To the Oklahoma men's basketball program, welcome back.

Welcome the hell back.

On Dec. 9, I wrote a column questioning coach Jeff Capel, this team and the Oklahoma program. Since then, we've had an ice storm, a mass power outage and a sudden, stunning revival of Sooners hoops.

Being so wrong never felt so good. If being wrong means OU whips out consecutive wins over Arkansas, Gonzaga and West Virginia, then I'll gladly be the village idiot until my days are done.

To wit, OU's 88-82 double-overtime win over the Mountaineers in Charleston, W. Va., was not only the most impressive basketball win for the Sooner men since 2002, it was the most exciting game, in any sport, I had seen since OU's 43-42 loss to Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

The year started on an exciting low note but finished in an ESPN Classic-worthy fashion.

Let's take a quick look back at what I wrote before the great ice age struck the Sooner State:

But after Saturday's 66-62 loss at home to Stephen F. Austin, we now know where OU will be going in the postseason.

Nowhere. This isn't merely an average team; this Sooners' squad is flat-out bad. They have no identity inside with Longar Longar, a player who in all fairness would be a backup at most Division I schools. This team has exactly zero shooters, and their stellar recruit -- Blake Griffin -- has had only a couple of moments of brilliance in his freshman campaign, nothing close to his hype coming in to the 2007 season.

Barring a major collapse, this Oklahoma team is not only good enough to be a tourney team; they're good enough to be a six-seed or better. But let's not get carried away. We've suffered no major injuries. There have been no major suspensions, expulsions or controversies, although an elbow from Longar Longar on a West Virginia player on Saturday will absolutely get reviewed by the NCAA, particularly considering he had been accused of dirty play by Bob Knight a couple years ago.

It was not a dirty elbow, though. It's drama.

Secondly, the Oklahoma team that lost to Stephen F. Austin and to USC and to Memphis was pretty bad. My opinion about this team, at that point, is no different now than it was then, which means perhaps that we have to give it up to Capel.

Longar has become at least a moderate force inside. Austin Johnson has become a floor leader, and he alone improves our field goal percentage by 10 points. And most important, this team seems to pick up and execute Capel's offensive strategies.

On Dec. 9, I wrote:

While Oklahoma has lost to a few teams it shouldn't have in two years, the Sooners have beaten not one team it shouldn't have. There has been no marquee win, no program-building effort and no sign that Capel even has a system in place offensively or defensively.

What we appreciated so much about Kelvin Sampson was how hard his clubs played on defense. But I have news for college basketball fans: Kelvin's defensive approach in 2002 is the standard in 2007. Every team plays super physical, and the game has turned into something more akin to basketrugby under the bucket.

What Kelvin's teams never had, except for 2002, was an offensive identity. In three games, Capel's offensive stamp has begun to take form. That identity to me is an offense that requires the guard to make plays, not shots. To find Blake Griffin open underneath. To get Longar easy shots. To take the focus off other talented players, namely Griffin.

Furthermore, this Oklahoma club is not afraid to be down.

Several times against West Virginia, OU found itself down by 7, only to climb back. To credit Capel's predecessor, Sampson's clubs were always resilient. However, this OU team has an underdog's heart, and that's why -- win or lose -- I appreciated this Oklahoma effort a ton.

Lastly, on Dec. 9, I wrote:

It's not to say that the coach won't become one of the great ones eventually; I'm all about giving Capel plenty of time.

By "plenty of time," I meant that I'd like to see Capel get at least a couple more years to get his system and players in place. Little did I know that he and his team would show us more in three weeks than I would have expected all season.

Sure, Oklahoma could lay an egg against Rice or some underperforming Big 12 foe (OSU, anyone?). Sure, these Sooners could stumble to an NIT bid.

However, with tonight's win over West Virginia, those of us who love Oklahoma men's basketball again have hope. We have a reason to TiVo games instead of just watching them, and those of us who can afford to go to games have reason to go. There is no excuse for Lloyd Noble not being packed next Saturday against Rice.

I don't have any delusions that this club could win a national title. However, any doubts we in the Sooner Nation had about Capel's abilities to get the most out of what he's got, at least in short spurts, should be erased.

Sports is a fickle world, and what seems to be true one day might be completely false 20 days later. Three weeks ago, I thought Oklahoma was going nowhere.

Tonight, I'm pretty sure I'd like our chances to at least hang with anybody. And I really mean anybody.