Capel: "This sucks, the fact that we perform like this"

[Chris Peak]

Jeff Capel wasn't too pleased after the loss to Wake Forest. Here's the full rundown of his postgame remarks.

Panther-lair - Capel: 'This sucks, the fact that we perform like this'

Jeff Capel wasn't pleased with Pitt's performance in Saturday night's loss to Wake Forest.

pittsburgh.rivals.com

 

[Cap pitt]

Just like the football team, losing to teams they are suppose to beat, but for now, after all it's Pitt

 

[ThePanthers]

I said this in the game thread. Seems to be a common theme with the leadership after big wins. They feel they are better than they are and stop working.

Let's see if they rebound or collapse. That will tell if they are truly changing or not.

I cringed when champ made his "were back" statement after Duke.

 

[caleco's]

I said this in the game thread. Seems to be a common theme with the leadership after big wins. They feel they are better than they are and stop working.

Let's see if they rebound or collapse. That will tell if they are truly changing or not.

I cringed when champ made his "were back" statement after Duke.

agreed. the win felt good but back? for a. night yes but not for a season.

this is a much better team than the last 3 years but not to the levels we were once at. its the same issues we have seen dating back to jamies last year. 3 ball and no big. the other areas are MUCH better most notably rebounding and defense. its still an incomplete team. deeper than it was but not back

we ARE on our way though

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Teachable Moment. We shall see how they react to UNC on Tuesday.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

Yeesh. Lotta drama here. Pitt has 10 games left including Wake coming to the Pete. They'll pay them back. So many people oscillate so abruptly with this team it's actually quite funny.

Now... Should they lose the next 4 or 5, I'll join ya. But, gotta play the games.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Thinking that you’re better than you are in any aspect of life can be a problem, but you’ll never be highly successful if you’re not confident in your abilities . It’s a fine line these young Panthers need to learn . The other lesson to be learned is those who truly are successful are highly skilled individuals who outwork everyone else .

Lets not downplay the victory over Duke . Their recruiting class contained not 1 , but 4 5* players and 2 4* players last yr .
No pity party for Duke having a down yr . Imagine the Pitt message boards if Pitt recruited like this and were losing .

 

[caleco's]

Thinking that you’re better than you are in any aspect of life can be a problem, but you’ll never be highly successful if you’re not confident in your abilities . It’s a fine line these young Panthers need to learn . The other lesson to be learned is those who truly are successful are highly skilled individuals who outwork everyone else .

Lets not downplay the victory over Duke . Their recruiting class contained not 1 , but 4 5* players and 2 4* players last yr .
No pity party for Duke having a down yr . Imagine the Pitt message boards if Pitt recruited like this and were losing .

yeah its funny k gets a pass on a "down year" with that roster.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

This team does have some leadership issues. And we're not nearly as good as what we were even in the last year Dixon was here. We're a hell of a lot better than we were in the Stallings years, but that isn't saying much. We have some players, but they need development and maturity. To say Champ will be ready for any pro league next year is extremely premature. He has some development to do in his game to even get to a point of discussing a pro career.

Of course, it would help to get the needed recruits. We haven't been doing that consistently.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Teachable Moment. We shall see how they react to UNC on Tuesday.

Correct, they stopped doing what got them to this point and they lost.

 

[Pittisit4me]

Yeesh. Lotta drama here. Pitt has 10 games left including Wake coming to the Pete. They'll pay them back. So many people oscillate so abruptly with this team it's actually quite funny.

Now... Should they lose the next 4 or 5, I'll join ya. But, gotta play the games.

I don't think it is drama at all. This team has a habit of lapsing in intensity and desire after a big win. It is a pattern. Why do you think Capel was so disappointed? We had a shit practice and then it carried over to the game. Our defense was poor and it was simply due to lack of effort.

Every time they get a nice win they get this idea that they can just show up and win. They just lack maturity. Sure the loss isn't the end of the world and doesn't in any way define the season. However, with two juniors and our best player being a sophomore, you would like to think that this habit would end by now. It hasn't!

The coaches have addressed this as well. Capel has run them when their effort is poor in practice. Nothing has worked! How do you get through to these kids? In this conference the effort must be the same every night. One nice win does not give you a leg up on your next opponent. It is way past due that Pitt learn the lesson.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

The defense being so poor is the biggest concern, especially when playing what is to this point in the season the bottom feeder of the conference. This Pitt team isn't very good at defense. They won't win enough games to make any tourney if they can't play consistent defense. And yesterday, we didn't exactly set the world on fire with our rebounding. Those are the 2 key, basic elements to win consistently. We don't have them together in every game yet. That's the mark of a team that lacks effort.

Playing WF, a good defensive effort would be to limit them to under 60 points, and shoot for under 55. No excuse for them getting more than that if we play defense. And with even mediocre scoring, we win easily.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

This Pitt team isn't very good at defense.

Even after yesterday, this Pitt team is 38th in the country in defensive efficiency. This team's defense is better, by a pretty good margin, than this team's offense is.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Even after yesterday, this Pitt team is 38th in the country in defensive efficiency. This team's defense is better, by a pretty good margin, than this team's offense is.

We gave up 76 points to a bad WF team. If we're as good as some stat says we are, we shouldn't be giving up more than 60 points to any team if we give the effort. The only stat that means anything to me is the score. The rest of it is nice talk on some internet chat board, but that's about it. And the score tells me our defense isn't as good as some defensive efficiency stat makes it look. Stats can lie.

Don't get me wrong. Pitt has played decent defense in many games this year. Certainly improved over previous recent years. It just looked like we forgot how to put forth the effort against a bad team and lost some intensity.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

We gave up 76 points to a bad WF team. If we're as good as some stat says we are, we shouldn't be giving up more than 60 points to any team if we give the effort. The only stat that means anything to me is the score. The rest of it is nice talk on some internet chat board, but that's about it. And the score tells me our defense isn't as good as some defensive efficiency stat makes it look. Stats can lie.

Don't get me wrong. Pitt has played decent defense in many games this year. Certainly improved over previous recent years. It just looked like we forgot how to put forth the effort against a bad team and lost some intensity.

What is so difficult to understand , Wake has one guy go 8/10 an another 4/7 from three , as a team they made 15 3’s and shot 46% on them . If any team does that they’ll more than likely going to win . To Pitts credit they still had a chance to
win .

It’s also prudent to remember this isn’t a sweet 16 team !

It’s like playing golf with a guy you routinely beat and he makes three 45ft putts and chips one in ....guess what you’re probably losing that day .

 

[Pittisit4me]

What is so difficult to understand , Wake has one guy go 8/10 an another 4/7 from three , as a team they made 15 3’s and shot 46% on them . If any team does that they’ll more than likely going to win . To Pitts credit they still had a chance to
win .

It’s also prudent to remember this isn’t a sweet 16 team !

It’s like playing golf with a guy you routinely beat and he makes three 45ft putts and chips one in ....guess what you’re probably losing that day .

Except that you can't defend against that guy playing golf. Pitt could have gotten in Massoud's face, and made him dribble, but, they decided they would watch a wonderful shooting performance instead.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

We gave up 76 points to a bad WF team. If we're as good as some stat says we are, we shouldn't be giving up more than 60 points to any team if we give the effort. The only stat that means anything to me is the score. The rest of it is nice talk on some internet chat board, but that's about it. And the score tells me our defense isn't as good as some defensive efficiency stat makes it look. Stats can lie.

Stats can't actually lie, they are simply what they are. Now you can interpret them in different ways and put different sorts of spin on them, but they are what they are.

The notion that a good defensive team shouldn't be giving up more than 60 points to any team is, simply, batshit crazy. Baylor is certainly one of, if not the best, defensive team in the country this season. They have played 14 games. They have given up 60 or more points NINE times already this season. The notion that 60 is some magic number is silly. The average game this season so far has had around 69 possession in it. If you give up 61 points in a 69 possession game that isn't bad defense, that's really good defense.

If all you look at is the raw number of points scored then you are looking at the wrong, wait for it, statistic.

And in any event, if you want to make season-long declarations based on what happened in one game you are doing it wrong.

 

[Millerton24]

We gave up 76 points to a bad WF team. If we're as good as some stat says we are, we shouldn't be giving up more than 60 points to any team if we give the effort. The only stat that means anything to me is the score. The rest of it is nice talk on some internet chat board, but that's about it. And the score tells me our defense isn't as good as some defensive efficiency stat makes it look. Stats can lie.

Don't get me wrong. Pitt has played decent defense in many games this year. Certainly improved over previous recent years. It just looked like we forgot how to put forth the effort against a bad team and lost some intensity.

WF shot unconsciencely this game. It happens. I don't think the defense was awful

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

WF shot unconsciencely this game. It happens. I don't think the defense was awful

I tend to agree. Several of the threes were really deep. You want them to shoot those most of the time.

If there's one thing WF actually looks like they can do well it's shoot the basketball. I had more of an issue with Pitt's offense, because I don't think Wake was very good on the defensive end. They quit passing the ball, went 13 minutes in the 2nd half without an assist. That should never happen.

 

[BFo8]

Stats can't actually lie, they are simply what they are. Now you can interpret them in different ways and put different sorts of spin on them, but they are what they are.

The notion that a good defensive team shouldn't be giving up more than 60 points to any team is, simply, batshit crazy. Baylor is certainly one of, if not the best, defensive team in the country this season. They have played 14 games. They have given up 60 or more points NINE times already this season. The notion that 60 is some magic number is silly. The average game this season so far has had around 69 possession in it. If you give up 61 points in a 69 possession game that isn't bad defense, that's really good defense.

If all you look at is the raw number of points scored then you are looking at the wrong, wait for it, statistic.

And in any event, if you want to make season-long declarations based on what happened in one game you are doing it wrong.

Good point about Baylor, if they aren’t the best defensive team in the country they are way up there.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Good point about Baylor, if they aren’t the best defensive team in the country they are way up there.

I think too many Pitt fans got used to Pitt holding the score down because yes, they usually did play good defense but even more importantly they played really, really slowly. Good defense plus slow tempo equals scores in the 50s. Good defense plus medium tempo means scores in the 60s. Good defense plus fast tempo means scores in the 70s.

Gonzaga's defense is pretty good this year. They are 11th in the country in defensive efficiency. They have given up 70 or more points seven times already this year. Alabama is 10th. They have given up 70 or more points nine time already this year. The other end of the spectrum, the team trying to win games the way that Pitt sometimes has in the past, is Houston. Second in defense, 296 in tempo. And even they have given up 60 or more points four times this season.

If your criteria for a good defensive team is that nobody scores more than 60 points against them then there are no good defensive teams. And there haven't been any for a long, long time.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

I don't think it is drama at all. This team has a habit of lapsing in intensity and desire after a big win. It is a pattern. Why do you think Capel was so disappointed? We had a shit practice and then it carried over to the game. Our defense was poor and it was simply due to lack of effort.

Every time they get a nice win they get this idea that they can just show up and win. They just lack maturity. Sure the loss isn't the end of the world and doesn't in any way define the season. However, with two juniors and our best player being a sophomore, you would like to think that this habit would end by now. It hasn't!

The coaches have addressed this as well. Capel has run them when their effort is poor in practice. Nothing has worked! How do you get through to these kids? In this conference the effort must be the same every night. One nice win does not give you a leg up on your next opponent. It is way past due that Pitt learn the lesson.

Wake nearly beat a UNC team that's won 5 of 6 or 6 of 7 now. That was their game before Pitt. They've played opponents close. Not sure Pitt played better yesterday than they did when they beat Northwestern. Or, even, in beating Syracuse the first time. It's hard to win every close game. They'd eon tight ones with Northwestern, Syracuse and Duke. They lost a tight one last night.

Excited to watch them matchup with UNC.

Not sure it's as much about getting through to them as it is about Pitt not being good enough just yet to not lose a game like this one every now and again. They're not consistent enough at enough positions just yet. They're a hell of a lot further along than they were last season at this point though. They've actually best teams that played zone D this year. Champ and Toney consistent. More depth overall too.

 

[NGPittCali]

Capel is right it sucks , but the blame is entirely on him and his staff. Whatever it is they do day to day needs to change, because it just doesn't work. Credit for recognizing it sucks, but blame for not making changes to turn it around.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

Capel is right it sucks , but the blame is entirely on him and his staff. Whatever it is they do day to day needs to change, because it just doesn't work. Credit for recognizing it sucks, but blame for not making changes to turn it around.

They're currently 8-3 (4-2) in year three after inheriting at team that was 0-19 in ACC play. One of the three losses was by 10 to a decent Louisville team when down both Champagnie and Tobey.

Let's allow the rest of the season to play out then determine what kind of job was done. But, so far, so good this year.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

WF shot unconsciencely this game. It happens. I don't think the defense was awful

If Horton had hit 8-10 3’s people would be dancing in the streets and not taking about how bad the D was . The other teams have good players too and every now and then shooters go unconscious !

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Stats can't actually lie, they are simply what they are. Now you can interpret them in different ways and put different sorts of spin on them, but they are what they are.

The notion that a good defensive team shouldn't be giving up more than 60 points to any team is, simply, batshit crazy. Baylor is certainly one of, if not the best, defensive team in the country this season. They have played 14 games. They have given up 60 or more points NINE times already this season. The notion that 60 is some magic number is silly. The average game this season so far has had around 69 possession in it. If you give up 61 points in a 69 possession game that isn't bad defense, that's really good defense.

If all you look at is the raw number of points scored then you are looking at the wrong, wait for it, statistic.

And in any event, if you want to make season-long declarations based on what happened in one game you are doing it wrong.

Maybe I'm comparing this Pitt team to the ones we had under Howland and Dixon where giving up more than 60 points to the opponent didn't happen very often. The emphasis on rebounding and defense isn't what it used to be. Mostly lip service now.

 

[DT_PITT]

If Horton had hit 8-10 3’s people would be dancing in the streets and not taking about how bad the D was . The other teams have good players too and every now and then shooters go unconscious !

Missed this comment before but I completely agree.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Maybe I'm comparing this Pitt team to the ones we had under Howland and Dixon where giving up more than 60 points to the opponent didn't happen very often. The emphasis on rebounding and defense isn't what it used to be. Mostly lip service now.

Again, the difference is tempo. This team is playing right around 70 possessions per game. Dixon's Pitt teams' tempo ranged from 59.3 to 65.3 possessions per game. If your team and my team both play defense exactly the same and my games average 70 possessions and your games average 60 possessions then your team is going to give up a lot fewer points, even though we are playing defense exactly the same.

This Pitt team's defensive efficiency is 94.3 and it's adjusted tempo is 69.8. Jamie Dixon's most similar defensive Pitt team was the 2014 team with a defensive efficiency of 95.0 (so slightly worse) with a tempo of 62.2 (7.6 fewer possessions per game). That team gave up less than 60 points in 19 of their 36 games (probably not nearly as many as you seem to remember). This Pitt team has given up less than 60 points 3 times in 12 games (and exactly 60 in the first Syracuse game). So what's the difference? Fewer possessions. If the 2014 team played 7.5 extra possessions every game and gave up points at the same rate that they actually did, they would have given up less than 60 points approximately 8 times in 36 games. Which, not surprisingly, is actually slightly less on a percentage basis than this year's team.