Capel on the fine wine of Pitt hoops and more

Jeff Capel covered a lot of ground during his Monday press briefing. Here's the full rundown of what he said.

This morning you were talking about Leaky Black and you said he’s an ultimate glue guy for Carolina. That made me curious: who would you say that about on your team? Is Jamarius the obvious answer there? Who’s a glue guy for you guys?
Capel: I don't know. That’s a good question. “Glue guys” is a compliment; some people may not take it that way, but it is. It probably is JB. He can just do a lot of different things, fill a lot of different roles for us and does them all at a pretty high level.

Earlier, I asked Hubert Davis about the parity of the ACC. There’s nine teams in your league right now that are over. 500 against each other. There’s 10 teams that are over .500 overall. What does that say about the compete level of the teams in this league?
Capel: Well, I’ve said it over and over: I think our league is really good. I think it has been really good. I think there are really good players, good coaches, really great pride and tradition in every program, and it makes for great competition. Night in and night out, there are no gimme games. There are no easy games. It’s just a very, very good, competitive league from top to bottom.

Jamarius was saying he wanted to leave Pitt better than what he found it. How does he do that - maybe stuff that we don’t see - we see what’s on the court, but we don’t see the other stuff.
Capel: Yeah, it’s a lot. He’s done a lot. Obviously, his play, especially this year, has been at a very high level. But I thought from the time that he got here that he has big-time leadership qualities, and I think you see that even more this year. I think he tried last year, but it didn’t work and I think he stopped trying. I think this year he’s done at a very, very high level - in practice, in the locker room, off the court, just doing stuff with guys, helping guys. I see it in relationships, especially with the younger guys. I see how they look at him. So he’s been big-time with it.

Jamarius talked about being excited to play one more game at the Dean Dome, somewhere where he had a state championship in high school and everything. Over your time in basketball, have you noticed that guys are really able to step up their play when they get to play back home where they grew up?
Capel: Yeah, I mean, it’s always great to go back home. It’s always great and exciting to play a storied program. I mean, that court is - there’ve been some really good players that played on that court, so when you go in there, there’s always excitement about that.

When we talked to Jamarius, a comment he made was about trying to set up an environment and a culture here going forward. What have you seen from some of the younger guys who have responded to some of the challenges that the older guys have set? Like, ‘Hey, meet this level and carry forward.’
Capel: Our young guys are incredible, man. They want to learn. They’re incredibly appreciative. They want to be a part of something. Great listeners, workers, no-excuse guys, so it’s really good to have some older guys here that are just like that and that want to help them. They want to see them be successful and they do it how they show up every day and their interactions with them.

Can you give us an anecdote or an example of a moment when you saw one of your younger guys - a moment when you said, ‘Wow, that’s really cool’?
Capel: There are a lot. I mean, I see it every day. Just about every day after practice, when we’re done, it’s usually about nine or 10 guys staying after, getting extra work. There’s certain groups that they do it together, certain guys they do it together, and it’s not us saying, ‘You need to do this.’ This is them. This is some of the older guys grabbing the younger guys - ‘Hey, we’re going to do this’ or ‘You’re going to do that.’ And that happens just about every day. That’s been really cool to see.

You said no glue guy; is that not necessarily a bad thing? Are you saying you have enough guys who are willing to be in that role, that you don’t need just one glue guy?
Capel: Yeah, I think all of our guys are really good teammates. I think they all do little things to help us be the best group that we can be. I think probably if we had a guy that was a glue guy, it’s probably Jamarius, because he can fit and play different positions and guard different positions and do different things like that. When I think of a glue guy, that’s what I think of: a guy that’s just incredibly versatile and you can kind of put him into any spot and they can make positive things happen.

Even though he hasn’t been able to play this season, what kind of an influence has Will Jeffress been for your team this year?
Capel: You know, I’ve felt for Will. It’s been hard for him. Thank goodness he’s out of the boot now and is able to move around. Will’s a very positive guy. He’s a great teammate. But this has been really hard for him. So his impact has been as a really good teammate to the guys, but not a lot of stuff vocal, just because he’s been so focused on his stuff - there have been some setbacks and disappointments. But he’s a great guy to have around all the time.

Setbacks, disappointments - are any of those significant or any recent that have happened?
Capel: No. He’s not playing this year; that’s the setback, when we thought there was a chance. All the stuff he did to get to a point where we thought it would be okay, it didn’t work. The setback was that he had to have surgery.

What’s it been like to see - you’ve had guys go through some cold spells shooting-wise, and each of them - Blake has some games with misses and then he makes the most three’s in program history, Nelly was cold and comes up with some big shots, Greg was the same thing - what’s it say about your guys to be able to fight their way out of those type of things?
Capel: It’s something we talk about all the time. You just have to move on to the next play. You can’t carry baggage with you. You have to leave it and move on to the next play. The thing I tell our guys all the time, as long as we take good shots, I’m good with it. Those are my shots. Just take good ones, and I believe, if you miss, that’s fine. I don’t want you to miss a lot, but if you do, just keep shooting. Keep shooting. It eventually will turn. So I want them to have that mindset. I want them to have that freedom. I don’t want them playing afraid, scared, looking over their shoulder. I just want them to play. As long as it’s together, they’re connected and they’re good shots, I’m good with it.

Going back to your point about seeing your guys without having being told to work, doing the extra work, Ben Howland said to us, ‘That’s what we started to do when we turned things around 20 years ago.’ I think it’s very interesting to see that from you guys; when you see that from them, what does it say about - from where you started with this program, how much it’s taken to establish that here and make it so it’s natural from your players?
Capel: I knew it was going to be hard. You’re basically starting from nothing. That’s the reality. That’s not a slight or anything, but that’s…

When I got here, the culture that Ben and Jamie had created, which was one of the best cultures in the country, was gone. It didn’t exist here anymore. One of the hardest things to do is to build that, and it takes time. Sometimes you make some mistakes, things like that. A wise woman told me this, and I said this at the end of the year last year, but it’s like a vineyard. You take over a vineyard - I love wine, so this is maybe why this stuck with me when she told me this - but when you take over a vineyard and no one has taken care of it for a long time and everything is grown and it’s nasty or whatever, the very first thing you have to do is clean everything up. You have to come in, remove the brush - you have to clean all that stuff up. Then you can start planting some seeds, right? And then it may take awhile for it to grow. There’s a lot of things - the weather’s got to be right, all of those things. And then it starts to grow; you’re probably not producing great wine yet, because the grapes aren’t great, but at least you’re producing wine. And eventually, if you keep tending to it, taking care of it and things like that, then you can start producing really good wine.

Basically, it takes time, and you have to get the right pieces. Everything has to be connected. So far this year, we’ve done a pretty good job of that. Even in adversity and different things that we’ve been through, we’ve been able to stay pretty connected. These guys care about each other, they’ve fought for each other and one of the things we talked about today was that now we’re basically into February. This is the grind. So we’ve got to maintain that. We have to protect that at all costs and keep playing for each other.

Aside from on-court things like shooting, was there something you looked for in guys this offseason when you were recruiting recruits and transfers?
Capel: I don’t think there’s anything we looked for differently. It’s not like we didn’t have the same standard. I think one of the things that happened for us was the fact that we were able to physically go out and recruit and we were able to bring guys here. So we got to know these guys. Like, we knew Nelly. I know his coach, the coach at Colgate. We were able to get real information on him - not just as a player. We knew him as a player, but him as a kid. So we knew. Like, we really knew.

We knew Greg Elliott because one of my best friends was his coach at Marquette, his head coach. And then obviously Jake Presutti, who’s on our staff, they were together there for four years.

We knew Blake Hinson as a kid. We knew him because I know his dad. I know people that know him. We talked to the coaches at Ole Miss and got real information.

We got to know the twins. We got to know Federiko. I think those are the things that helped; I really and truly do.

The one thing we did try to be purposeful with in recruiting the new guys that we have is that we tried to get shooting. That was obviously something we have not done well since I’ve been here, so we really tried to add that - guys that could shoot the basketball. So all of those things have helped us.

What does it do for a team when you win a game on defense? In a sport where everybody wants to score, winning a game on defense, does that become infectious?
Capel: I hope it does. Obviously, that’s the reason why we won on Saturday, the last two and a half minutes - to hold them scoreless, to get turnovers, to force three turnovers, guys took pride in it, individually and collectively. We competed. I think we’ve been pretty good defensively. Not great. I thought we were great during that stretch. I think we understand, in order to be at our best, we have to defend. One of the big challenges always will be with us is rebounding. We have to finish it with defensive rebounding, and we’ve done a pretty good job there the last few games. Obviously, this game on Wednesday is a different challenge, because they have one of the best offensive rebounders in the country.

I only ask you this question because, three years ago it mattered to Pat Narduzzi. But you’ve been 14-4 since you left New York, you’re 8-3 in the ACC, but you’re not ranked and only three guys voted for you this week. Does that irritate you at all?
Capel: It doesn’t irritate me. It doesn’t. I have no idea who the voters are. It doesn’t bother me, man. If we take care of what we’re trying to care of - I mean, I would love it for our guys. Don’t get me wrong. Are we deserving? I think we are. But sometimes, man, as a coach, you have to play the game with those people. Some of these voters - I’m not playing the game, I’m not kissing their butt, I’m not calling or returning every text or anything like that. I understand it. I’m older now. This is not the 27-year-old that was at VCU or 31-year-old that was at Oklahoma at the beginning. I understand how some of this stuff works. I’m very comfortable just being in my lane with my guys, and we’ll hopefully let our work take care of any of that stuff.

With Coach Davis, how far do you guys go back, and what is in his mind philosophy-wise or what you notice from this Carolina team as opposed to what Coach Williams did with them?
Capel: Yeah, I’ve known him - I mean, I was a fan of his when I was younger. I watched him play when he was at North Carolina. That was during the time - I think he graduated in ’92, so I was being recruited by North Carolina then, so I would go up and go to games. He probably has no recollection of this. But playing in my backyard, playing pickup, I couldn’t shoot like him but I could shoot, and he was one of the guys - you know, ‘Hubert Davis!’ and whatever. So I was a fan of his as a player. I didn’t really know him. I met him a few times in the locker room after games when he was a player there and I was up for recruiting visits. Definitely followed him in the NBA. I got to know him a little bit when he started doing TV. When I moved back to Durham and started working at Duke, I got to know him a little bit more. I would see him when I would be at our kids’ soccer games. We’d be on the same field. We’d talk. Durham and Chapel Hill are right there, so you’d maybe see him out somewhere. He actually was very helpful for us, me and my wife when we were looking for schools when we first moved back for our kids to go to. He was on the board at one of the schools that we were looking at, so he was very helpful there. And then when he started coaching at North Carolina as an assistant, I would see him in passing and things like that.

I think he’s done an outstanding job as the head coach there. It’s very difficult in those jobs to replace legends, and I think he’s done an amazing job. He is one of the best people you’ll meet. He’s a really, really good man. Very thoughtful, very humble, about those guys. It’s never about him; it’s about the players. And I think he’s done a great job there. A great job is one of the most pressure-filled jobs in what we do. So I think he’s done a great job.

You obviously have your assistant coaches, but I’m curious - during the games, it seems like you consult with Kyle and Jake a decent amount; what do those guys offer you in the course of a game?
Capel: I consult with all of them; they just happen to be the ones - I don’t really sit down during the game, so as I’m turning and I’m talking, I’m just talking. I want information from all of them. They may see something. My assistants, Kyle, Jake, they may see something, they may see something that I don’t see and things like that. So they’re always offering suggestions or, ‘Hey, they’re playing this, maybe we should look at this’ or whatever. So I’m just - as I’m turning, I’m just talking, so whoever hears me or whatever, that’s whatever. I’m just looking for information from all of them.

The year’s not over yet and there’s a long way to go, but is this the most fun you’ve had since you’ve come to Pitt?
Capel: During the season, yeah. It’s been fun coaching this group. It really and truly has. It’s been fun being around these guys. You’re around guys that, they’re gym rats - I remember, I think it was before - I told the guys that did TV last year, I think it was before last season. I went over and watched the Steelers practice. It was before their season; it may have been OTA’s, and I was hanging out with Mike. I remember asking him about Najee Harris and how is he. And he was like, ‘Cape, he’s really good and he’s going to be really good.’ And I said, ‘How can you - why do you say that?’ And he was like, ‘One of the things, man, he’s never in a hurry.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean by that?’ And he said, ‘Well, he’s never in a hurry to leave here. Like, when he’s there, he’s locked in, he’s paying attention, he’s learning, he takes advice, he takes stuff from the older guys. When practice is over with, he’s never in a hurry to leave the building. He gets extra work. He does all of that stuff - whether it’s treatment, on-the-field stuff, in the film room, he’s never in a hurry.’

That’s stuck with me since then, and we have a group of guys that aren’t in a hurry to get out of here. They’re not in a hurry. They want to work. They want to be good. They want to be around each other.

After the game the other night, I was up here and did stuff with you guys and went in my office, hung out for a little bit. I was ready to go but my son was shooting so I wanted to let him stay out here and shoot and finally I had to go wrangle him and get him out. I go downstairs and go in the locker room, just to grab something to drink, and it’s four guys just sitting around in there watching TV, talking and things like that. This is maybe an hour and a half, two hours after the game. That’s fun. It’s fun being around guys that want to be around each other. You can talk basketball. You can talk off-the-court stuff. You can talk what’s going on in the world. You can talk all these different things with them.

We had the guys over at the house before the season and it was one of the times we had them over. Nelly wanted a tour of my house, and we’re walking and he starts talking to me and my wife - it was Nelly and JB, they started talking to me and my wife about our artwork and wanting to know, like, ‘What does this piece say to you?’ I looked at my wife like, ‘What the hell? This has never happened.’ But it was cool to be able to talk and explain and get their opinions on what they see. So it’s been fun; that’s why we’ve got to protect what we have and keep being about the right stuff.