What is Jeff Capel looking for as Pitt tries to rebound from the loss to Nicholls State with a road game at RMU tonight? Here’s what Capel said Monday.

Capel: What we’ve talked about over the past few days - it actually started after Florida State - but just the sense of urgency, the importance of every day and the seriousness of college basketball and what it takes to be a good team and a good player. And it’s every day. You have to show up every day at a high level: that means concentration, that means your work, that means your attention to detail. And you have to show up to play every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s Florida State or if it’s Florida Atlantic; it doesn’t matter. Every game - if we can get as a program, if we can get to the point where the young people in our program understand every game’s the most important game because we’re playing, then we’ll have a chance to have the type of program that we all say we want to have.

So we’ve just gotten back to work. We’re trying to correct some things, we’re trying to improve some things and the thing that we’re trying to do is to have the consistency of preparation and the consistency of effort every day in our work.

You probably won’t fully know until [Tuesday] night but how does it seem like the guys have internalized what you’ve been trying to tell them?
Capel: I think they hear me. Our work has been good, the concentration has been good but we have to be able to do it in real-time game situations. And tomorrow presents a different type of challenge because it’s a road game and it’s at a place that will be new, there will be a lot of emotion involved, a lot of excitement, a lot of anticipation, and on top of that it’s a good team and it’s a good team that’s hungry and is well-coached and a team that has a culture of always playing hard, of executing, of cutting hard, of defending together - that’s what Andy’s been able to create there over his 10 years. And he has some continuity in his program now which, he’s probably been hit more than anyone with that with the transfers, especially of a good player. But he’s got good players now and I know they’ll be excited to be playing at home and to have not just an ACC opponent but the local ACC team coming to their place to open it up.

You mentioned on the radio that you were unhappy with Friday’s practice and you kicked them out of practice; what was the cause of that and have you ever done that before in your career?
Capel: Yeah, I’ve done it. I’ve done it just about every year I’ve been a head coach that I can remember, at different points. I didn’t think the concentration, the level of intensity, the communication was where it needed to be. And I knew what we were up against. I knew that we were playing a good team. I also knew that we were up against human nature because of coming off of a big win, and for us it was emotional, and we expended a lot of energy and the natural reaction at times is to think - for young people, not for us as adults but for young people - to think, ‘Okay, this one won’t be as hard.’ And I knew it would be because I knew that team was good. What happened to them in their game prior to us is something that can really unite a team and make them believe even more.

So I knew we were going to be playing against a good team, I knew we were going to be playing against human nature, I knew we were going to be playing at a different time at noon, I knew the energy wouldn’t be the same as it was on Wednesday, so that’s a recipe and I saw it and we were trying to correct it. That’s what kicking them out of practice was for: to try to get their attention of, ‘This is important, this is what we’re up against and our mindset’s not right.’ Unfortunately, we couldn’t get out of it.

How are Xavier and Trey specifically responding to this adversity?
Capel: They haven’t played as well as they’re capable of playing in the first two games. That’s the reality. I think they’ve tried, but they just haven’t - at times, I think it’s hard to break a habit, and I think for them, last year they had to do so much, there was so much on their plate, and if they didn’t, then we really didn’t have a chance to win. I think we have a little bit more this year, and so at times, I think they’ve pressed in the first two games and they’ve tried to make things happen and I think it’s hurt them and I think it’s hurt us a little bit. So getting them to trust more, to slow down a little bit and to be stronger, both mentally and physically, and to just play and stop thinking so much.

When you look at Robert Morris’ schedule, from the fans’ perspective and the players’ perspective, this is the game that’s circled. What do you make of being that opponent for a team and in your experience, does that present a different level of energy? Is it maybe a negative for that team to have that kind of buildup?
Capel: I think anytime you play these types of - Robert Morris, Nicholls was the same way, if you look at theirs, they had other, you know, Big Ten team, they have an SEC team coming up. But sometimes it’s a little bit different playing an ACC team, just because of the level of respect that this conference has nationwide. For Robert Morris, not just playing against an ACC team but the local ACC team, but also the excitement of opening up a new building. I know they’re excited about that and I know everyone associated with their program is excited about it. So it will be a big day for them.

I’m sure their coaching staff will have them prepared. Sometimes, is it too - you can have too much energy sometimes, but they have a veteran group and I’m sure they’ll be - I know they’ll be ready to go and that place will be jumping.

Why did you agree to help them open up their building?
Capel: We were asked to.

But you agreed to it and wanted to do it - it’s a tough game for you guys.
Capel: We were asked to.

Regarding emotions, after the loss on Saturday, do you try to get them to forget and move on or do you try to tap into it to fuel them to work better?
Capel: You should never forget. You should always remember and you should use it. We can’t forget it because it’s a reason why it happened. One of the things I told our guys after we beat Florida State, the very next day when we got together for practice and we did feedback, I said to them, I asked them, ‘Why did we beat Florida State? Why do you guys think?’ And I thought we beat them because, for that night, for that 40 minutes, I thought we were tougher. I thought we were a little bit hungrier. And we did the dirty work. Why did we lose to Nicholls? They were hungrier. They did the dirty work. They were the first - I thought the last play of the game was indicative of the night. It’s a three-point game, we have a chance, we lose control of the ball, which was another turnover, which was our 13th of the half, but they’re the first to the floor. And that was indicative of, a few nights prior to that, we were the first to the floor every time. Then they get it and they actually miss a layup and they tip it in. We only have two guys in the picture; they have four in the picture. I thought that was a perfect example of that night.

So you can’t forget it. You have to remember it. You have to use it. Because in order for us to have a chance to win - we are not going to out-talent anyone. That’s the truth. That’s the reality. So all of these things, we have to understand we have to do them at a high level. We have to take charges. Against Florida State, we took three, we were in the help side, we were the first to the floor, we outrebounded them. All of these things - we only had 13 turnovers. All of these things that were necessary for us to put us in a position to win, we have to do them night in and night out, no matter who we’re playing, at a very high level.

Those are the things that we can control, and we didn’t do a good job of that on Saturday.

Terrell, Justin and Ryan have come off the bench in both games but are in the top five in minutes; could you see yourself making a change there?
Capel: Possibly. That’s something that we’re looking at and it’s something that could possibly happen.