Just curious in regards to Jeff Capel

[Maverick008]

Earlier in the year right about the time Pittsburgh was 15-9 and 6-7 in the ACC, some posters made comments that they felt Jeff Capel was doing a great job with the program given the season they were having.

Fast forward that to today and they are currently on a 7 game losing streak and now 15-16 overall and 6-14 (tied for last) in the conference.

The question was asked after OU finished 19-12 and 3rd overall (tied with 3 other teams) in the conference if Lon was still failing to meet expectations for this season and beyond. MANY posters still commented that they would like to see a change soon as early as the end of this season no matter the outcome.

So my question is, how do you feel about Capel at this point for Pittsburgh? At 15-16 with the 83rd ranked SOS (on the site I looked up) and tied for last in the conference is he still doing a good job? They went 14-19 last year and 3-15 (tied for last) in the conference and “improved” to 15-16 (currently) and winning 6 games in conference (still tied for last). Is this improvement? Should he be on the hot seat going into next season? What should the expectations be next year?

I’m just curious what some of you guys think based on what some of your expectations are for Lon and OU year in and year out from what I have read (top 3-4 conf record each year, NCAA bid each year and sounds like most of you expect a 6 seed or better each year).

Thoughts??

 

[WTSooner]

He should absolutely be on the hot seat, or approaching it. That said, I'd probably want to know a tiny bit more about the program before saying that for sure. Did he just land a monster recruiting class for next year? Top two players miss a bunch of time with injury this year?

With Capel, it's mostly recruiting, b/c I don't think much of him as a coach. So if he isn't recruiting pretty good talent, he'll continue to struggle.

 

[WTSooner]

He should absolutely be on the hot seat, or approaching it. That said, I'd probably want to know a tiny bit more about the program before saying that for sure. Did he just land a monster recruiting class for next year? Top two players miss a bunch of time with injury this year?

With Capel, it's mostly recruiting, b/c I don't think much of him as a coach. So if he isn't recruiting pretty good talent, he'll continue to struggle.

Just realized this is only his second season. Thought it was his third. That probably gives him another year or two minimum. Which is how it should be. But my recruiting point stands.

 

[Maverick008]

He should absolutely be on the hot seat, or approaching it. That said, I'd probably want to know a tiny bit more about the program before saying that for sure. Did he just land a monster recruiting class for next year? Top two players miss a bunch of time with injury this year?

With Capel, it's mostly recruiting, b/c I don't think much of him as a coach. So if he isn't recruiting pretty good talent, he'll continue to struggle.

When he got to Pittsburgh they were garbage. Didn’t have a conf win the year before i don’t think. But by most accounts the ACC is down this year and they were still tied for last with 6 wins.

In regards to recruiting, they finished last year with the 40th best class per rivals with 3 3 stars and a 2 star. They are currently 40th with 1 4 star and 2 3 stars for this years class.

Obviously guys can out play their recruiting ranking but as of now, he has only brought in 1 4 star player in the time he has been on campus and that’s for next year’s class.

 

[Maverick008]

Just realized this is only his second season. Thought it was his third. That probably gives him another year or two minimum. Which is how it should be. But my recruiting point stands.

I don’t disagree that he should get another year for sure if not two but should that 2nd year be guaranteed at this point? Time and time again I’ve read on here that it’s ESSENTIAL that the team be playing better by the end of the season to most. Going into the ACC tourney on a 7 game losing streaking including losses to a lot of teams in the middle to lower end of the ACC doesn’t scream improvement to me. Obviously a quick start next season is important but if they then fold near the end again and win like 15 or even 16 or 17 next year, is that enough improvement for another season?

Also I don’t disagree about the recruiting side of things. He should be allowed to get his own guys in there but if they aren’t showing improvement (3-5 more wins next year overall, and out of the cellar of the conference) than i’m not sure that’s good enough in my book.

 

[MJSooner]

Sounds like Capel is doing Capel things. This story seems familiar.

He took over a program that was in the dumps. Capel is no doubt a good recruiter and he can build good relationships with kids. I fully expected him to turn things around a bit and have some level of success.

However, Capel is not a good leader, not a great in-game coach, and comes across very cold or non-caring to donors, boosters, and supporters of the program. I don't think he is a jerk that doesn't care, but he can come across that way. After a couple of years, you start to see this come across in the program and in the team's performance and record.

Basically a really good possibly great recruiter but can't lead effectively and doesn't have a track record of building relationships. The opposite of our coach.

 

[mict085]

Ending the season On a 7 game losing streak? That’s sounds like capel.

 

[vbdad]

He was always just a name because he played at Duke. He did a respectable job at VCU but it was no better than the coaches prior to him or after. Joe C. played him up as the next big thing. It was never the case. He did get Blake and we had a great year. The rest of his big recruits were complete thugs that all the big boys had quit offering.

 

[cowboysooner]

My opinion of Jeff is the opposite of most of you. I liked him as a coach, but thought he sucked at recruiting. Was overconfident that he could mold and change thugs and head cases, and then also spent way to much of his time and effort going after kids he wasn't and couldn't get and then didn't have a plan B. He gave belated scholarships to kids that couldn't start at a 6A high school much less play high D-1.

Other than recruiting, I liked Jeff and, if he had been willing to change and evolve in recruiting, I think he would have been a good coach. Didn't know him, but he seemed like a good dude and seemed to have come from a good family.

 

[hoopsaustin]

Meh. He sucked. Got us blake for which i will always be thankful but also completely sucked ass at everything else imo. He will be an assistant again soon i bet

 

[coolm]

Capel doesnt have a lot of depth and what he does have is only so-so. He can put on a little show for awhile to impress the crowd and newbs, but soon enough you find that's about as far as it goes. I personally think he has a hard time truly understanding people who have been through hardship. He had it too easy and his message doesn't ring as genuine to those who didnt. He's an OK coach but nothing great. He was like Joey Meyer compared to Ray Meyer and Ray was Capel's poppa. Thats just the aura I got from him so all of you who will rush in and tell me how much different the Capels were from the Meyers - spare me. I just felt the same end result. meh.

 

[MJSooner]

Capel doesnt have a lot of depth and what he does have is only so-so. He can put on a little show for awhile to impress the crowd and newbs, but soon enough you find that's about as far as it goes. I personally think he has a hard time truly understanding people who have been through hardship. He had it too easy and his message doesn't ring as genuine to those who didnt. He's an OK coach but nothing great. He was like Joey Meyer compared to Ray Meyer and Ray was Capel's poppa. Thats just the aura I got from him so all of you who will rush in and tell me how much different the Capels were from the Meyers - spare me. I just felt the same end result. meh.

Cool, great way to describe it and similar to what I said about him earlier in the thread. He is very much, meh.

I remember when he was here, my son and I were at a donor and Tip In Club dinner. My son was in his early teens. I went up to him and started talking to him and told him we were thinking about going to his basketball camp. During the conversation, he couldn't really engage with me, looking around, and finally just said, "yeah you should, call the basketball office" and walked off.

Contrast that with Billy or Lon and they are engaging, personable, will shake your hand, and actually pays attention to you during a conversation. Heck, Billy acts like he is your best friend.

Capel's apathy and lack of passion on everything he does wears on people and ulitmately produces poor results. He has gotten by all this time on his name and Duke.

 

[vbdad]

A funny non basketball story about Capel. My dad was behind him at the Wright’s IGA self checkout. Capel was struggling to make it work so my old man says “I guess a Duke education isn’t so good after all”. Capel was dumbfounded and never spoke. My dad just smiled and chuckled to himself.

 

[Eielson]

Hot seat in year 2?

No.

 

[coolm]

I remember when he was here, my son and I were at a donor and Tip In Club dinner. My son was in his early teens. I went up to him and started talking to him and told him we were thinking about going to his basketball camp. During the conversation, he couldn't really engage with me, looking around, and finally just said, "yeah you should, call the basketball office" and walked off.

yeah that doesnt surprise me. I got a better vibe from even Kelvin than I did Capel and Kelvin could be a real jerk. Lon's always been a gentleman and Billy was like Barry with an evil streak.

 

[NY Soonerfan]

I will preface this by saying I simply cannot stand Jeff Capel...with that being said, he's done a remarkable job to have this team at .500 (after their win today) while playing in the ACC in his second year. They were arguably the worst power-5 program there was when he took over just two years ago. Whether he can cross the next bridge and get them to be a tourney caliber remains to be seen, but even in my complete disdain for the guy, he's far exceeded expectations in just two years. I have to give him that.

 

[WaymanFan]

Coach Capel appears to be a couple games shy of where most reasonable Pitt fans would expect this year. He took over a program that went 0-18 in conference and 8-24 overall. They were 3-15, 14-19 his first year - modest progress. They aren't that far removed from the Jamie Dixon days, and those who remember the 1980s remember how competitive they were under Paul Evans. In other words, they have won games before.

I would have thought an NIT bid would have been the goal for Year 2, so I believe they better get at least that in Year 3 - or he will be on the hot seat.

How successful he is at Pitt will be determined by how much he learned from his mistakes at OU. He needs to have a PLAN, not try to get 5-star players and settle for 2-star players if he strikes out...and he needs to engage with the fans.

As for his coaching, I guess my opinion of him is higher than most in spite of 2010 being the worst coaching job in the history of the program. I like the fact that he won in Stillwater with Blake Griffin in street clothes (and his memorable quote that followed), won all 7 of the OT games he coached at OU, led us to our 1st first-round NCAA victory in more than 20 years in what is considered a toss-up game (6-11, 7-10, 8-9 seed matchups), and personally gave me some sweet revenge against all those annoying Syracuse fans I had to deal with at the 2003 Elite Eight in Albany. In other words, anyone who is open-minded can easily conclude he had some on-the-court success...as painful as that is for some to admit.

 

[red recluse]

manning should be on the hot seat at wake. hope it burns.

 

[Eielson]

manning should be on the hot seat at wake. hope it burns.

The thought of him having a head coaching gig next season blows my mind.

 

[Sooner04]

Capel has done fine at Pitt and the fans up there seem to really like him. The hiring of Kevin Stallings might be the worst power-5 move I can recall. He torpedoed that program faster than anybody thought possible.