Capel is ESPN Coach of the Week

[PittSquared]

I didn't see this posted yesterday, but ESPN named Coach Capel the "Coach of the Week": https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...men-college-basketball-power-rankings-2022-23

I'm surprised that he's not gotten much love on here for the season that Pitt's having, but the turnaround is nothing short of remarkable. Unbelievable, really. The scouting on Hinson, Elliott, Federiko, and the Diaz Graham twins was phenomenal. I only leave Cummings out because he was a well-established player at Colgate. The development of Burton has been a joy to watch. He's a tremendous representative of the University and leader. To accomplish what this team has without its presumed best player, Hugley, and after blowout losses to WVU and Michigan to start the season, is quite a story line.

I suppose there's some anxiety of what this means for the future of Pitt basketball. Is the season a fluke? Did the staff just get incredibly lucky? What will life look like without Burton and Cummings (not Burton Cummings, for you Guess Who fans)? Are Hugley and Johnson effectively gone? Can Carrington and Lowe really contribute? Too many question marks to get too excited. That said, if Capel takes the blame for the chemistry problems and transfers in past seasons, he has to get some of the credit for this really fun and exciting version of Pitt basketball. H2P!

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Capel certainly deserves all the credit possible for nurturing the culture of teamwork with this team and putting it together after some pretty bad years. This group of kids he has are mature, unselfish, and have fun playing basketball. Much of the credit for that belongs to Capel and his staff as well as the players themselves. They're a good group.

Of course we all know how fickle college sports is. February isn't here yet. Let's wait and see how the team, including Capel, handles a grueling February schedule and into March. If they can come up with 6 more wins and at least 1 in the ACCT, I think they'll get their NCAAT bid. If not, NIT is probably where we'll be heading, assuming we can get 4 or 5 wins before the end of the season.

Let's just take care of business tomorrow night against UNC first.

 

[pittbb80]

It really is amazing how Capel transformed the team in one year. I actually think it was harder to do what he did having been here and had some terrible years with the program trending in the wrong direction versus had this been his first year. I would think it was much harder to sell Hinson and Cummings on Pitt at that point.

Then to have them all mesh and buy in. I suspect he learned a bit from the last few years about chemistry and cultural fit and made sure the guys he went after would buy in.

Regardless he deserves a ton of credit to this point

 

[JS School]

I never thought about it much, but I think he was only 27 when he became a head coach at VCU and 31 when he went to Oklahoma. He may have had to mature a little in regard to running a program. And it's also an adjustment from recruiting and coaching Duke-level talent.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I never thought about it much, but I think he was only 27 when he became a head coach at VCU and 31 when he went to Oklahoma. He may have had to mature a little in regard to running a program. And it's also an adjustment from recruiting and coaching Duke-level talent.

Capel deserves a ton of credit for identifying Hinson and Fede and getting this group to play together. However, a lot of this is just luck. Capel isnt a terrible coach. He also isnt a great coach. He's a good enough coach to get you to the tournament if he has the right pieces and he has those pieces this year, partly by good recruiting (Hinson, Fede) and partly by luck. Nelly is a hometown kid. Elliot was brought in by a former Marquette coach now on staff. Burton turned into Wanamaker. Some of that is just luck. And that's not knocking Capel. Everyone needs that.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

I think one thing about this season that makes me optimistic about Capel is the new recruiting terrain isn't just recruiting high schools but it's like 50/50 recruiting high schoolers and transfers. And if you can win the recruiting battle to get some good juniors and seniors in the transfer wars, which he did, you can be an NCAA team. The older players can learn the system pretty easily. Yes I find it frustrating at times we don't run more plays, but if you can shoot or dribble drive, you can come to Pitt and play for a competitive ACC team right away.

 

[PittPanther44]

Capel has had bad luck for the last 4 years - and that happens. But This year he finally did a good enough job to overcome it. Usually the losses and circumstances around Hugley and Dior would have killed us.

So I’m excited to see what he can do with a few good breaks added in.

 

[CaptainMurphy]

Certainly has taken long enough to get to this point (assuming they don’t collapse to end the season). But the hole he had to dig out of was immense. Got derailed early on by a few guys who had character issues. Seems like he learned from his mistakes which is all you can really ask.

 

[Duneaux Harm]

I didn't see this posted yesterday, but ESPN named Coach Capel the "Coach of the Week": https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...men-college-basketball-power-rankings-2022-23

I'm surprised that he's not gotten much love on here for the season that Pitt's having, but the turnaround is nothing short of remarkable. Unbelievable, really. The scouting on Hinson, Elliott, Federiko, and the Diaz Graham twins was phenomenal. I only leave Cummings out because he was a well-established player at Colgate. The development of Burton has been a joy to watch. He's a tremendous representative of the University and leader. To accomplish what this team has without its presumed best player, Hugley, and after blowout losses to WVU and Michigan to start the season, is quite a story line.

I suppose there's some anxiety of what this means for the future of Pitt basketball. Is the season a fluke? Did the staff just get incredibly lucky? What will life look like without Burton and Cummings (not Burton Cummings, for you Guess Who fans)? Are Hugley and Johnson effectively gone? Can Carrington and Lowe really contribute? Too many question marks to get too excited. That said, if Capel takes the blame for the chemistry problems and transfers in past seasons, he has to get some of the credit for this really fun and exciting version of Pitt basketball. H2P!

ESPN does not sit there and evaluate the minutia like we do.

 

[Duneaux Harm]

Capel has had bad luck for the last 4 years - and that happens. But This year he finally did a good enough job to overcome it. Usually the losses and circumstances around Hugley and Dior would have killed us.

So I’m excited to see what he can do with a few good breaks added in.

Bad luck? Yeah right.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

Great for him and for us. We can’t forget the troubles of the past but nor should we dwell on it either, we have to hope this success can be built upon.

 

[pittchagg]

Bad luck? Yeah right.

He’s had a bunch of bad luck that he couldn’t do anything about. He’s had a bunch of things that weren’t bad luck but that he hasn’t handled well. And he’s had a bunch of bad luck that he hasn’t handled well. All of those happened, and all of those impacted wins and losses.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

When you have more talented players who are by nature unselfish and care more about winning than individual stats it’s amazing how much better you are as a coach .

In JC defense he took over a program devoid of talent and it’s tough to be picky on who you can successfully recruit to a program as bad as Pitt was . He was forced to take what he could get and unfortunately the better players he got were selfish . ( except for Justin )

He’s finally found his footings in recruiting hs talent and with success and the NIL he should be able to continue adding quality portal guys . The arrows pointing up !

 

[4Mark_Marty]

When you have more talented players who are by nature unselfish and care more about winning than individual stats it’s amazing how much better you are as a coach .

In JC defense he took over a program devoid of talent and it’s tough to be picky on who you can successfully recruit to a program as bad as Pitt was . He was forced to take what he could get and unfortunately the better players he got were selfish . ( except for Justin )

He’s finally found his footings in recruiting hs talent and with success and the NIL he should be able to continue adding quality portal guys . The arrows pointing up !

Oh. I think Justin was a tad selfish, the same way Jerome Lane was selfish. He attacked the glass like every rebound was his.

 

[PittPoker]

Capel deserves a ton of credit for identifying Hinson and Fede and getting this group to play together. However, a lot of this is just luck. Capel isnt a terrible coach. He also isnt a great coach. He's a good enough coach to get you to the tournament if he has the right pieces and he has those pieces this year, partly by good recruiting (Hinson, Fede) and partly by luck. Nelly is a hometown kid. Elliot was brought in by a former Marquette coach now on staff. Burton turned into Wanamaker. Some of that is just luck. And that's not knocking Capel. Everyone needs that.

Yeah Burton morphing into a superstar first team All ACC guy most likely was completely unexpected. That to me is a big part as to why we are as good as we are. And Hinson' play and Fede obv as well.

 

[FireballZ]

There's a little bit of the fortune factor to Burton, same as Pickett. That extra year made a huge difference. They have certainly taken advantage of the anomaly, the same as many other programs in the country...

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Yeah Burton morphing into a superstar first team All ACC guy most likely was completely unexpected. That to me is a big part as to why we are as good as we are. And Hinson' play and Fede obv as well.

I think the staff deserves some credit for player improvement, no? Hinson's numbers, especially EFG%, here are wayyyy better than at Ole Miss (admittedly two full years older.) Elliott is averaging a career high in points and win shares per 40. Fede improved quickly just since like the 4th game.

 

[PittPoker]

I think the staff deserves some credit for player improvement, no? Hinson's numbers, especially EFG%, here are wayyyy better than at Ole Miss (admittedly two full years older.) Elliott is averaging a career high in points and win shares per 40. Fede improved quickly just since like the 4th game.

I'd like to say so but I have never really been impressed with this staff. They really didn't make anyone better in the previous 4 seasons so I don't know what they would do different this season. I just think it's much more luck than anything. And Pitt definitely needed some good luck.

 

[PittMan 72]

When you have more talented players who are by nature unselfish and care more about winning than individual stats it’s amazing how much better you are as a coach .

In JC defense he took over a program devoid of talent and it’s tough to be picky on who you can successfully recruit to a program as bad as Pitt was . He was forced to take what he could get and unfortunately the better players he got were selfish . ( except for Justin )

He’s finally found his footings in recruiting hs talent and with success and the NIL he should be able to continue adding quality portal guys . The arrows pointing up !

Yep. He was hired on March 27, 2018. Not
much time to cobble together a roster for the 2018-19 season. Especially when the guys he would’ve probably liked to retain the most from KS’s previous roster were “advised” to leave by the likes of Dan Cage (where is he coaching now?).

HCJC convinced 3 talented young guys to re-classify and/or de-commit and signed them here as the core of his 1st recruiting class. He didn’t have a lot of time to get to know them or their personalities. (Thought some of his comments from yesterday were very pointed about recognizing the need for that from now on).

They ultimately struggled with cohesiveness and team play. Then the next season came Champ and that ended up just throwing gasoline onto the fire of dysfunction. But Capel being rushed and pressured for time to bring in that 1st class ended up contributing to it being such a mess.

Not an excuse. Because there are NO excuses. The HC is ALWAYS responsible for his team. But certainly at least partly an explanation for how things became so unraveled.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I'd like to say so but I have never really been impressed with this staff. They really didn't make anyone better in the previous 4 seasons so I don't know what they would do different this season. I just think it's much more luck than anything. And Pitt definitely needed some good luck.

Coaches get too much credit and too much blame for the development or lack thereof of players. These kids are 18, 19 when they arrive. They are literally kids. A lot of it comes down to how their body grows, matures, and how much work they are willing to put in ON THEIR OWN. Unless you have elite talent, the best players are the ones who are relentless in their work to get better when no one is watching. Jamie was great at identifying great kids. Capel was unlucky in recruting talented losers like McGowens and X. Guys like Burton and Hinson and it sounds like Fede, the twins, Jeffress seem like great kids who want to get better and will put the work in. Most games are won and lost in recruiting. Give Capel credit for finding guys and creating a winning culture out of nothing. In some ways Burton is like the new BK of this era.

 

[pittchagg]

I'd like to say so but I have never really been impressed with this staff. They really didn't make anyone better in the previous 4 seasons so I don't know what they would do different this season. I just think it's much more luck than anything. And Pitt definitely needed some good luck.

Justin Champagnie got a lot better. Jared Wilson-Frame got a lot better. Au’Diese Toney got a lot better in his time here, but transferred. Nate Santos has gotten a lot better between his first and second year. John Hugley got a lot better between his abbreviated first year and his second year. Will Jeffress got better between his first and second year. So did Noah Collier and Coulibaly. Mo Gueye put up better numbers against better competition than he ever did at Stony Brook. Nike Sibande’s totals have fallen off from what he was at Miami, but he’s significantly more efficient here.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Maybe , but similar to fb recently, its the players miraculously at times changing the culture to finally overcome the bad luck. The coaches have to get some credit there, but I just can't put either into that next level of game changer or whatever.

 

[PittPoker]

Justin Champagnie got a lot better. Jared Wilson-Frame got a lot better. Au’Diese Toney got a lot better in his time here, but transferred. Nate Santos has gotten a lot better between his first and second year. John Hugley got a lot better between his abbreviated first year and his second year. Will Jeffress got better between his first and second year. So did Noah Collier and Coulibaly. Mo Gueye put up better numbers against better competition than he ever did at Stony Brook. Nike Sibande’s totals have fallen off from what he was at Miami, but he’s significantly more efficient here.

Will Jeffress did not get better, he still was bad both years. Nate Santos hasn't gotten a lot better this year either. In fact I'd argue he was better last season because he made more 3 pointers. He can't shoot at all this season but his defense has been good. Collier and Coulibaly? Are you being serious? I'm not even gonna spend time discussing them.

 

[Parkview57]

if Capel takes the blame for the chemistry problems and transfers in past seasons, he has to get some of the credit for this really fun and exciting version of Pitt basketball. H2P!

Absolutely. This is a lot like when Cowher was the Steelers' head coach for me, I really didn't care for his approach. I am not a fan of HCJC , I think he lacks a ton of coaching skills, but who cares what one thinks, bottom line his job is to win( without embarrassing the University of course) and he is doing that. Things have changed a lot with the portal and his approach may be suited to this new age of recruiting, anyway, this Pitt team is for real, good shooters, clamp down defense when the game is on the line, they know how to win. Capel found good players who are great leaders and has let them lead, that to maybe his recipe for success going forward.

 

[PittPanther44]

Bad luck? Yeah right.

Did you read my post? Or were you too interested just to get in a one liner?

My point was that he didn’t do a good enough job previously to overcome things like injuries, transfers, guys banging each others girls, etc.

But he was able to assemble enough talent and cohesiveness *this* year to overcome things that previously killed us.

Maybe we have a year where the two projected most talented players don’t get hurt.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Coaches get too much credit and too much blame for the development or lack thereof of players. These kids are 18, 19 when they arrive. They are literally kids. A lot of it comes down to how their body grows, matures, and how much work they are willing to put in ON THEIR OWN. Unless you have elite talent, the best players are the ones who are relentless in their work to get better when no one is watching. Jamie was great at identifying great kids. Capel was unlucky in recruting talented losers like McGowens and X. Guys like Burton and Hinson and it sounds like Fede, the twins, Jeffress seem like great kids who want to get better and will put the work in. Most games are won and lost in recruiting. Give Capel credit for finding guys and creating a winning culture out of nothing. In some ways Burton is like the new BK of this era.

Fede is clearly learning how to play and I'm skeptical HCJC or O'Toole had little to do with that. Look at his hedge defense now vs the start of the year.

Hinson's improvement seems to be more about his time off since he was really good even in our exhibitions but he's also effective in a free lancing offense based around spacing.

 

[hoclaw]

Blake told me about his recruiting visit. Jeff took him into his office; they watched some film cutups,
and Blake committed on the spot. He had not yet toured the Pete; let alone the campus!

 

[Drew1208]

Justin Champagnie got a lot better. Jared Wilson-Frame got a lot better. Au’Diese Toney got a lot better in his time here, but transferred. Nate Santos has gotten a lot better between his first and second year. John Hugley got a lot better between his abbreviated first year and his second year. Will Jeffress got better between his first and second year. So did Noah Collier and Coulibaly. Mo Gueye put up better numbers against better competition than he ever did at Stony Brook. Nike Sibande’s totals have fallen off from what he was at Miami, but he’s significantly more efficient here.

I don't totally agree with your assessment but it aligns with my thought that this team can develop big guy skills but is having a real real hard time coaching guards. I still think that's an issue but we'll really be able to see again when our new freshman guards come next year but I'm hoping they have to compete for time with a vet transfer