Pitt overhaul under Capel will take time
its intentions with Hurley, must have been convincing.
Thereis much to like about Capel. He comes with the blessing of Mike Krzyzewski, his coach when he played at Duke from 1993-97 and his boss there as an assistantcoach the past seven seasons.He has head coaching experience at Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma, taking VCU to the NCAA tournament in his second season in 2004 and Oklahoma tothe Round of 8 in the 2009 tournament.He is regarded as a terrific recruiter, significantly responsible for bringing in Duke’s current players Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Grayson Allen and Trevon Duval, who, according to nba draft. net’s mock draft, will be the 2nd, 7th, 16th, 24th and 25th picks in the June draft.He knows the ACC inside and out. He is considered youngin coaching, just 43, which immediately gives himan advantage with Pitt’s fan base that Stallings didn’t have.
Ofcourse, there are no guarantees.
Krzyzewski assistants haven’t automatically gone on to great success. They have been better in head jobs than Bill Belichick’s assistants, but that isn’t necessarily saying much. Mike Brey at Notre Dame probably has been most successful of the Coach K bunch.
Capel’s time at Oklahoma didn’t end well. He was fired after the 2010-11 season after a secondconsecutive losing season.His team’s 13 wins in 2009-10were vacated by the NCAA after one of his assistant coaches was tied to impermissible extra benefits for oneof his players. Capel wasn’t implicated in the violations.His baggage might notbe as heavy as Miller’s potential baggage, but it is baggage nonetheless.
It is a lot easier to recruit at Duke than it is at Pitt, the attraction of playing for the kingof coaching, Krzyzewski, the primary reason. I wantto believe Capel will be able to bring the next Bagley III or Carter Jr. or other one and-done-caliber players to Pitt, but I have my doubts of that happening any time soon even though Capel will beable to sell his Duke pedigree and the opportunity to play for a coach who knows whatit takes to win, a man whoplayed in the national championship in 1994 and wonthe title as an assistant in 2015.
What?
You expected Pitt to get the perfect coach?
Like Pitt, I would have preferred Hurley. But that doesn’t mean Capel can’t rebuild the program. I believe hehas a greater chance for success than failure. But it’s going to take time. Capel’s Pitt teams the next couple of seasons aren’t going to remind him of his Duke teams. He knows that. He knows what he is getting into with the job. He took it anyway, whichis encouraging.
Basedon social media, reaction to Capel’s hiring from Pitt fans and alums is largely positive. Shame on people if theydon’t give him more of a chance than they did Stallings who, from day one, was considered too old at 55 and toomuch of a retread from Vanderbilt. I’m certain they will. Capel has one other thing going for him that Stallings didn’t: He’s replacing an unpopular,0-19 coach, not the winningest coach in Pitt history.
The only way for the program to go is up.
Like Pitt, I would have preferred Hurley. But that doesn’t mean Capel can’t rebuild the program. I believe he has a greater chance for success than failure.