Jason Capel Talks with 2020 4-Star Wing JaDun Michael

Jeff Capel wants to add two more players to Pitt’s Class of 2020 and Wednesday night Pitt spoke to one of their top targets.

For the second time since decommitting from Wichita State, 2020-4 star forward JaDun Michael spoke with Pitt assistant coach Jason Capel. The first talk was on Monday and then last night, Michael talked again at length with Pitt’s assistant.

Pittsburgh Sports Now caught up with Michael (6’5″, 180), who told us that Jeff Capel has actually been recruiting him since his freshman season and has watched him play in person. One of the things they spoke about was Michael’s role on the team and how he’d fit in.

“He was telling me how Pitt is a really gritty team, that’s really tough,” said Michael. “He also said they have a lot of wings but they all play and that a lot of people will say they have too many wings but that’s because of how many they play, which could be like four at a time. Coach told me that the city is built off of grit and toughness and feels that I could really bring that to the team and that I’d fit in real well.”

With this being the second conversation he’s had with Pitt, has Michael heard something from Pitt’s recruiting pitch to him that’s stood out?

“I liked hearing that Coach plays the guys that are going well. If you got it going well, you’re going to play and everyone else on the team has to realize that it’s all about Pitt and the team and not about one certain individual.”

Michael is ranked by 247 Sports as one of the Top 100 players in the Class of 2020 and says that he believes that the strengths of his game and personality would fit in well with Pitt’s style of play and Jeff Capel’s coaching style.

“I just like getting to the hoop and I’m a player that can get my own shot but also likes to create a shot for my teammates. I feel like my offense and points come from me doing a little bit of everything,” said Michael. “Coach watched me during a tournament and told me that he can tell that my outside game and jump shot have really improved from last year.”

“I think Coach Capel is a really good coach and let’s his players play. Of course on the defensive end, he forces you to play defense which is cool. He wants a team that’s really gritty, that’s tough and not afraid to get into the paint or not afraid to guard the ball. I think he’s a real good coach and who knows, maybe one day I’ll be one of his players.”

Pittsburgh is just one of many programs attempting to land Michael, who plans on taking his time and making sure he finds the right fit when eventually making his decision.

“I’m going to be looking for the right fit and opportunity,” said Michael. “Wherever I feel I have the best opportunity at and where I feel like I fit in. It’s going to be harder since I can’t go on campus so the relationship that I’m able to develop with the coaches is going to be very important. I also need to do some research on my own and see what’s been said about the program in the past and watch some previous games of some teams when I do eventually come up with a final few teams.”

Michael says that he could begin narrowing down his list of schools sometime at the end of next week.