PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Reports are the buyout is anywhere from $15 to $17 million, Pitt Athletic Director Heather Lyke told reporters Tuesday basketball coach Jeff Capel isn’t staying because of that figure.
“Did the buyout deter me from making a change?” Lyke said. “The answer is no. You don’t make personnel decisions based on buyouts. You do it based on the ability and the leadership qualities of that person and your confidence in them and their belief in what they are doing. That’s why we kept Jeff.”
That extension came on January 8, 2020, 14 games into the season and later that night, Capel seemed to validate it, snapping a 22-game conference road losing streak with a win at North Carolina. That roster had future NBA player Justin Champagnie along with departed transfers playing key roles elsewhere Trey McGowens, Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney.
“I don’t know if people remember or can reflect when Jeff first came, but there was a lot of positivity and infusion of energy and excitement and belief in what he was building,” Lyke said Tuesday of the reason for the extension two years ago. “That has not waned from me. It may have waned publicly, but it has not waned internally.”
“When you see that energy, positivity, work ethic, confidence in what he is doing. You want to retain people and not have Pitt be a place that is not a destination place. That’s what we want, we want Pitt to be a destination place. We wanted to keep Coach Capel and we still do.”
The contract extension runs through the 2026-27 season.
Still time
Noting it wasn’t the buyout that saved Capel’s job, she asks fans to be patient with her.
“I don’t think four years, everyone wants to be Iowa State,” Lyke admitted. “We want to go from 2-22 to the Sweet 16 with kids out of the transfer portal and make it happen.”
“It does take time to build a program the right way with the right overall people, I’m not just talking about student-athletes. We all want immediate success. I think the value of continuity is important. Just changing for change sake is not necessarily the right decision at this time.”
Lyke said she has spent a lot of time with Capel and they have gone over everything he is doing. As she stated, they have evaluated everything from A to Z. She will not force Capel to make coaching changes, saying staff decisions are up to him.
The Pitt AD was critical of what she thought were a few early games the team wasn’t prepared for and there was a lack of belief or confidence within the team, especially when they trailed early in games.
She also noted there was some level of positivity with a few of the close losses, along with a couple of key road wins at Sweet 16 North Carolina and Florida State. Lyke also thinks how Capel handled the John Hugley situation and the fact he publicly supports his coach as a positive sign.
Portal Power
Iowa State mentioned previously benefitted from the NCAA Transfer Portal, as did Sweet 16 teams Texas Tech and Miami. Wake Forest nearly filled a roster of transfers and went from six wins to 23. Lyke doesn’t want that extreme, but says a mix of transfers and high school recruits is the way to go.
Pitt hired two basketball staffers that just gather information on the portal to help them know what is out there and how best to recruit players leaving other schools.
“He will tell you he feels much more prepared now for the information that is in the portal,” Lyke said of Capel. “You can’t just open it up, you have to be intentional about it-look and study and who’s in and where they are coming from.”
“Then you have to do all of your homework on those people. We have prioritized that because of the opportunity, because there are good kids where it just didn’t fit wherever they were. Full vetting of that is a priority for our coaching staff right now because it can help and it can change your program quickly.”
Fan support
There was a time for about a decade where Pitt basketball was the hottest ticket in town. The team was winning. They were playing traditional rivals-Georgetown, UConn, St. John’s, Villanova, Syracuse. Only one of those matchups remain and obviously losing seasons create empty seats.
“Absolutely concerned because I think the most important thing is building a sense of pride in what we do,” Lyke said of fan support. “That pride stems from the kids in the Oakland Zoo and the people you meet that were a part of the Oakland Zoo when they were students. The connectivity in the community, it’s really important to us.”
“There is no one more disappointed than our coaching staff in not performing where they want to be right now. I’m hopeful people still believe and do come back and do have a positive experience.”
“Basketball is really important in this city and we understand that. It’s really important to our athletic department and it’s a huge priority for us.”
She’s giving Capel a last chance, it’s on him to capitalize on it.