Jeff Capel can recruit. He is young, successful, can relate to these kids, and has put players into the pros. His most recent stint at Duke was one of the best we have seen. The experience opened doors and introduced him to very influential people. Coach K can say whatever he wants, but Capel helped take recruiting to another level.
Capel is also a confident person. He wouldn't have taken this job if he wasn't. The job that he has done on the floor has been amazing. The Johnson/McGowens/Toney class was basically a miracle. Some luck was involved, but still extremely impressive. At this point, he has been excellent. Way ahead of schedule in returning the respect to the program.
All of this has led to a bit of a false optimism. How soon we forget what a mess this program became. It was declining for years under Dixon, and then you got two years of Kevin Stallings. This program was on life support. Capel has a lot to overcome.
Which leads us to recruiting. In my opinion, the main issue is just how irrelevant Pitt has been. These kids int he 2019/2020/2021 classes have been following Pitt in their peak years while they were way down. You can see the vision and the freshmen guards are a building block.
This roster is terrible. No other way around it really. The three freshmen belong. JWF is a streaky reserve at this level. Terrell Brown deserves a roster spot because of the potential. That is it. The previous staff thought Ellison was by far their best player and an all conference level performer. He is un-playable right now. If he can win 5 games with this group, it will be incredibly impressive.
So what gives? He is going to get players. The question is how long will it take? It is certainly valid to be concerned. I get that. Maybe Capel under estimated the challenge. Overall, I think the staff is okay. He can be an elite recruiter, but the staff underneath him is also fighting an uphill battle. They seem to be pretty good with the development and in-game coaching/scouting. They are going into battle with water guns.
This can be solved quickly. I think the commitment of one of these kids can lead to more quickly. I get the sense that a couple of prospects are holding out to see who puts their foot in the water first. Capel needs to remain competitive the rest of this year, and then flip the roster. Completely flip it. Take as many players as he likes. So it comes down to who and when.
At Pitt, you are not going to recruit at the level of Duke. I am not sure if he is still figuring that out or not. He could do that at some point here, but it is going to take some time. He is going to have to grind this out for a few years until he can really sell.
The options are dwindling. Too soon to panic, but there needs to be a concerted effort here. Like last year, they should be telling any 2020 kid they are on that moving up to 2019 is an option for them at Pitt. They can point to the exposure and development of Johnson and McGowens. Do they want to play right away in the ACC and gain a year of making money? Potentially. It is very difficult to tell who is a candidate for such a move. They usually develop late and it happens all of a sudden out of nowhere. They have to keep it quiet in order to execute it. I would guess that they find at least one more player to do that this year. John Hugley could be a candidate, but I am not sure if the kid is eligible to pull it off. The staff has been all over him, but they have not discussed such a move with him yet. Just seems odd for him to be here so often without something in the works. I know it is close, but you rarely see a prospect on campus this much without a commitment.
Christian Brown is the best prospect they are on. He is an elite talent. Drumgoole is on the level below him, but also a really good player. It has obviously been a challenge to land a big, for whatever reason. The playing time angle makes it even more bizarre.
Regardless, this goes back to my belief in how you build a team here. You have to take the best talent you have to build the team. This team needs bigs, but they also need talented depth just as bad. If you ask me if this program would be better off with Wahab or Brown, I am taking Brown every single time. There should not be a position off the table right now. One through five, as talented as they can get. Figure it out later. If this team is loaded 1-3, but weak at center, that will be fine. You can make that work. Right now, they have two promising guards and a tough swing forward. That is about it. If you put Drumgoole on the wing and Brown at the four, now you can rock and roll in an undersized lineup. Johnson, McGowens, Drumgoole, Brown, Brown is a tournament team next year. Barring injuries and assuming natural progression.
Is the Wahab news disappointing? Sure. But how much better would he make this team next year? I'm not sure. He is a body and it is size. When you are that size though, they usually leave early the second they can put together a 6 foot hook shot. So if I am Pitt, I am looking for 6'7-6'8 tough guys to use inside for four years. This program got so much more out of Chevy Troutman than Steven Adams. Troutman is nowhere near the basketball prospect as Adams. But a school like Pitt can be better off with Troutman. That is because you don't have to replace the player right away. You allow for actual development and get four years of production because of the measurements. Even the best big men, outside of the top 2-3 each year, are some form of a project that is years away from their prime years.
Recruiting has not been good. They should be bringing in 5-6 players and they don't have one yet. The good news is, plenty of time left. If they can land at least one of Drumgoole/Brown, get a re-class, JUCO/grad transfer big, now you are more competitive. All of a sudden, now it is time for Ethan Morton, Jeffress, etc. in order. If they are close to the tourney or in it, now Capel's job is easier. Capel deserves the benefit of the doubt until we see otherwise. I would not be surprised if he has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
Capel is also a confident person. He wouldn't have taken this job if he wasn't. The job that he has done on the floor has been amazing. The Johnson/McGowens/Toney class was basically a miracle. Some luck was involved, but still extremely impressive. At this point, he has been excellent. Way ahead of schedule in returning the respect to the program.
All of this has led to a bit of a false optimism. How soon we forget what a mess this program became. It was declining for years under Dixon, and then you got two years of Kevin Stallings. This program was on life support. Capel has a lot to overcome.
Which leads us to recruiting. In my opinion, the main issue is just how irrelevant Pitt has been. These kids int he 2019/2020/2021 classes have been following Pitt in their peak years while they were way down. You can see the vision and the freshmen guards are a building block.
This roster is terrible. No other way around it really. The three freshmen belong. JWF is a streaky reserve at this level. Terrell Brown deserves a roster spot because of the potential. That is it. The previous staff thought Ellison was by far their best player and an all conference level performer. He is un-playable right now. If he can win 5 games with this group, it will be incredibly impressive.
So what gives? He is going to get players. The question is how long will it take? It is certainly valid to be concerned. I get that. Maybe Capel under estimated the challenge. Overall, I think the staff is okay. He can be an elite recruiter, but the staff underneath him is also fighting an uphill battle. They seem to be pretty good with the development and in-game coaching/scouting. They are going into battle with water guns.
This can be solved quickly. I think the commitment of one of these kids can lead to more quickly. I get the sense that a couple of prospects are holding out to see who puts their foot in the water first. Capel needs to remain competitive the rest of this year, and then flip the roster. Completely flip it. Take as many players as he likes. So it comes down to who and when.
At Pitt, you are not going to recruit at the level of Duke. I am not sure if he is still figuring that out or not. He could do that at some point here, but it is going to take some time. He is going to have to grind this out for a few years until he can really sell.
The options are dwindling. Too soon to panic, but there needs to be a concerted effort here. Like last year, they should be telling any 2020 kid they are on that moving up to 2019 is an option for them at Pitt. They can point to the exposure and development of Johnson and McGowens. Do they want to play right away in the ACC and gain a year of making money? Potentially. It is very difficult to tell who is a candidate for such a move. They usually develop late and it happens all of a sudden out of nowhere. They have to keep it quiet in order to execute it. I would guess that they find at least one more player to do that this year. John Hugley could be a candidate, but I am not sure if the kid is eligible to pull it off. The staff has been all over him, but they have not discussed such a move with him yet. Just seems odd for him to be here so often without something in the works. I know it is close, but you rarely see a prospect on campus this much without a commitment.
Christian Brown is the best prospect they are on. He is an elite talent. Drumgoole is on the level below him, but also a really good player. It has obviously been a challenge to land a big, for whatever reason. The playing time angle makes it even more bizarre.
Regardless, this goes back to my belief in how you build a team here. You have to take the best talent you have to build the team. This team needs bigs, but they also need talented depth just as bad. If you ask me if this program would be better off with Wahab or Brown, I am taking Brown every single time. There should not be a position off the table right now. One through five, as talented as they can get. Figure it out later. If this team is loaded 1-3, but weak at center, that will be fine. You can make that work. Right now, they have two promising guards and a tough swing forward. That is about it. If you put Drumgoole on the wing and Brown at the four, now you can rock and roll in an undersized lineup. Johnson, McGowens, Drumgoole, Brown, Brown is a tournament team next year. Barring injuries and assuming natural progression.
Is the Wahab news disappointing? Sure. But how much better would he make this team next year? I'm not sure. He is a body and it is size. When you are that size though, they usually leave early the second they can put together a 6 foot hook shot. So if I am Pitt, I am looking for 6'7-6'8 tough guys to use inside for four years. This program got so much more out of Chevy Troutman than Steven Adams. Troutman is nowhere near the basketball prospect as Adams. But a school like Pitt can be better off with Troutman. That is because you don't have to replace the player right away. You allow for actual development and get four years of production because of the measurements. Even the best big men, outside of the top 2-3 each year, are some form of a project that is years away from their prime years.
Recruiting has not been good. They should be bringing in 5-6 players and they don't have one yet. The good news is, plenty of time left. If they can land at least one of Drumgoole/Brown, get a re-class, JUCO/grad transfer big, now you are more competitive. All of a sudden, now it is time for Ethan Morton, Jeffress, etc. in order. If they are close to the tourney or in it, now Capel's job is easier. Capel deserves the benefit of the doubt until we see otherwise. I would not be surprised if he has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
