Jeff Capel talked about Pitt's comeback win and broke down several players on Friday night. Here's the full rundown of what he said.

Capel: I’m really proud of our guys. This was a big win for us, to be able to scratch and claw and to make some plays down the stretch. I thought our defense and energy, from the 16-minute mark of the second half on, was outstanding. We had some guys step up. I though Noah Collier was tremendous. He was ready for the moment, he played above the rim, he played with energy, he played with force; I thought he did a really good job. I thought Nate Santos was outstanding. Obviously his shooting, but the eight rebounds. I thought our defense in the second half was really good, to hold them to 31% from the field. Oladapo was really good. Our guys made big plays. I thought Femi, after sitting for awhile, came in and made a huge three, made a free throw, blocked a shot and had good energy, had positive energy that was shared with everyone else.

So I’m really proud of our team. Will defended again at a high level, rebounded the basketball, made a huge midrange shot, and we got some really good production from J.B. today. So, proud of our guys, proud of all of them, big win for us.

John Hugley didn’t return to the game; was there an injury?
Capel: No. He didn’t play well. We were playing well. He didn’t play well. That’s why he didn’t come back in. The team’s not about one guy; it’s about everyone. So if one guy didn’t play, it probably means somebody else was playing pretty well.

With Femi going out in the first half, coming back and finishing that half, he was on the bench for awhile, too; was that a product of -
Capel: Wasn’t playing well. He was not playing well. Body language wasn’t good from those guys. It wasn’t. And it’s not our standard. We’re not deviating from that, no matter who it is.

Did you have a hunch he would get better after you put him back in the game?
Capel: Who?

Femi.
Capel: Yes. I was hopeful he would be better.

With about 30 seconds left, Jamarius got trapped right in front of you. You had two timeouts and you didn’t take them; does that just speak to the trust you have in him?
Capel: Yeah, it did. We thought that they would try to foul him, but he’s strong in those situations and knew that he would be able to make the proper play. I kind of had a count in my head of the five seconds and things like that. I was right there beside him and beside the official if we needed, but I knew that Nate was open, I knew J.B. saw him and I knew he would be strong enough to be able to either get fouled in that situation or get the ball over to him.

What changed for him after halftime? I think he was 0-for-5 in the first half, 4-of-7 in the second half; what changed for him offensively?
Capel: I just think our energy was right. We were so connected down the stretch - offensively, defensively, the huddles were really good, the way they were talking to each other, they were excited for each other, and I thought all of them did it. It wasn’t just one person; I thought all of them gave each other energy and it became contagious.

We’ve now been told by Femi, Noah and William about the impact Dan Oladapo has brought to practice; what have you seen from him every day that he brings to the table to push everyone else?
Capel: You know, he’s a guy that’s competitive. He’s had to try to figure out his place here. It’s different; at his previous school, he was playing a lot and a lot of stuff was going through him. He’s with other really good - not that he didn’t have really good players where he was, but with other really good players here, so it’s an adjustment period, and I think he has handled himself well. The past three games, he’s been good offensively. I thought he’s been solid defensively. He had four defensive rebounds today; we continue to need that. He made some good passes today. And he’s had a good attitude. So that’s been good for us.

With Nate hitting four big shots, confidence-wise, this early in his career, this early in the season, how big could that be for him?
Capel: It’s going to be huge. He’s had - his progression has had to be sped up because of the situations that we’ve been in. And I think he’s done a really good job. We know that he can shoot the basketball. I think he’s gotten better each game defensively. Obviously, he had eight rebounds. To step to the line in his fourth game, his first free throws, down the stretch and make two big free throws. We’ve got a lot of confidence in Nate and I think he’s going to continue to get better. He comes to work and tries to get better each day

You talked about Noah stepping up tonight; he said that even though he’s not the biggest guy, he just has to be faster. What have you seen and what have you been working on that led to a performance like this tonight?
Capel: Noah played really well for us early in practice, and then he hit a part where he didn’t play as well and that’s why he wasn’t playing as much. He came to me Wednesday and talked about that; we had a conversation and I told him, ‘This is what we need from you. This is what you were doing earlier and this is what we need.’ And he did that at such a high level today. And when he does that, it’s such a - like, he should be like the curveball to the fastball. John is power, is force, he’s that, he’s big, he’s strong, whatever. Noah should be the opposite. Noah should be speed. It should be energy, it should be above the rim, it should be all of those things and he did that at such a high level. And when he does that - the last thing I told him when we talked the other day was that we need him. We need him. But we need him that way all the time. So I’m really proud of him. I’m happy for him. I’m proud of him that he didn’t put his head down.

Look, you don’t know any more with these kids. You talk to them, you tell them the truth - you don’t know. I’m proud of the fact in that moment that he was ready and he came out and he played at a really high level.

Back to Nate, how do you approach the next step with him after a shooting performance like this is on film and teams will be ready for him?
Capel: Yeah, again, it’s just taking good shots, and that’s what he did today: just taking good shots. We missed him a few times, too; I thought there were a few more times we could have found him, and we’ll find him next time. We’ll go back, we’ll watch tape, we’ll teach, we’ll get better. But, look, he’s getting better, he’s got the right attitude, he wants to be good. He’s quiet - I don’t know how he was in here with you guys, we don’t really hear him say much. We try to get on him, try to implore him to talk. But he’s getting better at it. So again, as long as you have the right attitude to come to work every day and get better, then I think you have a chance to get better. And he has a chance to get a lot better.

Would you say the same thing with Will Jeffress? Because he has continued to show more fitting in with you guys.
Capel: He has. He has. I think he’s been really, really good defensively and rebounding the basketball. I mean, really, really good. And as his offense continues to come - we have confidence in him, but he made a huge midrange shot against the zone. A huge shot. And we have confidence in him doing that. Again, he and Nate are actually in here a lot together working, so as long as that continues to happen, the sky’s the limit for those guys.

What’s Will’s ideal role offensively? What would he be doing in a best-case scenario?
Capel: Well, really, his ideal role should be a 3-and-D guy. And I think he can be an elite guy doing that, defending, rebounding, taking good shots and making shots. You know, making open three’s. As he continues to get stronger, you know, straight-line drives, and things like that right now. And as he continues to work, maybe some stuff off the dribble. But right now, that’s not it. We posted him some tonight. I was proud how he - he took a hard fall; for him to get back up and to be able to push through that was huge for us.