Pitt Players Lobby For Jeff Capel to Win ACC Coach of the Year
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers had just avenged a bad loss to Florida State from earlier in the season by scoring 15 of the game's final 25 points to erase a rocky first 30 minutes of play. The Panthers escaped Tallahassee, Florida with their 11th ACC win of the year - tied for the most conference victories of the program's nine seasons in the ACC.
After the win, Pitt players officially launched head coach Jeff Capel's ACC Coach of the Year campaign. The Panthers affirmed their belief in the man who has turned the Panthers from a cellar-dweller to a contender for the conference crown and NCAA Tournament.
"Straight up Coach of the Year," sixth man Nike Sibande, who was a key sub down the stretch with starting point guard Nelly Cummings struggling, said. "He found a way to get it done. No one expected us to be in this position that we're in right now. He made it happen. I feel like he's the Coach of the Year."
He faces stiff competition as Clemson's Brad Brownell and NC State's Kevin Keatts have turned their respective programs into one of the top teams in the league, but even if he doesn't win the award, Capel can rest easy knowing his players have boundless faith in the kind of program he has built.
"He's a tremendous coach and he has a locker room that believes in him," starting guard Jamarius Burton said. "He has a locker room that's pulling in the right direction and the results show. Everyone has bought into him. Everybody feeds off his energy, his confidence, his IQ. This whole locker room is grateful to have him."
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