Pitt HC Jeff Capel Addresses FSU Loss on Senior Night

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers battled back from a big deficit, but still ended losing to Florida State in the final home game of the season.

Pitt came close to erasing a 24-point deficit early in the second half and came one point short, losing 75-74 at the Petersen Events Center on Senior Night, ending them with a home record of 8-10 in the 2024-25 season.

Panthers head coach Jeff Capel addressed the defeat in the ensuing press conference and about their slow start, which put them too far behind early on.

Capel also spoke on seniors in Barry Dunning Jr. and Damarco Minor and what they meant to the program in their one year with the team.

Jeff Capel Press Conference Following Florida State Loss

Opening Statement

“First of all congrats to Florida State. They’re a good team. Playing really well right now. I think they’re 9-3 now in their last 12 games after starting 0-5. They have a good team. Really good guards, athletic team, so congrats to them.”

“I want to express my gratitude to the seniors, seniors in the band, cheerleaders, seniors in the zoo for their support of our program throughout their time here at Pitt. Certainly want to thank our senior manager and our seniors. Proud of them, grateful for them.

“You know, I didn’t think we played with the necessary force we needed to the first 25 minutes of the game. Why? I don’t know because I thought we were past that, but we didn’t and it showed on both ends. We got some really good looks in the first half offensively, but I don’t think we made them because I don’t think we were playing hard enough and then we were not good defensively because we didn’t play hard enough and it started the first five half minutes of the second half as well.

“We got down 24 [points], and then we started playing hard and with force and we were able to work our way back into the game. Guys made some big time plays and we had some opportunities.

“So I’m proud of the fight, proud of the effort, proud that we didn’t drop the rope and give in, but disappointed in how we started, that we didn’t come out with the necessary force and that’s on me. I got to figure out how to get us, I guess, better prepared."

On Coaching Barry Dunning Jr. and Damarco Minor

“I’m grateful for them. First of all, they chose to come here last spring and wanted to be a part of what we were doing. This has certainly not gone like any of us anticipated it would be this season. It just hasn’t gone like we anticipated, but we’ve grown, guys have gotten better, we’ve gotten better and I think there’s so many lessons throughout a season that you can learn, even when it’s not going like you anticipate that it’s going to go.

“Those two guys have shown up every day, they’ve had good attitudes about working, I think each of them have grown as far as young men, I’ve think they’ve grown as players and I think they’ve enjoyed their experience here, although the season hasn’t gone like we thought it would go.

“I’m grateful for the relationship with both of them. I’m grateful to be a part of their journey and to see Polo become a dad and to see him get up early in the morning after his baby was born and take a commercial flight down to Chapel Hill, a connecting flight, take an Uber, get there 40 minutes before the game and give it everything that he has and for Barry to continue to get better, to work and to be a good dude."

Why Guys Have Kept Competing Despite Losing Season

“I think we’ve created a really good culture over the last four years, this being the fourth year. We have good guys. They really do care about each other and I think that’s the reason.”

Nojus Indrusaitis Improving Recently

“He’s playing stronger. He’s playing with more confidence. Obviously he’s shooting the basketball very well, but I just think the fact that he’s playing stronger with more confidence and he’s kind of found his way.

“I mean, although he’s a sophomore in class, as a player he’s like a freshman. Played 89 minutes last year. So all of this is new to him as well. Playing minutes, playing meaningful minutes and he’s gotten better. Again he’s another one that could’ve put his head down and gotten down on himself and possibly checked out, but he didn’t. Kept working, kept showing up every day, has unbelievable teammates and it’s really cool to see him playing well right now. Having success."

Mar 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Cam Miles (2) defends Pittsburgh Panthers guard Nojus Indrusaitis (25) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

On what he said in timeout before 16-2 Run

“Repeated what I said at halftime. That we have to play hard and we have to play with force. We will not make a shot, like we didn’t in the first half, if we don’t play hard and we started out the second half, we didn’t make any shots and we got some decent ones.

“We’ve got to defend. They shot 60% in the first half and I think they scored on the first three or four possessions of the second half and so I just repeated what I said at halftime and we got the message then.”

Barry Dunning Jr. Struggling to Find Consistency

“I think when you look at Barry, he’s a guy that did not play at Arkansas, did not play at UAB. Last year was his first year of getting meaningful minutes. He didn’t play well early last season, the first 15, 16 games of the year, he was inconsistent and then the last 10 to 12 games, he played at a really high level.

“When you come up to this level, it’s different and so I think, just learning, playing consistent, meaningful minutes, being a guy that your team at this level is depending on. Sometimes it takes time to grow into that role and to understand it, but I think what helps him is he has a great work ethic, he wants to be good and he’s been very coachable.”

Mar 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Barry Dunning Jr. (22) reacts after making a three point basket against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

On One-Year Transfers and the Impact They Have

“One of the things for me, just as a coach and look, it may sound corny. People may think it’s coach speak, but the relationship part is really big to me. It always has been from the time, I don’t know if it’s because I grew up with a coach at home and I saw the impact that he had on his players when he was a high school coach, a college assistant, a college head coach at the Division I, Division II level, I was always around it.

“The relationship that I still have with my college coach and specifically one of the assistants, who’s the head coach of Harvard [Tommy Amaker], like the impact they had on me and it’s one of the reasons I got into this or because of relationships.

“Relationships are really important to me. Not just the guys that I coach, the people that I work with, the people that I’m around. I like real relationships. I don’t like fake, I don’t like phony, I don’t like BS and one of the things about relationships is that you got to work at it. Two people, a relationship is two ways and not one.

“The guys that played for me, even if they transfer, they know if they want it, the relationship is always there for them and I try to show that every day to them when I’m coaching them and when they go.

“One of the really good things about the Stanford game, Guillermo Diaz Graham was there and it was so good to see him and I gave him a big hug and kept in touch with them this season, but again they want the relationship.

“So even if you’re one year, like Bub [Carrington] was here for one year, Justin [Champagnie] was here for two years, Blake Hinson two years. So very seldom are you going to get the four-year guy anymore at a place.

“Think I heard Hubert Davis or read Hubert Davis say something about that with Seth Trimble. He has that. That’s probably not going to happen much anymore, but the relationship part will always be really important to me.”

Going Five Minutes Without Scoring a Field Goal Down Five Points Late

“We got some good looks, we missed some shots. I thought we were a little bit fatigued, I thought Cam [Corhen] especially was a little bit fatigued, but I thought we got some good looks at that time. We got some clean looks that we just missed."

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