Capel, Carrington and Hinson on the win over N.C. State

Jeff Capel, Bub Carrington and Blake Hinson met the media after Pitt's win over N.C. State on Saturday night. Here's video and a full rundown of what they said.

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Capel: First and foremost, I’m really, really proud of our guys and our program. I’ll start off by thanking out fans and especially the Oakland Zoo. For them to show up like this today, especially with it being spring break and to have that section full, we all are incredibly grateful for that. And then for the rest of the fans that made this night for Blake, KJ and Will just really, really special - incredibly grateful for that.

Proud of these guys. When we were 1-5, I’m sure there were a lot of questions and a lot of things that people thought or said about us and about our program and about this team specifically. And everyone to a man in our program just put our heads down, kept working, kept believing in each other, and it took us going on the road to figure out how hard we have to play, the level of attention to detail that we need to have, and as crazy as it sounds, I thought the best thing was having to play Duke, as good as they are, having to play them because it required us to go to another level. And we saw that we could do that. Really proud that - even more proud that we responded after that in going to Georgia Tech. Since then, it took us going away to learn how to win here, and we haven’t lost here since. We closed it out today. So, really, really proud.

These two guys were terrific all game long. I thought other guys were really good. Fede made some incredible defensive plays on Burns down the stretch. Zack, a couple of defensive plays. This guy defending that three in the corner without fouling and then stepping up and making some big free throws and plays against the press. So really proud of our team.

Blake, to piggyback off of what Jeff just talked about, last year, the Northwestern win was kind of viewed as that game where it all clicked. Is Duke that game this season? Did it feel like all the pieces came together after that one?

Hinson: I think you could say that. But, I mean, you have to understand with the new layout of college basketball, everybody loves to win, but you have to expect that grace period. You have to have a grace period. Not only is a team getting to know each other, but some teams are just young - just don’t know or just haven’t played together. It happened last year, too. So we got through that and we started tapping into our full potential.

What were the emotions like walking into this building knowing it was your last game?

Hinson: It’s all good, man. I always play like this in my last game here, so it wasn’t too much different.

21-10 last year, 21-10 this year; what do you think makes the difference for the team this year?

Hinson: What makes the difference? I guess there is no difference, right? It’s the same record.

Bub, you guys trailed for the first nine minutes in the first half, a 17-point lead trimmed down to a one-score game in the second half; you guys didn’t really blink in either instance. How do you guys stay calm in those situations where so much is on the line?

Carrington: Really just trusting yourself, trusting your teammates. One thing we always preach in the locker room is just getting off the mat. Teams are always going to throw their punch. That’s N.C. State. That’s a good team. So they’re going to throw their punch. But it’s just about getting off the mat and how you respond to it, and I feel like we definitely responded well.

Question for Bub and Blake: this is the fourth time in the last five games you guys as a team have shot over 50%. What’s leading to that efficiency on offense?

Hinson: You go first, Bub.

Carrington: I feel like moving the ball more. The ball has a lot of energy. I feel like everyone is just happy for each other. Everyone wants to see each other succeed, and I feel like when you have a team and teammates that stick like that, the ball’s going to go in for sure.

Hinson: And our success rate has been up ever since the assist numbers have bumped up, so I really don’t have much to say after that.

Bub, it seems like you’re shooting the three ball really well the last five games. What’s clicking specifically for you?

Carrington: I would say, really, just confidence. I feel like I was in my head a lot when I don’t see one go in, but it’s really just staying confident, knowing who I am, knowing what I can do. So it’s really about stepping up and really just knocking it down.

We were talking about turning points. For you, you have the Wake Forest game where you went 3-of-13. You come out the next week in the Virginia Tech game and you’re out in the first minute of the first half. But since that second half, you’ve been shooting really well, you’re averaging 17 points per game. Was there a turning point for you in that stretch of the Wake and Virginia Tech game?

Carrington: I would say, really - I just got asked a question like this earlier - I would say just the season. I’ve seen a lot this season. I feel like I’ve grown a lot. And I feel like, as the season goes on, seeing different teams, different coverages, I feel like I’m just knowing a lot more, knowing when to pick my spots, knowing when to do certain things. And I feel like when I’m comfortable in that, I can be one of the best players in the country.

Do you feel like a freshman still?

Carrington: For sure. I feel like there’s a lot I don’t know and a lot I can learn.

Blake, do you still view him as a freshman?

Hinson: I don’t treat him like one. I gave him a little grace period, but ever since he got back from Christmas, I don’t treat him like one. And let’s be honest: he doesn’t play like one. So he can think that. But no one else treats him like that. Most freshmen don’t stay on top of the scouting report like he does. So, he’s not.

Did you guys expect them to kind of take away the perimeter in the opening half? Was that in the scouting report?

Hinson: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, of course we knew what type of team it was. Let’s not forget here: N.C. State is a good team. They gave us their best fight and we just outlasted them.

The record is the same, 21-10, going into the ACC Tournament; what about the vibe in the locker room and your confidence? Is that the same as it was at this time last year?

Hinson: Yep. I think we feel good going into this. Yep. Vibe is cool. We’re a vibey team. We have good vibes.

You guys are up three, shot’s missed, Fede gets the offensive rebound and puts it back in. It seemed to spark some energy. How big was that play?

Capel: It was huge. It was huge. I thought we were getting some good looks; the ball just stopped going in and they were making everything.

You give them a lot of credit, man, and I think it speaks volumes to Kevin, his staff and their team. We got up 17 - we came out of halftime and we were really, really ready to play. I told our guys, the whole day has not been normal. It’s just been off and just different. And I thought we played that way the first 20 minutes. I told them at halftime, ‘Things are normal now. When we come out on the court, it’s going to be normal. When I’m speaking to you, it’s the normal time that we’ve had all year.’ I thought the first three and a half minutes, we really played well but I thought we let up. They cut it to nine, then we got it back to 16 and then I thought we let up again. And they started making shots. They had a kid, Pass, that’s made two three’s all season, and he makes a corner three against us. They kept pushing, they kept fighting. I thought Fede’s play was huge, Bub hits a three after that, they’re pressing us, we break the press, we get an and-one dunk. I thought Fede had some unbelievable defensive plays against Burns, Bub not to foul Taylor in the corner on the three and to come up with a rebound - we had some game pressure and guys stepped up and made some plays.

What’s gone into the fact that you guys can score in so many different ways now? It seems like there’s more sense of confidence that you don’t need the deep shot, you don’t need the midrange shot, you guys are finding different ways to get to the basket?

Capel: I think we’ve just gotten better. I think guys have more confidence. We have more understanding of who we are, what our strengths are, of the offense, what we’re trying to do. But I think the main thing is that we’re sharing the basketball. We had 16 assists tonight. I think the last two games we had over 40 if you combine those two games, so I think that’s the main thing.

Are you able to appreciate this program’s growth over the last couple of years? You have a double-bye for the first time in the history of this team being in the ACC. That’s a big deal.

Capel: That’s a big deal. I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful for the guys we have in our program and our staff. I’ve said this: it would have been easy to roll over when we were 1-5 and we’re headed to play Duke and all of those things. But we believed, they believed in us, we believed in each other and we learned how to fight. Sometimes it takes getting your face rubbed in it a little bit for you to understand how hard this is. We have really good guys and they were able to turn this thing around.

What’s the root of that belief?

Capel: Well, we recruited them all, so we believe in them. We believe in who they are and their potential. I see every day - when I say I, it’s me and my staff - how hard these guys work. They’re gym rats. They’re in the gym, they’re working on their game, they’re eager to learn, they want to be good individually and collectively, so we see the work that they put in. They see the work that we put in as a staff with them and trying to make sure we’re prepared in our scouts. They probably get tired of all the things that we go through, but I think they have a better understanding now of how important it is and how important the attention to detail is, especially the young guys. So I think it’s all of that. I think it’s all of that. We have a great spirit in our locker room. The guys get along. They cheer for each other. They want each other to be successful. There’s no jealousy, which is huge. So all of those things have helped. Guys have accepted roles. All of those things have helped us.

Is there a sense of what you guys have to accomplish to make sure that you’re in the Tournament? Is there any talk of, ‘Hey, we have to do X, we have to do Y’?

Capel: All we’ve talked about is, we just have to win. We just have to keep winning. We’ve had a 1-0 mentality. That’s all we talked about for this game. Finish strong, be 1-0 after tonight. We’ll enjoy a couple of days off. Obviously, we won’t know who we’re playing until sometime on Wednesday and then we’ll be prepared for them on Thursday.

We talked about the records being the same last year to this year. Last year, you guys were pretty high up on the bubble, seemed like you were pretty safe in the NCAA Tournament. This year, that’s not the case. Why do you think that is?

Capel: I have no idea. If you look, our numbers are better this year than they were last year. If you look at the - what someone told me on my staff; I never look at them. But from what they told me, we’re higher in the NET and KenPom and things like that. So I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t worry about it. I really and truly don’t. Because I can’t control it. So I try not to give it much thought.

You mentioned on your radio show the other night that the back-to-back 20-win seasons were huge because you heard some chatter after last season of, ‘Can they do it again?’ Last year, you won with older guys; this year, you’re winning with the younger guards. How much does that mean to you personally and do you feel like you’ve proven something by having another 20-win season and winning in a different manner?

Capel: I personally felt like I didn’t have anything to prove. I mean, I know I’m a good coach. And I’m not saying that in an arrogant way, but I believe in me and us and the things that we’re trying to do. Having back-to-back 20 wins is great. It’s awesome. I’m proud of it for our guys and for them to learn how to fight. Our job as coaches is to teach, and for us to be able to help these guys learn how to fight, how tow work, how to persevere, how to push through, how to believe; those are things that, if they take them, those will help them in life for the rest of their life. I think there’s so many lessons you can learn through being a part of a team. I’ve been a part of a team my whole life, from being my dad’s ball boy when he was a high school coach; being a ball boy at Wake Forest for a couple years until I got too cool and didn’t want to do it; having my own teams in high school and college, being a part of it; and I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some great teams as a coach. And I have my family. That’s my team. So I’ve been a part of some really, really great teams, and team is sacred to me. It always has been. As long as I have the privilege and the honor of leading a team, I’m going to try to teach the lessons that my high school coach, my college coach and my dad taught me.

Will has two years of eligibility but walked tonight. What went into that decision?

Capel: Well, Will will walk during graduation in April. I know it’s been stuff out there - he has not informed me or us as a staff that he isn’t planning to come back. Obviously, with the nature of college athletics now, you never know what your roster is going to be when the season’s over with. We’re grateful for him and he’s a big part of our team and the success that we’ve had this year.

Looking forward to the future, you had Brandin there tonight. Did it make you feel proud to be able to get a win to show him how the culture is?

Capel: Yeah, Beebuh’s here just about every game, so we’re always grateful that he’s here. Just like last year, he was here at every game. So he understands the culture. I think it’s one of the reasons he wanted to be a part of it. His brother helped change the culture, along with those guys last year. These guys have continued to build that.

And look, man, we can’t say enough about Blake, I mean, what he has meant to this program and specifically for me. To have a guy like that that believes and that, you know…

He gives the message to our team every day in practice. Normally it would be, in the past, we huddle up and they’d stretch and we’d huddle and I’d come down there and say something to try to motivate. I was getting ready to do it the first practice this year and he did it. And I thought, ‘Wow, what he said was pretty dang gone good.’ He did it again the next day. I just got close and listened. And I was like, ‘Man, that’s way better than what I was planning to say.’ I just let him do it. He’s done it, these guys believe in him, and what he has meant for this program, for me, for our coaching staff - when you have a guy that believes that like that, our paths crossed for a reason.

When I took this job six years ago, he was a guy that, his name came across our desk. I don’t think I ever talked to him. I watched him on tape, and I don’t know why we didn’t go after him. It was stupid. I think in year four when we were here, he was available at semester and I know that my brother talked to his dad, but we didn’t pull the trigger. I don’t know why. I was thinking about so much other stuff at that time. But when that season was over with and we tried to start building that team, fortunately he was still available, and again, our paths crossed for a reason. We needed him. He needed us. And it’s been an unbelievable journey that we’ve been on together. And grateful that we still have more to do.

The importance of the role, of having someone like him, not only what he brings but also carrying over the leadership factor from last year’s team to this year’s team - how important is that to have a tone-setter like that?

Capel: It’s huge. It’s huge. But I think, even more important - like, he was a part of winning last year. He was a part of winning before he got here. So he knows what it looks like.

I think the biggest thing, though, and the biggest example that Blake has given to every kid in this program and even us as a staff: you want people that are grateful. You want people that appreciate being here. And for as long as I’m the coach here, I’m going to fight to have that, to get guys that appreciate. No one’s bigger than the program, whether it’s me, whether it’s whoever the best player is, whether it’s Charles Smith, Dejuan Blair, Jamie, no one’s bigger than the program. And he has been so grateful and appreciative to the city, the Zoo, the fans, us as a staff, the University, everybody, and it’s been really, really awesome to be around every day.

On Fede, have you seen consistent progress from him lately? I think he scored eight, seven and now eight and nine again?

Capel: Yeah, it’s that, but it’s more so the rebound, the defense, all of those things, the energy that he plays with. I think he’s doing a really good job for us.