, I have to wonder what all of the hype is about. I love watching the games but have no idea how Capel has received the praise and sorrow about his leaving that has been heaped upon him. Yes, the Rams have made some impressive strides but let’s face it: The coach isn’t playing in the game. These guys knew how to play ball a long time before Capel came along. Yes he may have fine-tuned their skills, but he is hardly fully responsible for the wins they received.
It has always amazed me that when a team has a winning season the coach reaps the rewards but when the season isn’t so great the players start getting the criticisms. I’ll grant that a coach guides the team but in the end it is the team’s effort, not the coach’s, which produces a winning or losing season. While reading over Capel’s stats it is noted that he had a 79-41 overall record with VCU, and his record with the CAA is 50-22. Am I the only one who doesn’t think these stats are all that impressive? If he is to garner all of the acclaim for the VCU team then his record of losing over half of the games played is fairly unimpressive. Stop to think for a moment if you failed half of your courses, would you be considered an excellent student? Of course not, you’d probably be considered an awful student if you were even a student at all at that point.
With Capel’s decision to go to Oklahoma after VCU extended his contract by two years comes the hope of getting a more seasoned coach for a more than deserving team. I’m not sure that someone who agrees to an extended contract and then backs out for more money at another university is exactly the image VCU is looking for in a head coach. Capel met with his team and coaches on the morning of April 11, 2006 to tell them of his decision to leave VCU and then left for Oklahoma where he was to be introduced that afternoon. While I can understand wanting to excel in your career, one must also take into account whether the actions are worth the consequences. Has anyone inquired how the players feel about this move? I have heard no sentiments over this decision from those who it affects most.
As for Capel, I personally don’t know the man but apparently some people are more motivated by money than by pride for their team. We can only look toward the horizon and hope that VCU puts someone in place that will take a different coach’s stand for once, and when receiving praise for a teams wins say “It was the team playing, I’m only a guide.” Yeah, like that will happen. Where coaches are concerned, and this is for all sports from little league through the major divisions, people often recognize the coaches more than the players. Unfortunately, this has led to a ration of coaches being paid far more than they are worth and taking far too much credit for the team’s games. I realize that people will disagree with me and think that coaches make the team, and players for that matter, who they are but think about this: Do you ever see Tiger Woods’ caddie giving a speech after he wins a tournament even though he is constantly giving advice? No, because Tiger knew how to play when he got there, the caddie, not unlike the coach, is just a guide.