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The Buck Stops With Capel

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Mar 23, 2003
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We can poop on the players for their shortcomings, but it's on the coach to get the most out of his team. And he is not getting it done. He has been badly out-coached two games in a row. We are seeing the same Capel we have seen in most of his tenure: an offense that has no purpose or structure. He is too reliant on his guards penetrating and making things happen. Just roll the ball out there and hope for the best. We don't run any set plays. No movement, no passing, no creative inbound plays. It doesn't exactly take rocket science to figure out how to stop us. This is all on him and he needs to figure out a way to fix it, and fast, or this season is going to end in bitter disappointment.
 
Agreed. This team isn't super talented, or really all that talented at all, to expect them to just play by rolling the ball out there. The coach has to teach, coach, prepare and be ready on game day. It's as if Capel didn't even practice them before this game tonight. The coach is the driver. And Capel is sorely lacking in driving this team.
 
Agreed. This team isn't super talented, or really all that talented at all, to expect them to just play by rolling the ball out there. The coach has to teach, coach, prepare and be ready on game day. It's as if Capel didn't even practice them before this game tonight. The coach is the driver. And Capel is sorely lacking in driving this team.
He can recruit. He needs someone else to coach.
 
We can poop on the players for their shortcomings, but it's on the coach to get the most out of his team. And he is not getting it done. He has been badly out-coached two games in a row. We are seeing the same Capel we have seen in most of his tenure: an offense that has no purpose or structure. He is too reliant on his guards penetrating and making things happen. Just roll the ball out there and hope for the best. We don't run any set plays. No movement, no passing, no creative inbound plays. It doesn't exactly take rocket science to figure out how to stop us. This is all on him and he needs to figure out a way to fix it, and fast, or this season is going to end in bitter disappointment.

Meanwhile, WVU's cast of bums are going for a Top 4 NCAAT seed, all without their best player.
 
He brought in a losing player in Corhen, and he’s getting the results that such an acquisition deserves.

Corhen was a bad addition. I posted on here I was worried about his rebounding numbers but Capel said that was due to him playing out on the perimeter more. Fede is averaging 8 and 5 in 3 fewer minutes at TT and is a harder worker. I'd rather have him. Corhen is more skilled offensively but cant rebound.
 
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Corhen was a bad addition. I posted on here I was worried about his rebounding numbers but Capel said that was due to him playing out on the perimeter more. Fede is averaging 8 and 5 in 3 fewer minutes at TT and is a harder worker. I'd rather have him. Corhen is more skilled offensively but cant rebound.
You talk a lot about “Dixon 2.”

Corhen is John Hugley 2. Capel got a stroke of luck when Hugley got hurt in 2022-23, he replaced him with Fede/GDG, and we were off and rolling. It’s baffling that he looked at all of that success and said, “what we really need is another John Hugley.” But it seems like that’s what he did.
 
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Let's be honest, this team just isn't that good or talented. The players lost from last year's non-tournament team were replaced with downgrades. We now see what we get from the offense when Hinson isn't there to bail them out with a deep three. This team had no right whatsoever winning that OSU game. OSU gave that away! Remove that from our NET, and we are likely at or below the ranking of last year.
 
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This team is soft soft soft. The twins at least fight a bit but they are lightweights that can be pushed around. Cohern has the body to be physical but he plays like Jane overdosed on sedatives. Dude looks disinterested and clueless

Lowe is a lightweight Teams are now playing him very physical and throwing him off his game.

The recipe to beating Pitt is out. Play very physical in the guards and they’ll force the issue and become turnover machines.

I really can’t see this team improving because you can’t change the core problems of the team being soft as charmin This is going to be another 2024-2025 Pittsburgh flame out season
 
You guys are right on everything , Pitt should be undefeated and number #1 in the polls with this roster and the millions in NIL funds Pitt has .

JC coaching stinks , his players stink , the new additions stink why bother watching .

You guys are pathetic .
 
Capel used to like to make excuses about the bad luck of Covid, etc. In reality, he is the luckiest coach Pitt has ever hired.

He followed Stallings and, even though any basketball coach worth his weight in salt can build a team in a year or two no matter how bad they were, he received some weird benefit from fans that it's going to "take time to build a program." You don't really build programs anymore, but okay.

He then lucked into Hugley going down, while Hinson is a guy who completely bailed out his coaching style for two years. Other teams would consistently get better looks than us (a product of solid systematic play/good coaching), but Hinson would bail him out nonetheless.

Anyway, he made the tournament at a time when most coaches would have been let go already. He basically got a whole reset in year five. Pitt fans were so starved for some semblance of competence that a play-in game followed by being in the first four out somehow yielded an extension.

All of this, of course, while receiving the benefit of playing in the worst version of the ACC to ever exist.
 
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You guys are right on everything , Pitt should be undefeated and number #1 in the polls with this roster and the millions in NIL funds Pitt has .

JC coaching stinks , his players stink , the new additions stink why bother watching .

You guys are pathetic .
His players don’t stink. His coaching doesn’t stink.

One of his players stinks. He decided to bring in that player, and sought him out specifically in the portal. It was a bad decision and a bad acquisition, and we’re losing games because of it.
 
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We can poop on the players for their shortcomings, but it's on the coach to get the most out of his team. And he is not getting it done. He has been badly out-coached two games in a row. We are seeing the same Capel we have seen in most of his tenure: an offense that has no purpose or structure. He is too reliant on his guards penetrating and making things happen. Just roll the ball out there and hope for the best. We don't run any set plays. No movement, no passing, no creative inbound plays. It doesn't exactly take rocket science to figure out how to stop us. This is all on him and he needs to figure out a way to fix it, and fast, or this season is going to end in bitter disappointment.
This team looked like one that was a pick-up , playground team.
 
You guys are right on everything , Pitt should be undefeated and number #1 in the polls with this roster and the millions in NIL funds Pitt has .

JC coaching stinks , his players stink , the new additions stink why bother watching .

You guys are pathetic .

Sure, we can take the micro approach and act like fans are overreacting to a singular loss. Or, we can *not* miss the forest for the trees and realize that one play-in game in seven years is a really bad body or work.
 
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You talk a lot about “Dixon 2.”

Corhen is John Hugley 2. Capel got a stroke of luck when Hugley got hurt in 2022-23, he replaced him with Fede/GDG, and we were off and rolling. It’s baffling that he looked at all of that success and said, “what we really need is another John Hugley.” But it seems like that’s what he did.

Hugley is a good comparison. Gives you some offense but cant rebound or defend.
 
We made the Round of 32. And last year's team made the NCAAT as far as I'm concerned.

Okay, then I could say the 2022-2023 team didn't make it as far as I'm concerned. One Round of 32 appearance is what we're hanging our hats on in seven years? How many teams have gotten to the Round of 32 or better at least one time in the last seven seasons. Maybe 100?
 
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Okay, then I could say the 2022-2023 team didn't make it as far as I'm concerned. One Round of 32 appearance is what we're hanging our hats on in seven years? How many teams have gotten to the Round of 32 or better at least one time in the last seven seasons. Maybe 100?

Ok. Last year's team was Capel's best in both the eye test and actual resume. It was the strongest bubble, maybe ever.
 
The coaching is definitely lacking. What was the game plan last night? Does anyone know? Our BLOB plays are the worst in the country. Launch it into the backcourt.
 
Sure, we can take the micro approach and act like fans are overreacting to a singular loss. Or, we can *not* miss the forest for the trees and realize that one play-in game in seven years is a really bad body or work.

That's very true. The whole body of work for Capel has been mediocre at best. He had some luck in previous seasons, but this one loss is just a microcosm of the Pitt basketball program under Capel. And the last 3 losses in a row are what this Pitt team is.

I was beginning to come around for Capel and thought he just might be a coach that we can rally around and like as a long term coach at Pitt. I'm not sure about that now.
 
The recipe to beating Pitt is out. Play very physical in the guards and they’ll force the issue and become turnover machines.

They don't involve their teammates. Lots of driving in the paint with the head down action going on, which reflects poorly on coaching. Lowe having more turnovers than points at the 12 minute mark of the second half tells the story. He's a wreck right now.
 
Let's be honest, this team just isn't that good or talented. The players lost from last year's non-tournament team were replaced with downgrades. We now see what we get from the offense when Hinson isn't there to bail them out with a deep three. This team had no right whatsoever winning that OSU game. OSU gave that away! Remove that from our NET, and we are likely at or below the ranking of last year.
There is enough talent here to be a tournament team. It's on the coach to press the right buttons and get the most out of them. It's on the coach to game plan and strategize ways to beat the other team. Two games in a row it hasn't happened against teams that are no more talented than ours. He's been badly outcoached. If we had a smart offensive approach to execute, we would be better off. But we don't. On the defensive side is where we are not great as a team. We are not a big, physical team and that hurts us. We need a better team focus on rebounding to make up for our lack of physicality on the interior (i.e., gang rebounding). But again, it's on the coach to figure these things out, whether by making strategic changes or replacing players in the lineup who aren't getting the job done.
 
For the past two seasons we ran great stuff and had really good results. Including last year with Lowe and Ish.

This year, we brought in John Hugley 2, and all of a sudden the offense has started to look a whole lot more like the John Hugley era than it has looked for the past two years. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
 
His players don’t stink. His coaching doesn’t stink.

One of his players stinks. He decided to bring in that player, and sought him out specifically in the portal. It was a bad decision and a bad acquisition, and we’re losing games because of it.
What big on the roster is better ?

If anyone was better wouldn’t he be playing ?

What other bigs were Pitt involved with that were better ?
 
What big on the roster is better ?

If anyone was better wouldn’t he be playing ?

What other bigs were Pitt involved with that were better ?
Guillermo is absolutely better. Fede was better. I think Kante may be better.

Capel clearly doesn’t agree. I believe Capel is wrong, and Capel’s incorrect evaluation will continue to cost this team winnable basketball games.
 
What big on the roster is better ?

If anyone was better wouldn’t he be playing ?

What other bigs were Pitt involved with that were better ?

Isn't the point that we should have gotten involved with a big(s) who were better?

I remember seeing Capel talk about how good he was at seeing things others didn't see with players - how they were being used versus how he could use them. Well, swing and a miss.
 
Okay, then let's give them credit for... what, an Elite Eight?

Jeff Wooden has made the Round of 32 and an Elite Eight. Not bad.

Nah, I give them credit for 1st Round or Dayton loss. The tournament was stolen from them just like the 2020 election. Heather should have lead a march on Indianapolis. I would have been there with the rest of my Pitt-anon buddies.
 
Ish and Lowe are having the same challenges as Xavier Johnson Trey McGowens. Teams has solved the dribble drive and the talented guards can’t figure out plan B.

Of course, the mcgowens Johnson era was like 6 or 7 years ago at this point so one would think the coach would come up with different solutions
 
Ish and Lowe are having the same challenges as Xavier Johnson Trey McGowens. Teams has solved the dribble drive and the talented guards can’t figure out plan B.

Of course, the mcgowens Johnson era was like 6 or 7 years ago at this point so one would think the coach would come up with different solutions

Yeah, said the same thing in the game thread - that Leggett is very much reminding me of McGowens at this point. Like a scratch on a CD that just keeps playing the same thing over again.

Out of control drive into a crowded lane - swat
Out of control drive into a crowded lane - turnover
Out of control drive into a crowded lane - swat

Are we just going to keep doing that?

I do think the length gave us trouble last night. 7 blocks, 17 turnovers, and 37% shooting in conjunction with only 13 twos made. Even some of the shots we did make were kind of BS (that Austin bank, at least one that Leggett basically threw at the hoop with his eyes closed, etc.).
 
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For the past two seasons we ran great stuff and had really good results. Including last year with Lowe and Ish.

This year, we brought in John Hugley 2, and all of a sudden the offense has started to look a whole lot more like the John Hugley era than it has looked for the past two years. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Last year you a guy who would take and make ridiculous 3’s and a freshman who’s now playing well in the NBA .

Both Lowe and Ish are forcing their offense , constantly driving into a forest of large trees .
Guillermo is absolutely better. Fede was better. I think Kante may be better.

Capel clearly doesn’t agree. I believe Capel is wrong, and Capel’s incorrect evaluation will continue to cost this team winnable basketball games.
Fede sucked last year , why do you think he left ?

I guess the coaching staff who sees these players everyday doesn’t have your evaluation skills !
Isn't the point that we should have gotten involved with a big(s) who were better?

I remember seeing Capel talk about how good he was at seeing things others didn't see with players - how they were being used versus how he could use them. Well, swing and a miss.
This is Pitt not Duke or schools with NIL funds that can outbid you .

Pitt had a small window of excellence and then sabotaged the program because they weren’t satisfied with making the tournament every year . Expecting Pitt to be a top program every year in this era of pay for play is lunacy .
 
Last year you a guy who would take and make ridiculous 3’s and a freshman who’s now playing well in the NBA .

Both Lowe and Ish are forcing their offense , constantly driving into a forest of large trees .

Fede sucked last year , why do you think he left ?

I guess the coaching staff who sees these players everyday doesn’t have your evaluation skills !

This is Pitt not Duke or schools with NIL funds that can outbid you .

Pitt had a small window of excellence and then sabotaged the program because they weren’t satisfied with making the tournament every year . Expecting Pitt to be a top program every year in this era of pay for play is lunacy .
This is the same staff who signed John Hugley, and the same staff who tried to build the 2022-23 roster around a concept of “play through John Hugley and surround him with shooters.” That plan resulted in terrible play on the floor until they got a stroke of luck with him getting hurt, they made the switch to Fede and Guillermo, and they suddenly started playing well.

They aren’t infallible. I think they’re better coaches than most Pitt fans do, but they have a serious blind spot when it comes to what they think is important at the 5. We’re seeing the exact same pattern now.
 
Ok. Last year's team was Capel's best in both the eye test and actual resume. It was the strongest bubble, maybe ever.
I agree with this. But there was a reason we didn't make the tourney. The question becomes, who gets the blame for losing to 5 of our first 6 ACC games? Is it on Capel? I think the popular opinion was that you could put blame on the fact that two of our top players being true freshman and needing some time to gel and acclimate to conference basketball, but maybe there is deeper issue somewhere.
 
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This is the same staff who signed John Hugley, and the same staff who tried to build the 2022-23 roster around a concept of “play through John Hugley and surround him with shooters.” That plan resulted in terrible play on the floor until they got a stroke of luck with him getting hurt, they made the switch to Fede and Guillermo, and they suddenly started playing well.

They aren’t infallible. I think they’re better coaches than most Pitt fans do, but they have a serious blind spot when it comes to what they think is important at the 5. We’re seeing the exact same pattern now.
Who you’d like on your team and who you have are two different things . Until Hugley injured his knee he was far and away the best big on the roster . You do the best you can with what you have .

Bringing in and then retaining serious talent will be a challenge for schools like Pitt unless a whale surfaces .
 
Who you’d like on your team and who you have are two different things . Until Hugley injured his knee he was far and away the best big on the roster . You do the best you can with what you have .

Bringing in and then retaining serious talent will be a challenge for schools like Pitt unless a whale surfaces .
Fede and Guillermo were both better than a perfectly healthy John Hugley, and that was proven by the level of play increasing substantially the minute he got hurt. Fede and Guillermo are both better than Cam Corhen.

Are they flawed? Yes, of course. But they contributed to winning play on the floor in a way that Hugley and Corhen never have and never will. They’ve lost games at every single stop.
 
This is Pitt not Duke or schools with NIL funds that can outbid you .

Pitt had a small window of excellence and then sabotaged the program because they weren’t satisfied with making the tournament every year . Expecting Pitt to be a top program every year in this era of pay for play is lunacy .
Isn't it the coaches job to develop a system that can have a chance at success with sub-par talent? The blue bloods aren't the only schools that make it to final fours.
 
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