Jeff Capel live interview talks about next years players and team

[Vader_Storm]

Good interview worth listening to.

-Capel talks about Ithiel Horton's lack of confidence as a player and Capel expects more next year from him

-Capel talks about Femi Odukale's broken arm last off season, how it set him back severely last year. Jeff mentioned how Femi and Nike finished the year strong and how Nike will be much more prepared next year after last years hurdles.

-Jeff is expecting a jump from Hugley next year and talks about why he was a big loss last year

-He talks about Burton, his leadership role he has embraced, and what he brings to the team

-He talked positively about Gueye and Payton's athletic ability and what they bring to the table and is really exited about both of them, how Nate Santos is at least 6'7 and he calls Santos a lights out shooter. He mentions Oladapo as a depth piece who is older.

-He talks about Jeffress putting things together, working on his body, and how he needs to continue working on his jump shot and gaining confidence. He likes Jeffress defense.

-He talks about the team having talent and it is up to the coaches to put it together for a successful season.




http://collegehoopswatch.com/2021/08/20/marching-to-madness-episode-671-pitt-head-coach-jeff-capel/

 

[Elsalvador]

Wish Champagnie was still on the team. Maybe be top half of the ACC then.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

Good interview worth listening to.

-Capel talks about Ithiel Horton's lack of confidence as a player and Capel expects more next year from him

-Capel talks about Femi Odukale's broken arm last off season, how it set him back severely last year. Jeff mentioned how Femi and Nike finished the year strong and how Nike will be much more prepared next year after last years hurdles.

-Jeff is expecting a jump from Hugley next year and talks about why he was a big loss last year

-He talks about Burton, his leadership role he has embraced, and what he brings to the team

-He talked positively about Gueye and Payton's athletic ability and what they bring to the table and is really exited about both of them, how Nate Santos is at least 6'7 and he calls Santos a lights out shooter. He mentions Oladapo as a depth piece who is older.

-He talks about Jeffress putting things together, working on his body, and how he needs to continue working on his jump shot and gaining confidence. He likes Jeffress defense.

-He talks about the team having talent and it is up to the coaches to put it together for a successful season.




http://collegehoopswatch.com/2021/08/20/marching-to-madness-episode-671-pitt-head-coach-jeff-capel/

Really good stuff!

 

[iMissTheOldDayss]

Really good insight

 

[Chescat]

I noticed that Capel sort
of indirectly said that what
he brought in transfer wise
was better than what we
lost at the end of last year.
Not counting X and Toney
who left earlier, the end of
the year transfers of Brown,
Coulibaly, and Drumgoole
will definitely not hurt us.
I even consider Hugley a
new addition since he hardly
played. We will be a much
different team. Definitely
better inside, and with the
depth, better outside. A lot
has to occur to make up for
the loss of Champ, but there
is some hope, especially with
a much weaker ACC.

 

[NTOP]

Really good stuff!

Proof is in the pudding. Sounds like a F4 squad. Can they cure Covid,too?

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Yep, let's see the proof from Capel. So far, he's done little to produce anything at Pitt. I'm still waiting on seeing if he can coach at all. Now in his fourth year at Pitt.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

I’ve been OK with Capel’s coaching. It’s his recruiting that has been a major disappointment. He definitely should get two more years at the helm. Maybe he takes a long time to get it going, like Hamilton at FSU.

 

[pittchagg]

I think the coaching and recruiting have been totally fine to make this a competitive ACC squad. The roster and program management, while more related to recruiting than it is to coaching, has been the troublesome aspect.

 

[Chescat]

IMO his recruiting is still
questionable. He got off
to a good start with X, Trey,
and Toney. I feel that was
more on his Duke rep. than
anything else. He wasn't
able to build on that in
the following years. This
year (2021) is so - so. Not
great, but maybe enough.

Coaching is not as bad as
some make it out to be.
Coaches at this level know
the X's and 0's, and if they
don't, they usually will
have assistants who do.
He has proven that he can
get his team "up" and
overachieve.

Mgmt. of the program I
question. Letting your pg
X, continue his inconsistency,
lack of maturation, etc. is a
reflection on the coach.
Losing his top three players
to transfer is also the coach
IMO. We're gonna see if he
can re adjust. The ACC is
weaker this year. If he's
gonna do it, it better be now.

 

[thebadby2]

I noticed that Capel sort
of indirectly said that what
he brought in transfer wise
was better than what we
lost at the end of last year.
Not counting X and Toney
who left earlier, the end of
the year transfers of Brown,
Coulibaly, and Drumgoole
will definitely not hurt us.
I even consider Hugley a
new addition since he hardly
played. We will be a much
different team. Definitely
better inside, and with the
depth, better outside. A lot
has to occur to make up for
the loss of Champ, but there
is some hope, especially with
a much weaker ACC.

Show me, don’t tell me.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Good interview thanks for sharing .

I feel its safe to say that these first 3 yrs of the JC era have not exceeded anyone’s expectations .However those of you that think there was another coach out there that Pitt actually COULD’VE hired that would’ve come in here and instantly win without the help of an active booster group is living in a dream world . Until a coach has the talent to compete on somewhat even footings with their competitors that coach is going to lose . The talent level is going in the right direction and with his contract he will be given the time to prove whether or not he was a god hire . My bet is that he succeeds and has Pitt in the upper half of the ACC in a few yrs . Expecting much more without a booster group is asking a lot . Maybe Pitt can find some deep pocket boosters that can compensate some elite players enough to come here cause you can’t really win without them .

 

[NTOP]

Good interview thanks for sharing .

I feel its safe to say that these first 3 yrs of the JC era have not exceeded anyone’s expectations .However those of you that think there was another coach out there that Pitt actually COULD’VE hired that would’ve come in here and instantly win without the help of an active booster group is living in a dream world . Until a coach has the talent to compete on somewhat even footings with their competitors that coach is going to lose . The talent level is going in the right direction and with his contract he will be given the time to prove whether or not he was a god hire . My bet is that he succeeds and has Pitt in the upper half of the ACC in a few yrs . Expecting much more without a booster group is asking a lot . Maybe Pitt can find some deep pocket boosters that can compensate some elite players enough to come here cause you can’t really win without them .

Boosters made the mess by pushing out Dixon. The NIL disaster will be dominated by the blue chippers. We're more like honey drippers since then.

 

[Protes]

Boosters made the mess by pushing out Dixon. The NIL disaster will be dominated by the blue chippers. We're more like honey drippers since then.

Let's not act like things weren't trending in the wrong direction at the end of Dixon's tenure. The mistake was hiring a retread to take his place.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Boosters made the mess by pushing out Dixon. The NIL disaster will be dominated by the blue chippers. We're more like honey drippers since then.

The boosters helped in winning the 1976 National Championship , they brought in great Fb and bb players until Pitt pulled the plug and yes they f..up with JD .

There’s enough money in Pgh for NIL to be helpful .

 

[NTOP]

The boosters helped in winning the 1976 National Championship , they brought in great Fb and bb players until Pitt pulled the plug and yes they f..up with JD .

There’s enough money in Pgh for NIL to be helpful .

Money? Plenty. Interest? Not enough.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Money? Plenty. Interest? Not enough.

Agreed , but Pgh is a large enough metropolitan center that companies can use and pay players for various activities and personal appearances. It’s not like Pitt is in a small college town .

Interest in Pitts case unfortunately only follows winning . The pundits in Oakland just haven’t figured out the financial benefits of playing winning Fb and bb not to mention the enhancement of the student experience.

 

[Vader_Storm]

IMO his recruiting is still
questionable. He got off
to a good start with X, Trey,
and Toney. I feel that was
more on his Duke rep. than
anything else. He wasn't
able to build on that in
the following years. This
year (2021) is so - so. Not
great, but maybe enough.

Coaching is not as bad as
some make it out to be.
Coaches at this level know
the X's and 0's, and if they
don't, they usually will
have assistants who do.
He has proven that he can
get his team "up" and
overachieve.

Mgmt. of the program I
question. Letting your pg
X, continue his inconsistency,
lack of maturation, etc. is a
reflection on the coach.
Losing his top three players
to transfer is also the coach
IMO. We're gonna see if he
can re adjust. The ACC is
weaker this year. If he's
gonna do it, it better be now.

At the 1630 mark, Capel said we lost some guys with the transfer portal, and that he thinks we got better with the guys we got recruiting with the guys we bring back.

I actually agree with this. I also think that we will be better than last year.

Oladapo and Burton, who "should" be in the ORTG range of 100 or so next year, are both expected to come off the bench . That is a massive upgrade in comparison to last year and why players like Jeffress and Collier really need to improve this offseason in comparison to what they did this past season.

Besides Santos, I also think Chris Payton is going to have a significant impact sooner rather than later. I really like Payton, super athletic, and can drive and score with both hands. He was one of the best JC players in the entire country playing on a JC Powerhouse. He also had legit offers from Maryland, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Mizzou.

 

[Chescat]

At the 1630 mark, Capel said we lost some guys with the transfer portal, and that he thinks we got better with the guys we got recruiting with the guys we bring back.

I actually agree with this. I also think that we will be better than last year.

Oladapo and Burton, who "should" be in the ORTG range of 100 or so next year, are both expected to come off the bench . That is a massive upgrade in comparison to last year and why players like Jeffress and Collier really need to improve this offseason in comparison to what they did this past season.

Besides Santos, I also think Chris Payton is going to have a significant impact sooner rather than later. I really like Payton, super athletic, and can drive and score with both hands. He was one of the best JC players in the entire country playing on a JC Powerhouse. He also had legit offers from Maryland, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Mizzou.

View embedded media

We agree with the point
about better incoming
transfers than our end
of the yr. outgoing
transfers. As you know
the ORTG is one metric.
I've repeatedly posted
that I'll judge it when I
see them in actual game
time.

I respect your optimism
concerning Santos and
Peyton. Again for me, it'll
be the eyeball test in real
time.

Replacing Champ will have
to be done by committee,
because IMO we have no
player who can do what he
did for us last year.

I also agree that we will be
better this yr. How much?
Hard to tell at this point,
but like you, I'm optimistic.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

Perimeter defense sounds promising with Femi, Burton and Nike. I have this feeling this has to be a defensive-minded team if it wants to win. Not sure if there is enough in the frontcourt to be that kind of team overall though.

 

[NTOP]

Agreed , but Pgh is a large enough metropolitan center that companies can use and pay players for various activities and personal appearances. It’s not like Pitt is in a small college town .

Interest in Pitts case unfortunately only follows winning . The pundits in Oakland just haven’t figured out the financial benefits of playing winning Fb and bb not to mention the enhancement of the student experience.

I just hope we can generate enough cash so we don't lose recruits to other schools. Lots of potential sponsors disappeared as we stumble so often.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Perimeter defense sounds promising with Femi, Burton and Nike. I have this feeling this has to be a defensive-minded team if it wants to win. Not sure if there is enough in the frontcourt to be that kind of team overall though.

I think our rebounding is going to be taking a significant step forward as a team. Hugley and Gueye are far better rebounders than AKC and Brown at Center and its not all that close. Chris Payton was efficiency wise the top rebounding big in all of Juco last year at over 10 boards per game in less than 20 minutes per game. Femi is bigger than Johnson and had better rebounding efficiency numbers than Johnson last year coming off a broken arm. Oladapo's rebounding numbers are far better than Collier at this point and should be respectable as a depth piece. Jeffress and Collier should be better on the glass next year with a year under their belt. We lost Champ, but as an entire team as a unit, our rebounding should be much better.


I think the team depth is far better overall than anything we have had in years. This team last year with Femi leading the charge on defensive pressure was effective using the press and advanced pressure early and in midseason. As the season continued, with players leaving, Champ's troubles with his bad leg, further use of the freshmen or Drumgoole or a walkon point guard, we didn't have anywhere near the depth to execute a press or trap defense effectively to create turnovers. That changes next year and we can go back to attacking more on defense instead of sitting back in a 2-3 zone because of players like Terrell Brown where are defense was picked apart.

 

[Chescat]

I think our rebounding is going to be taking a significant step forward as a team. Hugley and Gueye are far better rebounders than AKC and Brown at Center and its not all that close. Chris Payton was efficiency wise the top rebounding big in all of Juco last year at over 10 boards per game in less than 20 minutes per game. Femi is bigger than Johnson and had better rebounding efficiency numbers than Johnson last year coming off a broken arm. Oladapo's rebounding numbers are far better than Collier at this point and should be respectable as a depth piece. Jeffress and Collier should be better on the glass next year with a year under their belt. We lost Champ, but as an entire team as a unit, our rebounding should be much better.


I think the team depth is far better overall than anything we have had in years. This team last year with Femi leading the charge on defensive pressure was effective using the press and advanced pressure early and in midseason. As the season continued, with players leaving, Champ's troubles with his bad leg, further use of the freshmen or Drumgoole or a walkon point guard, we didn't have anywhere near the depth to execute a press or trap defense effectively to create turnovers. That changes next year and we can go back to attacking more on defense instead of sitting back in a 2-3 zone because of players like Terrell Brown where are defense was picked apart.

I definitely agree with
your take on rebounding.
Anyone want to question
it, consider the following:
ACC tourney vs Miami we
outrebounded them despite
Coulibaly getting not one,
yes zero rebounds in 22 min.
Brown with 3 rebounds in 11
min. Neither one of them
scored...,0 pts. between em.
Our inside game, while not
a strength, will be much
better this year.

Depth? Yes I agree with your
take on it, especially in the
backcourt.

One area never mentioned is
beating the press. X was
excellent in this category. He
often beat full court pressure
by himself. Even against a
zone press, he often beat it
alone or by making the right
pass. This was not a strength
of Femi...but he was a frosh
and I assume Capel being an
ex pg will help him with this.

 

[CougarClaws]

At the 1630 mark, Capel said we lost some guys with the transfer portal, and that he thinks we got better with the guys we got recruiting with the guys we bring back.

I actually agree with this. I also think that we will be better than last year.

Oladapo and Burton, who "should" be in the ORTG range of 100 or so next year, are both expected to come off the bench . That is a massive upgrade in comparison to last year and why players like Jeffress and Collier really need to improve this offseason in comparison to what they did this past season.

Besides Santos, I also think Chris Payton is going to have a significant impact sooner rather than later. I really like Payton, super athletic, and can drive and score with both hands. He was one of the best JC players in the entire country playing on a JC Powerhouse. He also had legit offers from Maryland, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Mizzou.

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Have heard rumors Santos is not ready....

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Have heard rumors Santos is not ready....

Who has looked good from what you heard?

 

[CougarClaws]

Who has looked good from what you heard?

Femi & Hugley.

 

[pittjas]

Have heard rumors Santos is not ready....

Not ready like this year not ready or not ready like transfer because he can’t play in the ACC ever?

You might not know the answer to that (and nobody prob does at this point) but it’s a big distinction obviously

 

[CougarClaws]

Not ready like this year not ready or not ready like transfer because he can’t play in the ACC ever?

You might not know the answer to that (and nobody prob does at this point) but it’s a big distinction obviously

Not looking ready to play effectively for the Panthers this month. No prognosis - just don't expect him raining down threes come November.

 

[BPKY]

Femi & Hugley.

Point guard and Center...two very important positions. This is auspicious.