OT: Pitt hires Jeff Capel

[TRest]

I’m not too sold. It’s tough to say how good of a recruiter you are when you’re recruiting for Duke. Maybe he’s learned a lot from Coach K, but it’s hard to quantify. Big leap of faith by Pitt, but their options were limited.

A lot of Cal's great recruiters stumbled when they went out on their own. UK and Duke sell themselves, and pay for the rest.

 

[kobe]

When he was at VCU they were in the Colonial League and he did win 2 championships and had them in the tourney twice in 4 years WPCT= .658 I would consider that above mediocre but still agree it's not a really good hire for Pitt

Unless I'm looking at the wrong thing, it looks like his finishes in the CAA were:
T-2nd
1st (NCAA's)
T-2nd (NIT)
5th

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Wonder if any of those top 3 players he "recruited" will decommit from Duke now (including Reddish!)? Probably not I'm assuming since they'll still get their money to go there.

 

[RoderickSpode]

A lot of Cal's great recruiters stumbled when they went out on their own. UK and Duke sell themselves, and pay for the rest.

Yup, those two brands are self-sustaining at this point. I imagine my toddler would be a successful recruiter at Duke or Kentucky.

 

[uconnphil2016]

I'm confused--I know next to nothing about this guy, but based on his record he looks like an awful hire. Didn't do anything spectacular at VCU, and looks to have run OU into the ground. What's the draw?

 

[UConnJim]

I think this is a solid hire for Pitt. The goal with Pitt basketball right now is to stabilize and slowly rebuild the program as it is currently in shambles. Capel is not going to make Pitt into one of the Top 5 programs in the ACC, but he can bring them into the middle of the ACC. If he overachieves, that's great. If he is mediocre or bad, the next guy will have a foundation to build on. This reminds me of the hire of Jim Christian at BC.

 

[tcf15]

I'm confused--I know next to nothing about this guy, but based on his record he looks like an awful hire. Didn't do anything spectacular at VCU, and looks to have run OU into the ground. What's the draw?

Basically the fact that he's the #2 guy at Duke and played a big role in recruiting the guys that have given Duke the #1 recruiting class in four of the last five years.

 

[imno1]

Have they announced the money. Did he get the same offer as Hurley was reported to have gotten

 

[polycom]

An elite recruiter and the ultimate bag man, PITT will have talent the question will be can he coach.

 

[jibsey]

Basically the fact that he's the #2 guy at Duke and played a big role in recruiting the guys that have given Duke the #1 recruiting class in four of the last five years.

Good luck getting those players at Pitt.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I wonder what the Pitt tax will be for the top players. He won’t be getting top 3 recruits for the same price he got them to go to duke.

 

[UConnRock]

Have they announced the money. Did he get the same offer as Hurley was reported to have gotten

I too am curious whether Pitt had to back up the dump truck full of $$ to pry Capel away from Duke. How much was Capel able to get out of them to avoid the embarrassment of a prolonged coaching search or settling for an unproven coach. He certainly has an incredibly high level of job security given the Stallings debacle and the mass exodus of players. Capel will have years build the team back up to respectability.

 

[intlzncster]

Basically the fact that he's the #2 guy at Duke and played a big role in recruiting the guys that have given Duke the #1 recruiting class in four of the last five years.

As I said on another thread, what Pitt needed is a fall guy. Some body to come in and start building the ship. The old one sunk and isn't salvageable.

Capel's fine for this purpose. If in 4-5 yes, he works out, then great. Otherwise bring in somebody else to take you to the next level.

 

[billybud]

I think that Capel will be as decent as they could get...He knows the ACC...knows basketball and has been K's right hand man.

But...with Pitt's luck, he'll have brought them back some, then Coach K retires and Duke calls.

 

[TopDogs]

 

[intlzncster]

It's not lost of me that Capel is a big part of Duke's 1 and done culture ($$$).

Number of 1 and done's at Duke:

1980-2010: 2
2011-2018: 12
2019: projected 3 more

Jeff Capel was hired back in 2011. Coincidence? Perhaps. But the magnitude of difference meshing with exact time frame is striking.

 

[polycom]

It's not lost of me that Capel is a big part of Duke's one and done culture ($$$).

Number of 1 and done's as Duke:

1980-2010: 2
2011-2018: 12
2019: projected 3 more

Jeff Capel was hired back in 2011. Coincidence? Perhaps. But the magnitude of difference meshing with exact time frame is striking.

It's 100% because of Capel he is the bagman.

 

[WrenchFan69]

It's not lost of me that Capel is a big part of Duke's one and done culture ($$$).

Number of 1 and done's as Duke:

1980-2010: 2
2011-2018: 12
2019: projected 3 more

Jeff Capel was hired back in 2011. Coincidence? Perhaps. But the magnitude of difference meshing with exact time frame is striking.

Every great recruiting school needs a great bag man

 

[UConnJim]

Here is an interesting fact. Duke has signed 29 players in the last 6 classes and only two, Duval (DE, but IMG in FL) and Reddish (PA) are from the Northeast. It doesn't appear that Capel has spent a lot of time recruiting the Northeast, which I think is important for Pitt to turnaround.

Here are where the 29 recruits came from:

Florida - 4 (including Duval), Georgia - 4, Texas - 3, California - 2, Illinois - 2, Minnesota - 2, Nevada - 2, Virginia - 2, Australia - 1, Kansas - 1, Missouri - 1, North Carolina - 1, Ohio - 1, Pennsylvania - 1, South Carolina - 1, Utah - 1.

 

[boog204]

Interesting hire. While he's not a particularly good coach, he does have a name that will fool the masses into thinking he can. Given the absolute decimation that is Pitt basketball, he's actually a bigger hire than I thought they could attract. I think he'll recruit enough to make them competitive again before flaming out and going back to Duke.

 

[storrsroars]

My wife the double Pitt grad is happy. Which means I don't have to hear her bitching about this. So I'm good with it.

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

I don’t get the logic of this, outside of the obvious (tie yourself to the Duke aura and ride the coattails)

They stayed away from Miller due to fears regarding what might come down the pike with the FBI, yet they hitch their wagon to the lead recruiter behind one of the two big One and Done Factories when any school that’s reeled in a 5-star talent recently is under a microscope? This just looks like a desperate attempt to use Capel’s name and ties to Duke/Coach K to mask what a mess the program is.

Paul Zeise even went as far as to say “Capel is better fit for Pitt than Hurley would’ve been” which is exactly the flawed logic that you use when your first 5 choices for a prom date shoot you down and suddenly anyone who shows interest looks awfully good.

 

[storrsroars]

I don’t get the logic of this, outside of the obvious (tie yourself to the Duke aura and ride the coattails)

They stayed away from Miller due to fears regarding what might come down the pike with the FBI, yet they hitch their wagon to the lead recruiter behind one of the two big One and Done Factories when any school that’s reeled in a 5-star talent recently is under a microscope? This just looks like a desperate attempt to use Capel’s name and ties to Duke/Coach K to mask what a mess the program is.

Paul Zeise even went as far as to say “Capel is better fit for Pitt than Hurley would’ve been” which is exactly the flawed logic that you use when your first 5 choices for a prom date shoot you down and suddenly anyone who shows interest looks awfully good.

Love the avatar. If only there could be a winner in there someday...

 

[tzznandrew]

They struck out on all the young up-and-comers they went after, so this is just a hire to steady the ship for a year or two until they can try again for a hot young coach.

Yet somehow he's only 43, younger than Hurley!

 

[Storrs South]

I don’t get the logic of this, outside of the obvious (tie yourself to the Duke aura and ride the coattails)

They stayed away from Miller due to fears regarding what might come down the pike with the FBI, yet they hitch their wagon to the lead recruiter behind one of the two big One and Done Factories when any school that’s reeled in a 5-star talent recently is under a microscope? This just looks like a desperate attempt to use Capel’s name and ties to Duke/Coach K to mask what a mess the program is.

Paul Zeise even went as far as to say “Capel is better fit for Pitt than Hurley would’ve been” which is exactly the flawed logic that you use when your first 5 choices for a prom date shoot you down and suddenly anyone who shows interest looks awfully good.

Speak of the devil