PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He was an All-American there, played and coached for the winningest Division One men's basketball coach in history. As Jeff Capel makes his second appearance at Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night, there are no regrets leaving before Mike Krzyzewski retired.
You would think he would have been one of the top candidates to replace him, especially if he had stayed. He already had head coaching experience, but Capel said that was not the goal.
"I never had thoughts of being the next Duke coach," Capel said. "When I was there, I never thought about it. I tried to be the best assistant coach I could for Coach and the program."
He said even when he returned after leaving to be head coach at VCU and Oklahoma, he wasn't concerned about a title or label. Capel said Coach K couldn't name him associate head coach, which is the step up from assistant, because he already had two-Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski-on staff. For Capel, it was about serving the staff, doing the best job he could for Duke while looking for his next head coaching opportunity.
He had several chances to leave Krzyzewski's program for another heading coaching job before deciding on Pitt. Capel said he went far down the road with three different, unnamed, schools, but in the end decided it wasn't best for himself and his family.
"When this opportunity presented itself, it was different because it was the ACC," Capel said. "That was the difference, I had always dreamed of coaching in the ACC. I understood after being in this profession that it was never going to happen in a traditional ACC school because I was a Duke guy. When this job opened and they called and came after me. That was the attraction and the more I learned about it I thought this was the opportunity."
Capel said he knew about Pitt basketball, at least from what you can see on highlights and read in media guides. He knew about their tradition, knew of several of their players including DeJuan Blair and Carl Krauser. The history of Charles Smith and their successes in the Big East. He also said every year when he would get a preseason basketball magazine the Oakland Zoo was always ranked as one of the best student sections in the game.
He also knew it wasn't going to be easy. The year prior to him coming the Panthers went 0-19 in the ACC (including the ACC Tournament). They had one winning conference record and that was in 2013-14.
"I know I made the right move," Capel said. "I knew when I took this it was going to be a difficult task. I understood where the program was. There were a lot of factors for that. It wasn't one thing, I know there was one person that was blamed and that's not it. One person doesn't make or break a program."
As he went about rebuilding the Pitt program Capel faced several obstacles.
Petersen Events Center-as beautiful as it is and still relatively new, it lacked several features needed for successful ACC programs. You might think some of these are trivial, but when you are trying to get ACC-level players, creature comforts and aesthetics impact a recruit's decision. Capel listed a few of the 'underbelly' issues with the arena
· Lack of a players' lounge
· No team film room
· Lead-up to the practice gym was blank cement blocks, no feel for an ACC level practice facility.
Again, you may think these things inconsequential, but to an 18-year-old, they are not. Much like the trend of multiple uniforms and uniform variations when traditionally you had a home white and road dark look, it's different now.
The perception of Pittsburgh-as Capel said, right or wrong, the reality is many envision our region as just steel mills, operating or closed, with no idea what the City looks like.
"I would say 98% of the kids we've brought in for visits, at some point during the official visit the kid and/or their parents say this is nothing like I thought it would be," Capel said. "They are not just talking about the university, they are talking about the City. It's a really, really cool city and I love being able to show people around. You don't know that until you are here."
Basically, for nearly two years due to COVID, he couldn't show them Western Pennsylvania and it impacted his recruiting.
Then there were the two factors effecting every team that burst on the scene-the easier access to transferring and NIL.
"I didn't fully grasp how difficult that was," Capel said. "It's not an excuse, it's an explanation, when you throw the other things in-a global pandemic, Name Image and Likeness, one-time transfer all within a three-year period. That makes things a little more difficult."
They feel they are getting much better at dealing with the portal and NIL. While they've lost some legitimate Division One transfers-Au'Diese Toney, Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens chief among them. They currently have a starting lineup of transfers, who not only have played well, but have jelled.
They've augmented that with a promising recruiting class and a player in Dior Johnson, who if he can mature, can be a great basketball addition. They are currently 4-1 in the ACC with a pair of Top 25 wins and road wins at NC State, Syracuse and 12-3 Northwestern.
"I never questioned if he made the right decision," Capel said. "I never had a dream job when I got into coaching. My dream was to coach in the ACC. I believed in this program. I knew the history of it. I believed in Heather (Lyke) and Chancellor Gallagher. Just as important, I believed in me and what we could do."
"It's been hard. It's been difficult. There have been a lot of setbacks. But we are still here. We are still swinging and trying to get better each day. We are fighting. I really like the group of guys that we have. I really like the three young men that we signed. I really look forward to our future."
