Capel's recruiting at Duke -- Is he good or does Duke recruit itself?

[PittSqueak]

Honest & fair question. Duke fans all seem to be saying he's a great recruiter, but what does that actually mean at a blue blood program like Duke? Here are Duke's national recruiting rankings the past few years (all team rankings are from 247Sports):

2018: 1st
2017: 1st
2016: 1st
2015: 2nd
2014: 1st
2013: 9th
2012: 41st (2 recruits = 5* and 4*, that's as bad as it got)
2011: 2nd
2010: 16th
2009: 20th
2008: 14th
2007: 11th
2006: 5th

So it definitely looks like everything went up around the time Capel joined the staff in 2011; I'd say Capel may deserve some credit for how good Duke's classes have been. (BTW: UK was 1st every season since 2007 except when Duke was 1st, then UK was 2nd.) How about when Capel was at Oklahoma from 2006-2011? Here are Oklahoma's recruiting rankings in the Big 12 during that time, including shortly before & after he was there:

2013: 9th in Big12
2012: 7th in Big12
2011: 10th in Big12 (Capel was gone)
2010: 4th in Big12 (40th nationally)
2009: 3rd in Big12 (13th nationally)
2008: 2nd in Big12 (17th nationally)
2007: 3rd in Big12 (24th nationally)
2006: 8th in Big12 (Capel was hired April 11, RIGHT before signing day)
2005: 5th in Big12
2004: 6th in Big12
Not too shabby considering this is the conference with Kansas and Texas.

SUMMARY: The dude can recruit.

 

[PittPanther44]

They aren’t mutually exclusive but certainly Duke helps

 

[PittPanther44]

But....were lot better after he got back there. And certainly Duke isn’t a free for all recruiting wise, they only go after certain kids

 

[pittzap]

Both. He raised their recruiting, but Duke is a huge name.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

how much of that change involved coach k embracing the 1 and done?

 

[PittSqueak]

how much of that change involved coach k embracing the 1 and done?

Great question. Thankfully this reporter says Capel is responsible for 75% of the one-and-done guys that have rolled through Duke.

I'm calling it now: Pitt will somehow end up with at least one 4* recruit THIS YEAR.

 

[below0w]

Duke is obviously easier to recruit to than Pitt, but it doesn't recruit itself. Capel isn't just a good recruiter, he's an outstanding recruiter. Pitt's recruiting will improve by leaps and bounds, but of course, nobody should expect a class full of McD's AA's from the start.

 

[joeydavid]

I think it's safe to say that he's the best recruiter in the country with previous head coaching experience. Worst case here is he will dramatically raise Pitt's talent level.

Best case is he improved his Xs and Os over the last 7 years sitting in that chair. If that's the case, this will be a homerun for Pitt.

 

[pittmeister]

Pitt made the tourney 11 out of 13 years.... How many 4 star recruits did we pull in? You would think with that track record we could get better players... Fact of the matter is you need someone to recruit... There is competition for players at every level, whether you are Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, etc

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

He also recruited Blake Griffin, Willie Warren and Tiny Gallon to Oklahoma. Each one of those guys was a top 20, 5 star recruit.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

got players at vcu

 

[below0w]

He also recruited Blake Griffin, Willie Warren and Tiny Gallon to Oklahoma. Each one of those guys was a top 20, 5 star recruit.

Tommy Mason-Griffin as well, another McDonald's All-American.

 

[GrowthHormone]

Pitt made the tourney 11 out of 13 years.... How many 4 star recruits did we pull in?

More than a handful. I sort of randomly picked 2003 to start.

2003: Chris Taft
2004: Keith Benjamin
2005: Young, Fields, Tyrell Biggs
2006: Gil Brown
2007: Blair, Wannamaker, Darnell Dodson (obviously never enrolled at Pitt but was successfully recruited here), McGhee
2008: Nas
2009: Taylor (five star), Patterson, Zanna
2010: JJ Moore
2011: Malcolm Gilbert, Durand Johnson, Birch (five star)
2012: Adams (five star), James Robinson
2013: Michael Young

So, somewhere in the neighborhood of two each year.

 

[724crew]

how much of that change involved coach k embracing the 1 and done?

Capel was credited in being the main guy in getting the 1 and dones

 

[doubleAA's]

Honest & fair question. Duke fans all seem to be saying he's a great recruiter, but what does that actually mean at a blue blood program like Duke? Here are Duke's national recruiting rankings the past few years (all team rankings are from 247Sports):

2018: 1st
2017: 1st
2016: 1st
2015: 2nd
2014: 1st
2013: 9th
2012: 41st (2 recruits = 5* and 4*, that's as bad as it got)
2011: 2nd
2010: 16th
2009: 20th
2008: 14th
2007: 11th
2006: 5th

So it definitely looks like everything went up around the time Capel joined the staff in 2011; I'd say Capel may deserve some credit for how good Duke's classes have been. (BTW: UK was 1st every season since 2007 except when Duke was 1st, then UK was 2nd.) How about when Capel was at Oklahoma from 2006-2011? Here are Oklahoma's recruiting rankings in the Big 12 during that time, including shortly before & after he was there:

2013: 9th in Big12
2012: 7th in Big12
2011: 10th in Big12 (Capel was gone)
2010: 4th in Big12 (40th nationally)
2009: 3rd in Big12 (13th nationally)
2008: 2nd in Big12 (17th nationally)
2007: 3rd in Big12 (24th nationally)
2006: 8th in Big12 (Capel was hired April 11, RIGHT before signing day)
2005: 5th in Big12
2004: 6th in Big12
Not too shabby considering this is the conference with Kansas and Texas.

SUMMARY: The dude can recruit.

Probably both. Duke does recruit itself. But he didn’t do anything wrong that’s for sure. Furthermore, it’s an awesome minority hire, beats shrewbury imo

 

[Ronnyp91]

Duke does recruit itself but he still has to beat out the Kentucky’s of the world for the one and dones.

 

[thebadby2]

Duke has recruited itself for 25 years, so it's both--but Capel has just killed it there, and he did very well everywhere else before that. Most importantly he's an ACC-turf recruiter. Pitt hasn't had recruiting "turf" in years. That just changed.