Jeff Capel has proven to be one of the top young coaches in NCAA Division 1 basketball. With a commitment from Richard Peters, he will now have a top young Canadian to groom for the future.

For such a big body at 6’9” and 230 pounds, it is Richard’s finesse game and upside that intrigued traditional powerhouse schools like UConn, Louisville, and Florida State to offer him scholarships on the spot. However, it was the University of Oklahoma that stood above the rest.

“I want to be coached by Jeff Capel,” Peters told HoopStars. The expected #1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft played a role in his decision as well.

“I want to be coached by the person who coached Blake Griffin. He didn't get so good without some sort of help and Coach Capel was that guy.”

Peters played the past year for The Sagemont School, a prep school in Weston, Florida. In the fall, he will transfer over to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Brewster will send eight players from their 2008-09 roster to Division 1 programs next fall. Besides Peters, they will also feature 2010 Canadian stars Maurice Walker (6’10” C, Toronto) and Melvin Ejim (6’6” SF, Brampton) next year. Currently on track to graduate in the spring of 2011, Peters will do a post-grad year in 2012, if needed.

Rewarded for his strong play, Peters made headlines by being invited to compete in the Jordan Brand Classic International All-Star Game in April at Madison Square Garden in New York City. There he was singled out as one of 16 elite featured performers from outside the United States.

He is now getting ready for a challenging AAU schedule for the new Team Take Over Canada program based in the greater Toronto area. They start off with the invitation-only Adidas It Takes 5ive Classic in Cincinnati (July 6-8) and the Kentucky Hoopfest in Louisville (July 9-12). As his game improves and he becomes ready for the rigors of Division 1 basketball, you can bet other programs will wish they got to him earlier.

“He developed good relationships with Blake Griffin and Coach Capel,” said AAU coach Kevin Scarlett.

“Oklahoma was one of the first high-major D1 programs to offer Richard and they continued from day one to show how much they loved him and wanted him to be a part of their program.”

Picture of Richard Peters from nike.com