Jeff Capel talked about improvements in practice, turnovers, his respect for Bob Huggins, coaching freshmen and more on Thursday. Here’s a full rundown of what he said.
What was practice like over the last couple of days after the loss on Monday?
Capel: Good practices. We had to give them a day off, per the NCAA rules, so we had already designated Tuesday as a day off. Tuesday was a big academic day for us because we’re getting ready for finals next week. So we got together yesterday and good practice, spirited practice. We got back to work and started preparing for West Virginia.
Were you pretty interested to see how they would come out in practice after Monday night?
Capel: No. I knew we’d come out ready to practice. I wasn’t worried about that. I knew we’d come back out refocused and ready to go.
What types of problems do you think West Virginia might pose for you guys?
Capel: Their size. Their offensive rebounding. Obviously they aren’t turning people over at the rate that they have in previous years, but they’re still turning people over and that’s been kind of a thorn in our side, especially here recently. So those two things are the biggest concerns: their size and they really, really attack the offensive glass, which is a staple of a Bob Huggins team. And then their ability to defend and get in passing lanes and pressure. Those two things.
You mentioned turnovers in the last few games; is there any common theme you see that’s causing them?
Capel: I think we’re a little loose. I think that’s probably the biggest theme. It started the second half of Iowa, so I think we’re a little loose. We need to be stronger with the ball. Those two things.
You said you feel like your offense is at its best when you’re able to get out in transition. How do you balance wanting those guys to go but also stressing caring for the basketball?
Capel: Well, it’s something that we have stressed all year and, for the most part, we had been pretty good. Against Iowa, in that second half, our turnovers, the majority of them were in the half-court. They weren’t in transition. So I just think we have to be stronger with the ball. We have to be stronger with our decisions. We have to be sharper. We have to do a better job in all of those areas.
Does playing a team that likes to pick up full-court make getting in transition more advantageous?
Capel: Definitely, it does. But the key to that is that we have to rebound. That’s the big key. Especially against this team. We can’t give up multiple shots. Our first-shot defense, which is defending the ball, contesting the shot and then we have to rebound, and if we do that, then we feel like we can get out in transition. But the first part is that we have to get the ball first.
You’ve had a lot of experience handling freshmen in your career. What’s the best way to handle freshmen and get the most out of them when you use them in key situations?
Capel: I think you have to coach them hard, just like you do everyone. I think the key with all of them - not just freshmen, but anyone - is that I think you have to have a relationship with them. I think if you have a relationship with them and they know you care about them, not just about what they can do on the court but you genuinely care about them, then I think you can coach them hard because they know it’s not personal, because they know it’s coming from a place where you’re trying to help them, where you’re trying to push them. If you develop that trust, then if I say, ‘Hey, you’re playing great, you’re playing really good,’ you want to hear that and that’s the truth in that moment; but if I say, ‘Look man, you stink right now, you gotta pick it up,’ that’s the truth in that moment. So neither one of them are personal. It’s the truth about what’s really happening.
Unfortunately, a lot of young people now, they don’t have reality, especially in what we do in coaching men’s basketball. I know men’s basketball; I don’t know the other sports. I’m sure other coaches maybe have some of the same feelings. But our sport is so different in the recruitment of the kids that we get in men’s basketball is very different, I think, from any other sport. In our sport, a lot of times, they don’t have anyone that’s telling them the truth. They hear a lot of praise and a lot of great, so sometimes when you get them here, the first time someone has gotten on them - you may be the first one that’s done that. And their reactions are interesting. You have to constantly remind them - this is all of our guys, this is not just freshmen, this is everyone - it’s not personal. It’s not personal. I want all of you but I’m going to tell you the truth.
I have a rule: you can ask me anything. But I’m going to tell you the truth. And you may not like the answer, but if you ask me, I’m going to tell you the truth. I think that’s how you coach them.
I’ve heard coaches talk about, the three things in coaching are getting the talent, handling the talent and then the X’s and O’s. The X’s and O’s are probably least important, right?
Capel: Yeah. I remember when I first got in this, in college coaching, I remember my dad said to me - at the time he was a college head coach - that coaching, actual coaching is probably about 15-20% of the job. It’s so many other things, especially in college coaching. And just with the way the environment is now and kids are now and things, it’s amazing how it changes quickly. It’s different. It changed from five years ago. It’s very, very different. And I think the coaches that are able to have success, especially long-term success, and I marvel at them, are the coaches that are able to adapt. Not necessarily change their standards, but adapt to the way that kids are, society is.
Look, everyone knows, it’s different now in society than it was five years ago, eight years ago. It changes like this. I mean, social media has changed everything. It’s changed so much from when I played. So you have to be able to adapt. And adapting is not changing your standards, lowering your standards, dumbing down anything; it’s just that you have to be able to adapt. You have to be able to relate to them, because the more you can relate to them and be on their page and get them on your page and teach them, then the greater chance you have at having success.
Is this team on your page?
Capel: I think so. I think so. We have been. We weren’t Monday. But I think we’re back.
You’ve been coaching Division I basketball in some form for the past 20 years here; how do you feel like you’ve adapted in that time?
Capel: I think I’ve grown. When I first started as an assistant, I was 25, didn’t really know even though I grew up with a coach. You don’t really know the profession until you’re in it. You don’t understand it. You don’t understand all the nuances and all the different things.
Named the head coach at 27, really had no idea what I was doing. I felt strongly about the relationship part and to getting the guys to believe in me and wanting to play for me; I felt like I could do that. But as far as the X’s and O’s, running the program and things like that, those are things I learned on the fly.
I feel like I’ve grown up. I feel like I’ve gained a lot of valuable experience from the different experiences that I’ve had. And I think I’m wiser now. I think I understand the business side of this profession even more. And I like to think I’m fairly young enough where I can still relate to them and still know different things and be able to teach them different ways to have success, both on and off the court.
From afar, how have you seen Bob Huggins be one of those guys that’s able to adapt the way he does things?
Capel: I’ve always had a ton of respect for him. I think he’s coached some of the best teams. I thought he had a team at Cincinnati - it’s a travesty what happened to Kenyon Martin because I thought they were the best team in the country. The thing that I’ve always admired is how his players love him. And he coaches them hard. I mean, really, really hard. But they know that he loves them, and because of that, they love him and he’s able to coach them hard, he’s able to push them, he’s able to, at times, take it to the edge, but they know that he really and truly cares about them.
I’ve always felt that’s the sign of a really good coach, is how loyal the players are to him. And you go back to those guys that played for him at Cincinnati and the guys that play for him now at West Virginia and that have played for him there and even his one year at K-State or however many years he was there, they are incredibly loyal to him. That’s a testament to who he is as a man more than as a coach.
You talked about the development of your freshmen. What can they take from the game at Iowa going into a second true road game, into a smaller, more intimate, rowdier atmosphere that they’re going to see this weekend?
Capel: You know, we’ve had a chance to be on the road, a true road game, against an outstanding opponent in Iowa. I think we did some really good things. I think the thing for all of us, not just them but for all of our team to understand, is how together we have to be, how tough we have to be and we have to be able to sustain it for 40 minutes. You can’t have lapses, you can’t have a lot of mistakes when you’re playing an outstanding team anywhere, especially on the road.
