Capel tries to be all about Oklahoma, not South Carolina rumors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Jeff Capel pumped his fist when the horn sounded, gazed into the crowd, pumped his fist again, smiled, took a deep breath, shook some hands and walked off the court a winner Friday night. So yeah, the Oklahoma coach is gonna keep coaching at Oklahoma ... at least for another game.

'That's all I'm focusing on is my job,' Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel says. (AP)

"He's told us not to worry about it," said OU freshman Cade Davis. "He's told us to focus on what's here."

Which must be hard on some level.

Because what's here might be there really soon.

I mean, you've heard the South Carolina rumors, right?

They started weeks ago and have intensified with time, and there isn't a person in college basketball I know who believes Capel won't be the next coach of the Gamecocks. According to sources, an offer is expected to be made within days (if not hours) of Oklahoma's season ending, and the smart money has Capel accepting the position primarily because it would get him closer to his North Carolina roots.

Would it be a good move?

Perhaps, though leaving a nice gig to join a division with Billy Donovan (Florida), Billy Gillispie (Kentucky) and Bruce Pearl (Tennessee) could be described as masochistic. But that's not the point. The point is that Capel is going to have an offer because he's young and smart and good at his job, and if he thinks South Carolina is a better fit than Oklahoma, he should leave Oklahoma for South Carolina. It's as simple as that. But the interesting thing is how he's having to spend this NCAA tournament insisting he's focused on the present when everybody wants to talk about the future; how he's having to delicately dance around the issue while fans watch for any misstep.

And it's hard not to misstep.

Because it's hard to even know which step to make.

If Capel discusses South Carolina, he's creating a mess for himself, and he can't do that. But if he opts not to discuss South Carolina, then that means he's avoiding the subject, which gives the impression that he's already packed his bags. So the dilemma is obvious, and the only way to make the speculation go away would be for Capel to tell the world he loves Oklahoma and hates South Carolina and that anybody suggesting he would leave this place for that place is completely out of touch because he'd never leave this place for that place. But the problem with that approach is that, you know, it might not be true. And so if he says all that and then takes the South Carolina job he'll immediately be labeled a liar like Nick Saban, and who wants to be labeled a liar like Nick Saban?

Answer: Nobody.

So what's an honest man to do?