Important win for Capel
- Thread starter DC_Area_Panther
- Start date
How exactly is going 10-21 or 11-20 in year 4 considered an accomplishment? Especially when we have 0 recruits and lose one of our better players.
Accomplishment? Not really In the grand scheme of things. It’s just a lot less embarrassing to get to 10 wins vs only 8 or 9 for both coaches and fans. Optics are better—or at least less bad.
Of course, it isn’t a good look for those hoping Capel won’t get another season.
The wins against Louisville (rare event) and NCST today (1st in 8 years) were meaningful to me even if both teams are down this year.
I think Capel should resign now while he’s riding high (2 game win streak)
A kid makes the team as a freshman (because not enough players come out to field a JV team) He loves baseball, puts a lot of time in, plays on the JV's for three years, senior year he cannot play JV so he goes to varsity as a sub, not too bad , but not in the top 9-11 players. Throughout the season he pinch hits, plays in meaningless innings. Batting average around .210, due to circumstances down the stretch gets some meaningful pinch hit a bats, goes 2-10, both hits late in the game against below average high school pitchers, but both hits contribute to a win. Parents are very proud of him, and even a bit annoyed because he didn't play that much, after all those two hits helped win varsity games.
Capel is Heather's baby, lots of support and encouragement, doesn't care about how others feel about it and feels really good about his 2 meaningful pinch hits this year, namely winning 6-7 ACC games and showing improvement by winning a road game and beating NC state. She is pulling for him the way the parents above root for their kid . "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder"
With the way this team has performed this season this program has become background noise tv for me. I used to look forward to sitting down to watch games but, since I don't listen to local sports talk on the crap radio station that covers the team, there are days I don't even realize the team is playing. I might turn a game on, but if not, oh well. This all starts with the recruiting buzz. I used to look forward to reading about kids coming in for visits, who else is recruiting them and then the final decision. I understand college basketball has changed, but also having to watch a team get embarrassed by low level D1 teams also is a big turn off.
Heather, you can do all you want with this program, but if 4 years isn't enough, maybe you just don't care and being mediocre to below average is acceptable.
Heather, you can do all you want with this program, but if 4 years isn't enough, maybe you just don't care and being mediocre to below average is acceptable.
It's not quite as simple as you portray it. In the past perhaps so. But with big buyout money involved and the portal now available to any coach there is no 100% need to pull the plug now. It can wait until after the portal is tapped to see if Capel strikes out there, or until mid-season next year (like with Louisville) or even until the end of next season if things aren't worse on the court with little difference in longer term outcomes for the program.
Quite a tale you are spinning for yourself. At this point, I am personally ok with him returning next year because most of the roster should return, but his track record is very poor and there is no evidence in his career that he is capable of a turnaround.
When you say it is not as simple as I portray it, these universities can and will do whatever they want financially. What doesn't make sense to me and you may make sense to them.
Basically she can wait as long as she wants and do whatever she wants, I am telling you there is no buzz for this program and there is pretty much no buzz going into next year. Capel can play the transfer portal game all he wants, but hoping as you look at the roster 2 of the kids brought in don't even play. Yes he did get lucky with Burton and Gueye and maybe gets lucky this off-season.
My big issue is this team has no identity. At least when Howland came in they were known to play tough defense. This team 1 game they play good and the next 2 are getting blown out at the half by Va Tech.
Baby steps. You have to crawl before you walk. Posts like this aren't designed for fans who are totally negative and wish only bad for Capel.
I don’t wish bad for Capel. There is simply 4 years of evidence that proves Capel isn’t capable of getting the job done. Capel doubling down on his staff by keeping everyone and promoting Brown, and then bringing in 0 recruits only solidifies things.
These are unfortunate facts.
Not only what you said, but
also having to reboot this
year. Even if he kept most of
his assistants, at least one
had to go and be replaced by
a REAL recruitor.
Wait...we just beat a team that, believe it or not, is worse than Pitt....by 2 points. I get it...we won. Great! But we still don't know if this team is capable of winning consistently and against the better teams. That win against a very bad NCSt. team doesn't mean a thing right now.
I usually agree with DC 99% of the time. But this time, I have to say I disagree...it was not an important win because it was against a team that doesn't even have a pulse.
I usually agree with DC 99% of the time. But this time, I have to say I disagree...it was not an important win because it was against a team that doesn't even have a pulse.
Pulse as a team, maybe. Individually you’d take half their roster and bring ‘em aboard at Pitt. But yeah, they’re bad.
Correct. Which is why I asked what AD's have fired their own hire with 5+ years without a scandal? The board could only come up with Kentucky/Billy Gillespie but Kentucky's basketball expectations are a bit different than Pitt's.
Think JC was in desperation mode last yr in filling the roster spots .
They’ll be in a better spot this yr in competing for portal players thanks to Burton and MO’s play .
Agree, this is where I'm at. It's a bad staff and that's very much evident.
I enjoyed the win yesterday and was happy that a few thousand other fans got to enjoy a win. However, their play is maddening. Too many lapses on defense and an offense that's tailored to players we don't have. I was hopeful he'd be able to recruit those players, but it's clear that's not going to happen.
He's not a coach that's going to cobble together transfer players into a winning team. If he's unable (or unwilling) to recruit then he serves no purpose being here. Waiting won't solve anything.
Correct and the "tale" is merely the only way I can explain how he gets 2 more years.
I don’t know if JC will be shown the road by HL after this season or not but the stupidest reasoning she won’t offered frequently on this site that she can’t/won’t is because she’s the one that hired and then extended him is just that stupid. It would be an indictment of her if that even remotely entered into her decision making thought process. You don’t make decisions regarding the future based on sunk costs of the past.
What other explanation can you offer? None seems to be any more stupid than the fact that she is professionally invested in his success because she extended him (for no reason I may add).
You believe that there is another reason to keep him beyond the fact that the AD extended him? What is that reason?
Personally dont care whether a change is made now ir next year. Just perceive that next year is more likeky for multiple reasons---
1. Size of buyout now vs next year.
2. Lack the single digit win truly awful optics had with Stallings.
3. Portal provides at least some hope that next year could be better.
4. Perception that there could have been more wins (several OOC and and a couple more ACC) if Burton and Horton had been available from season's start. Maybe enough to be over 0.500 overall at this point.
1. Size of buyout now vs next year.
2. Lack the single digit win truly awful optics had with Stallings.
3. Portal provides at least some hope that next year could be better.
4. Perception that there could have been more wins (several OOC and and a couple more ACC) if Burton and Horton had been available from season's start. Maybe enough to be over 0.500 overall at this point.
Well said, not necessarily the extension, but rather the money, is one of four factors.
To be devils advocate: He has demonstrated that he has learned his lesson. He now understands what he did wrong in handling team discipline and developing team play and team chemistry.
He has demonstrated he can bring in talent and this season demonstrates he has learned lessons regarding molding, controlling and retaining.
He has adapted and is coaching more this season. (Maybe with the help of Kyle Cieplicki, who may be assuming a greater role in the future)
I wouldn’t bet on any of this, but could see some doing so,
My answer to your question as to “another” reason
I’m just saying you don’t make a decision about the future based on what happened in the past that you can’t do anything about anymore. That’s all irrelevant, only thing that matters is what’s the best option for the future.
She cannot finalize her mistake just yet. She has to hope for a Miami or Wake.
I’m glad you don’t run my company. You don’t make decisions based on past choices that have zero impact on the future just because you’re hoping to save face.
Actually just about every company and every adult in America spends money they don't have all the time. You couldn't actually get any business off the ground and you'd have a hell of a time running most of them if you never spent money that you didn't have.
Actually, if it was me, I'd fire him and make an SEC-type hire. I am simply saying that Heather isn't going to finalize her gigantic mistake, buying out 5 years to hire a lottery ticket, who will likelu fail, costing her her job. She probably cannot afford an SEC-type hire as all the money is going to olympic sports facilities and Highmark Stadium field rentals. So she has to go to church and pray for a Miami or Wake.
Of course, a few of these reasons (other than buyout cost) could change for the worse and/or go away if certain things were to happen in combination:
1. Zero additional wins through rest of regular season and ACCT to finish 10-21.
2. Hugley and other Key players bail via the portal
3. Capel does poorly on getting incoming players via the transfer portal.
Such happenings possibly could have the AD looking for a change sooner than the end of next season.
Spending money intelligently is one thing , spending money you don’t have foolishly leads to bankruptcy . Guess no one you know goes bankrupt or out of business !
While Pitt bb will never force Pitt into bankruptcy they’re not going to continually throw good money into coaching buyouts for a bottom dwelling program . Pitt isn’t about to cannibalize their other sports programs to continually fund bad coaching decisions in their bb program .Cheaper to stay with JC and hope he finds the players he needs to win a few more games .
Financially speaking unless a coaching change can guarantee you positive returns including the buyout costs why would you do it ? To win 2 or 3 more bb games every yr , no way !
Pitt will never hire a Pitino , Miller or Pearl type coach and winning bb games isn’t enough of a priority for the University to go out and pay 6 million for a successful head coach to leave their current job .
IMO until the buyout costs comes down significantly JC is the coach here unless the roof falls in on him and if he somehow turns it around and Pitt becomes a middle of the pack ACC team he’s here as long as he wants .
Unless Capel does something very wrong and can be dismissed for cause, he'll still be here next year unfortunately. He can't recruit and retain players at all, which is his biggest black mark. Get used to 9 - 12 wins every year with a 20 loss season being the norm until he's gone. I remember when a 20 win season was our low water mark.
Pitt can't break the bank just to get a few additional wins and maybe a few more fans in the stands. The crowds aren't coming back until we get a good coach and we're winning big games against top teams and achieving 20+ wins for a couple of years. If next year Capel can do that, he'll possibly get another year.
Pitt can't break the bank just to get a few additional wins and maybe a few more fans in the stands. The crowds aren't coming back until we get a good coach and we're winning big games against top teams and achieving 20+ wins for a couple of years. If next year Capel can do that, he'll possibly get another year.
You have this idea in your head that these facility capital improvements and projects somehow affect the yearly operating budget of the department. You do understand that one doesn’t come at the expense of the other right?
