Vets Helped Pitt Build Best Roster of Jeff Capel Era
PITTSBURGH -- This isn't the first time that Jeff Capel has had to rebuild his Pitt Panthers from almost the ground up.
During almost every offseason of his tenure at Pitt, Capel has dealt with severe roster attrition. It is a much more common issue coaches have to deal now than even two or three years ago, and Capel feels better equipped to handle that challenge now.
“We’ve had to do it basically every year so hopefully we’ve gotten better at it than we were in the past," he said.
Capel thinks he's rebuilt this roster successfully. In fact, he called the 2022-23 Panthers the most talented roster he's put together at Pitt. The fact that the coaching staff was able to bring players on campus this offseason - something they couldn't do during the spring and summer before - helped mightily, but Capel claims to have also gotten an assist from his players.
Veterans John Hugley, Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande all took the lead in identifying and recommending players from among the extensive pool of transfer candidates that the staff should scout out.
"To be honest with you, it was exciting to see [John], to see Jamarius, to see Nike - those three guys really jumped in right away," Capel said. "They were in communication with a lot of guys. They were texting me, calling me saying ‘Coach, look at this guy, I talked to him,’. It was pretty exciting to see them locked in like that.”
Driven by a desperation to win, those three players wanted to attract the best talent to Pitt so they could fill the holes left by departed teammates.
“I feel like it was a lot on me because I wanted all these guys to come to Pitt and help us win," Hugley said. "We lost a lot of guys last year so bringing in guys with great character, great personalities, that was key for us.”
Hugley said he really wasn't trying to offer a sales pitch when talking to potential teammates. He instead told them about how they'd be challenged at Pitt and where the program was trying to go.
“It really wasn’t a sale," Hugley said. "I just told them this is where dogs are made. Come here and it’s going to be a battle every day.”
The two-pronged attack paid dividends for Capel and company. He said the Panthers have addressed major points of concern - outside shooting, depth and size - with their offseason recruiting.
For Marquette transfer Greg Elliot, one of the players expected to address a shooting deficiency that has existed ever since Capel took over as head coach, it was the players' involvement that put Pitt over the top.
"I say the key was Coach Capel and John," Elliot said. "Assistant coaches can tell you what they want to get you to a program, but when a head coach says it and the best player on the team is telling you the same thing, it’s big for a guy that’s trying to find a new home."
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