Capel on the exhibition win and more

After Pitt beat UPJ in exhibition play Thursday night, Jeff Capel talked about what he saw from his team and more. Here’s a full rundown of what he said.

Capel: Well, first of all, it felt good to play against someone under the lights, to be able to be on our home court and to have a real live game situation with people here and to see how our guys react to that. It was a great learning experience for us. I thought we did some really good things throughout the game. I thought, at times, our defense was very good. I thought when we talked and we communicated with each other, I thought it was good. We have to continue to work to get better there.

I thought that led to us, at times, being good on the offensive end. We had some really unselfish plays and it was good to see that. We have to be able to sustain it for 40 minutes. I thought there were nerves from our guys early, and it’s one of the reasons we started picking up full-court, just to kind of change the pace of the game and I thought that helped us.

But overall, a really good experience for us, another good practice game for us, and now we have to start getting prepared for when they really count.

What do you hope to see from your team in games like this?
Capel: Especially in a game like this when the lights are on, how do people respond to that? We had a lot of guys where this was their first game in a Pitt uniform, and so, how do they react to that? Even for our returning guys, this is their first time with me. And I think there’s a little bit of excitement about our program right now, so how do we react to that? Are we able to execute? Are we able to defend? Are we able to talk? Are we together? Are we trying to do things together? Do the lights cause you to get selfish? You know, the people in the stands cause you to do that. It’s all these different things, as a coach, that you’re looking for to see, and so, having a scrimmage is really good, but then having a game like this is also really good because it gives you a chance to see it in that environment before you get to that environment when it becomes real.

It’s almost kind of a dress rehearsal for you, too, in some ways; how much does that help you for Tuesday?
Capel: It helps us a lot. It gives us as a coaching staff information. We have information to take back to our team and stuff that we need to do to get better. Now, we know - again, no disrespect to Pitt-Johnstown, their coach is great, he does a really good job, their kids played really hard; as we got up by a lot, they kept competing, they kept fighting - but we know the competition will become greater. We understand that. So we’re trying to build - we’re trying to develop and build good habits, and it’s good to see us in this type of environment, because again, we did some really good things out there and we have to build off of those things as we go forward.

What did you see from your freshmen that you liked?
Capel: I thought Xavier was good early. I thought he was good throughout, I should say. I thought our offense sputtered a little bit when he went out. He was cramping and didn’t want to put him back in there in the second half. I thought Trey early was a little bit - you could see the nerves a little bit. I thought he settled in in the second half and made some good plays. I thought Au’Diese - you know, he does what he always does. He kind of does a little bit of everything. He offensive rebounds, he plays defense, he has energy, he made a great steal and got to the basket. I thought it was really good minutes from him, being that he really hadn’t practiced that much because he had been out with a concussion. I think he had one day of contact, and that was yesterday.

And then Sidy, he’s been out for awhile also, so we had two guys that really hadn’t practiced that much that got really good minutes, good experience, and that’s good for us going forward.

You mentioned the other day that Malik is a high-energy guy; he seemed to be jumping up and down even at the stoppage in play.
Capel: Yeah, we need all of our guys to be high-energy guys. He’s a natural high-energy guy. He has that quick twitch, you know, he’s a really good athlete, he can be a versatile defender, he can be versatile for us on the offensive end but we need his competitive spirit all the time.

It seemed like you were sitting back for awhile, letting your assistants do the coaching; how reflective is that of your style or is that just giving them a chance to get some experience?
Capel: That wasn’t anything by plan; it just happened. I mean, we all are coaches and those guys are really good and I want them to - if they see something or feel something, they have the freedom to coach. I want those guys doing that.

One of the theories of a four-guard offense is that you’re going to be quicker on offense and have more agility. How did you feel like the players you have in those spots, especially at the three and four, can use their skill sets to get to the rim and make it not a team where you’re passing the ball around the perimeter?
Capel: We have to have great spacing and we have to have movement. You can’t be stagnant. The ball has to be moving and we need to be attacking. Again, I thought at times we did that today; that’s something we have to continue to work and get better with.

Shamiel played two minutes tonight; is he injured or sick -
Capel: No. No. he just played two minutes.

What do you guys as coaches need to see from him?
Capel: Well, we need anyone that - we need everyone on our team, and it’s not just for Shamiel, to play with energy every day, to compete every day and to come to work at a high level every day. It’s never about one person. I’m never going to single out or talk just about one person. Shamiel’s a good player, he’s a talented player and we need him to be a good player for us.

Is that what you want to be the signature of this team, the high energy on both ends -
Capel: Toughness, together, fighting every possession, competing every possession and incredibly together throughout the whole game.

The warmup shirts, did you feel it was important to offer a show of support?
Capel: Yeah, we did. We came up with the idea Monday - Sunday, we started talking about it and then Monday we came up with the idea and went through the proper channels to get it approved. It’s our way of letting the families and the victims know that we’re thinking about them, they’re in our thoughts and just any show of support that we can give to the families, to the victims, to the friends and to the community - this was our way of showing that we’re connected with them.

You said it might be a fluid situation with your starting lineup, but how did you like these five?
Capel: I thought after we settled into the game a little bit - I thought we started out slow and maybe a little bit of that is on me. Maybe we should have picked up right away to get after it. But I thought they did some good things once we settled in. But again, that may be different as we get to Tuesday. Saturday, Sunday and Monday will determine that, what guys do in practice. I want guys to know - I don’t want guys to become complacent. There should always be competition and I want guys always feeling like they have an opportunity by what they do in practice. Practice will determine who plays, and if you practice your butt off and you compete and you beat someone out, then there you go. But you have to do it every day. It’s not anything etched in stone.

Sidy had six assists; does that jive with what you’ve been seeing in practice?
Capel: He hadn’t been able to practice much, so that’s why it was good to see that from him. He is a guy that, when he has been healthy to practice, he’s done that. The offense has run a little bit smoother. He’s a naturally unselfish guy. He’s a guy that contributes in a lot of ways to helping you win, and I think that’s evident by his contributions at his previous school. So, again, it was good to see that from him. I thought he got a little tired because he hadn’t been able to practice as much. But it was really good for him to get those minutes.

I know you’ve coached in this building before as an assistant coach; what was it like for you as a head coach on the other side of the scorer’s table, get a feel for it before Tuesday’s game?
Capel: It was great. I was excited, I was nervous, I was anxious, all of those things headed into this game. Once it got going, you lose yourself into the game. But it was great. I’m incredibly appreciative of our students, the Oakland Zoo being here and you could hear them and we need them. We need them in the fight with us. So it was really good to be out there as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh and to watch our team compete for 40 minutes.