Capel can coach

[Sean Miller Fan]

My perception of Jeff Capel when he was at VCU and Oklahoma and as Duke transitioned to Calipari-style 1 and Done's was that he was a recruiter-first, coach 2nd. Not that I thought he couldn't coach, he's just always had players. Even if you look back at his VCU days, that team that beat Duke took us to 2 OTs in the 2nd Round.....those were his players. I remember watching that game being frustrated as heck that they were a CAA team (remember not A10 yet) and they had guys like Eric Maynor and werr equally talented as us.

As I watch the team this year, even against non-major D1 competiton, he has these guys playing to maximum ability. They play with passion, energy, they play defense, and most importantly they play hard.

To me this is a pleasant surprise.

 

[PittCity]

All summer long you where saying how bad Pitt was gonna be........... lol .

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

All summer long you where saying how bad Pitt was gonna be........... lol .

And that would be his fault, how?

I am not changing my predictions but I now wouldn’t be completely shocked if this team made the NIT. A month ago, I would have said that's impossible. Its still a longshot but there are some positive signs

 

[PittCity]

And that would be his fault, how?

I am not changing my predictions but I now wouldn’t be completely shocked if this team made the NIT. A month ago, I would have said that's impossible. Its still a longshot but there are some positive signs

LOL

 

[PittPanther44]

And that would be his fault, how?

I am not changing my predictions but I now wouldn’t be completely shocked if this team made the NIT. A month ago, I would have said that's impossible. Its still a longshot but there are some positive signs

I wouldn’t be completely shocked if this team made the NCAAs

(Not saying it’s likely...but wouldn’t be completely shocked)

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

And that would be his fault, how?

I am not changing my predictions but I now wouldn’t be completely shocked if this team made the NIT. A month ago, I would have said that's impossible. Its still a longshot but there are some positive signs

I wouldn’t be completely shocked if this team made the NCAAs

(Not saying it’s likely...but wouldn’t be completely shocked)

Yea, no. We play in the ACC. If we were in the A10, maybe.

 

[below0w]

He assembled a great staff as well. Brown and O'Toole have excellent reputations as teachers and his bro can help carry the load with recruiting. I don't think it's a coincidence that bigs who looked like wasted roster spots are suddenly showing signs of life.

 

[panther.fan]

I am really excited to see this team play some real Div 1 teams (WVU, Iowa). We will learn a little more about them then, but this is a very encouraging sign. Basketball team looking up and the football team on its way to win its first coastal division- finally an exciting time to be a Pitt sports fan again!

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I am really excited to see this team play some real Div 1 teams (WVU, Iowa). We will learn a little more about them then, but this is a very encouraging sign. Basketball team looking up and the football team on its way to win its first coastal division- finally an exciting time to be a Pitt sports fan again!

We'll know more Wednesday. SLU was picked to win the A10. By default, that's a potential NCAAT team

 

[panther.fan]

We'll know more Wednesday. SLU was picked to win the A10. By default, that's a potential NCAAT team

STL only beat Troy by 4 this year FYI.

 

[Drew1208]

We are going to be in a lot of close games this year against better competition.
Free throws are going to be the difference in a lot of games

 

[below0w]

We'll know more Wednesday. SLU was picked to win the A10. By default, that's a potential NCAAT team

They'll be a good measuring stick. They have a top 75 big from last season who seems to be adapting quickly. Top 3 scorers are all guards, but both of their bigs are playing well. How we perform against them, particular in terms of interior play, will be a portent of how we'll fare against lower - mid level ACC teams.

 

[PittCity]

Pitt will absolutely make the NIT at least this season.
I hate making predictions cause anything can happen but they should.

 

[ameoba defense]

They'll be a good measuring stick. They have a top 75 big from last season who seems to be adapting quickly. Top 3 scorers are all guards, but both of their bigs are playing well. How we perform against them, particular in terms of interior play, will be a portent of how we'll fare against lower - mid level ACC teams.

Absolutely! St. Louis is similar to the ACC teams that will be on the bubble come March. How we do against them will give us some idea of how we will do against that group of teams that are above GT, and Wake, but below the ranked teams. Pitt will need to beat some of these types of teams if they want to at least make the NIT.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Pitt will absolutely make the NIT at least this season.
I hate making predictions cause anything can happen but they should.

33% of our ACC games are against Duke, UNC, and Louisville. And there are other OK teams in our league. So, no.....but there is a slight outside chance

 

[PittCity]

33% of our ACC games are against Duke, UNC, and Louisville. And there are other OK teams in our league. So, no.....but there is a slight outside chance

You shouldn't speak with such conviction.

 

[Chescat]

Absolutely! St. Louis is similar to the ACC teams that will be on the bubble come March. How we do against them will give us some idea of how we will do against that group of teams that are above GT, and Wake, but below the ranked teams. Pitt will need to beat some of these types of teams if they want to at least make the NIT.

I agree, the St.Louis game will give us an idea of what we're really like, and
the WVU and Iowa games will tell us even more. If we continue this
constant energy and intensity, IMO we'll at least be competitive against
those three teams. Our guys (freshmen included) seemingly don't back
down, and in fact tonight were the intimidaters. As far as I'm concerned,
this is all a result of Capel's coaching. Predictions?...not yet. Predicting
post season invites at this time is ridiculous until we see how we do
against ACC type competition. However, I'm really impressed so far.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

STL only beat Troy by 4 this year FYI.

Yep.

Absolutely! St. Louis is similar to the ACC teams that will be on the bubble come March. How we do against them will give us some idea of how we will do against that group of teams that are above GT, and Wake, but below the ranked teams. Pitt will need to beat some of these types of teams if they want to at least make the NIT.

St. Louis has been a complete failure so far in respect to their pre-season hype. For them to win the A-10 is looking like a very poor prediction. They aren't any better than Duquesne at this point.

 

[Chescat]

St. Louis is decent, and should be better than Pitt, but IMO maybe not that much
better. In fact given how we're doing, and what St. Louis is doing, I gotta believe
at worst, we should at least be competitive with them. WVU, is better than STL,
and Iowa is far better than both IMO. We just have to win the other OOC games,
and continue to improve.
Let's face it...if ST.Louis were in the ACC, they'd be picked at the bottom or
at best next to the bottom. LOL

 

[Jeffburgh]

I pushed back on people who snagged on his coaching...

 

[PittMan2003]

Capel has been an upgrade on recruiting and coaching so far. Wilson frame and Kene look light years better than last year. And this team is way more effective offensively and defensively. In capels additions, The freshman look like really good players and ndir looks like solid depth.

So far this team has exceeded my expectations and they are really fun to watch on both ends of the floor. The competition has been fairly weak but the way we are dominating is encouraging. I am not expecting a great record but the early signs on Capel are really good.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

I too pleasantly surprised. He took over a dumpster fire. So far looks over qualified for this job. ACC is just so relentless. But there's something there.

 

[joeydavid]

"Historically bad" was the prediction.

All summer long you where saying how bad Pitt was gonna be........... lol .

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

"Historically bad" was the prediction.

All summer long you where saying how bad Pitt was gonna be........... lol .

I'd love to be wrong but we play in the ACC. Still going with 3-15

 

[HailToPitt1985]

I agree that it appears from the first few games that Capel can coach. Maybe we're looking at this as a contrast, because Stallings and the word coach don't belong in the same sentence. But he seems he knows what he is doing on the coaching end.

But we haven't played anyone yet. Saying we're going to make the NIT is WAY too premature. I think for now, lets just say we'll be more competitive than last year in league games and hopefully win 3 or 4 of them. If we get to that level, we will have progressed immensely from where we were last year. That probably means we'll still have a losing record overall or close to 0.500. That isn't NIT level yet. I just want to see them play more competitively than last year and not be blown out by 25+ in every game.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I'd love to be wrong but we play in the ACC. Still going with 3-15

That’s not historically bad
Last season was

 

[hoopsguy72]

Pitt will absolutely make the NIT at least this season.
I hate making predictions cause anything can happen but they should.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I'd love to be wrong but we play in the ACC. Still going with 3-15

That’s not historically bad
Last season was

It would be their 2nd worst conference record ever. That is still pretty historic.