Pitt hires Duke’s Capel to rebuild program Sailor lost at sea in Volvo Ocean Race
Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh is turning to Duke's Jeff Capel to rebuild its reeling basketball program.
The Panthers hired the former Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma coach and longtime Duke assistant on Tuesday, tasking him with returning Pitt to prominence following two tough years under Kevin Stallings.
Athletic director Heather Lyke called Capel a "high-energy leader." Capel will need it, taking over a team that finished 8-24 and 0-18 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Pitt's search included interviews with Thad Matta and Tom Crean and overtures to Danny Hurley, who opted instead to become the head coach at Connecticut. Ultimately, the Panthers brought in the 43-year-old Capel, who spent the last seven seasons in the seat next to Mike Krzyzewski while developing a reputation as one of the top recruiters in the nation.
"Jeff Capel is one of the most dynamic coaches in the country," Krzyzewski said. "He possesses championship-level experience as both a head and assistant coach, as well as distinct knowledge of the Atlantic Coast Conference that will benefit Pitt immediately." There's nowhere to go but up. The Panthers were the only team in Division I to go winless in conference play and at times, Pitt and its freshmen-laden roster lost eight ACC games by more than 20 points. Attendance at the once raucous Petersen Events Center when the team was coached by Jamie Dixon dropped dramatically as enthusiasm for Stallings waned. Pitt averaged just over 4,100 for home games this season, easily the lowest in the conference and a 50 percent drop from 2016-17.
"Pitt has a great tradition of success and I look forward to putting together a staff and team that will enable us to build on that tradition," Capel said in a statement.
Capel went 175-110 in nine years at Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma before returning to his alma mater to become Krzyzewski's right-hand man. The former Duke guard was viewed as an obvious candidate to replace the 71-year-old Krzyzewski once the winningest coach in men's Division I history finally hangs up his clip board.
San Diego — A sailor in the Volvo Ocean Race is presumed lost at sea after going overboard in the harsh, remote Southern Ocean some 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn.
John Fisher, a native of Britain who lived in Adelaide, Australia, went overboard from Team Sun Hung Kai/ Scallywag's 65-foot sloop in rough conditions Monday.
Officials of the roundthe-world race say the team searched for several hours in high wind and big waves before deteriorating conditions forced it to resume course toward South America.
The rest of the fleet was more than 200 miles away, and the nearest ship that could be located was more than a day away.
Given the cold water and fierce conditions, "We must now presume that John has been lost at sea," race president Richard Brisius said in a statement Tuesday that came nearly 24 hours after Fisher went overboard.
"This is heartbreaking for all of us," Brisius said. "As sailors and race organizers, losing a crew member at sea is a tragedy we don't ever want to contemplate. We are devastated and our thoughts are with John's family, friends and teammates."
Race officials said the 47-year-old sailor was on watch and wearing appropriate survival gear when he went overboard. No further details were provided.
Fisher was an experienced big boat sailor who was sailing in his first Volvo Ocean Race, the team's website said.
He was a veteran of the Sydney-Hobart, one of the toughest offshore races.