Heather Lyke’s Faith in Pitt HC Jeff Capel Has Never Wavered

There weren’t exactly cries for Pitt men’s basketball head coach Jeff Capel’s head following a rough January, but the goodwill following a March Madness run last March had certainly all but disappeared.

It’s a good thing that Heather Lyke didn’t hire Capel with a single season — or two — in mind. When Lyke makes a hire, it’s always in the pursuit of long-term excellence. Sure, instant gratification is ideal, but it’s rarely the case. It’s seldom the case when it comes to turning around a program that went winless in its league the season before and lost just about the entire roster.

The Kevin Stallings era of Pitt basketball was an unmitigated disaster, and Lyke was forced to cut ties and build the program back up basically from scratch. Pitt won just four league games in Stallings’ two seasons at the helm of the program, and Lyke — just about a year into her tenure — was faced with her first major hire.

Lyke eventually decided upon Duke associate head coach Capel, in the midst of a coaching search with quite a few high-profile names in the mix, and she can admit now that the rebuild was harder than Capel initially expected.

“There were a lot of things that we needed to fix together,” Lyke told Pittsburgh Sports Now over the phone Tuesday morning. “And the competition in the ACC is real. It’s not like there’s an easy game on the schedule. So, all of a sudden, you’re building this thing and the competition is really significant.”

Lyke still remembers an early conversation she had with Capel, not long after he arrived, and it shined a light on the infrastructure problems that needed to be solved.

“Heather, where’s our film room?” Capel asked his boss.

“Uhm… well, I think the players watch film in the locker room,” Lyke replied, somewhat taken aback.

“They’re in lounge chairs,” Capel said. “We need to build a new film room.”

Pittsburgh Panthers Oakland Zoo November 6, 2023 David Hague/PSN

The Petersen Events Center is awesome, but the “guts” of the building, as Capel has said, were lacking. There were logistical improvements to be made, and it didn’t help that those changes were implemented while competing in the ACC. No matter what some may say these days, the ACC is no joke.

“It was gonna take some grit and toughness to work through building this thing back,” Lyke said. “I told him not to be deterred, like, be undeterred. He knows who he is. He knows the kind of kids he wants to recruit and don’t be deterred in your approach. It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re losing.”

There was certainly a lot of losing in the beginning. Capel went 51-69 (21-53 ACC) over his first four seasons in Pittsburgh. But Lyke had the same level of confidence in Capel then that has does now — it hasn’t changed since the day she hired him. While some may point toward patience, Lyke would point to the overwhelming belief that Capel — and his coaching staff — has instilled in his players.

A lot of the work in rebuilding a program comes from behind the scenes, but the real work is on the court. “You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘Pittsburgh Tough’ to instill some toughness, and coach describes it as you got to fight to win,” Lyke said. “It’s not easy.” It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either.

Pitt is 41-21 (22-15 ACC) over the last two seasons — with five regular season games remaining. Maybe morale isn’t as high as it would’ve been after Tuesday night’s blowout loss to Wake Forest (which ended a five-game win streak), but the progress is undeniable. Pitt has one more conference win over the last two seasons than the prior four seasons combined.

Pitt still largely controls its own destiny when it comes to an NCAA Tournament bid, despite the bad loss to Wake Forest. There are five games left before the ACC Tournament begins on March 12. The loss certainly hurt, but according to most bracketologists, Pitt currently sits just on the outside looking in.

Stay perfect at home and try to pick up a big road win against Virginia Tech and/or Clemson over the next two games. A run in the ACC Tournament wouldn’t hurt either.

There’s still a lot of work to be done, even this season, but Capel is turning it around. The signs of progress are all around — on and off the court. It was never a question of whether or not Lyke would be able to maintain her faith in Capel; He’s remained the same person, the same coach, that he was when she hired him in 2018.

“Anything that’s really worthwhile takes a little time,” Lyke said. “Everybody wants instant success and instant gratification, but it took a little time for him to create the kind of culture he wanted and develop the kind of program with the kind of kids that want to play for Pitt, that want to play and make an impact here, and do things that haven’t happened before — go win an ACC championship, get into the tournament. So, it just takes a little time.”

Pitt will likely win 20 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in a decade, since the days of Jamie Dixon, and the future is bright. If Capel has been able to do anything, even in the early days, it’s recruit. His people skills, the ability to connect with recruits in high school and more recently in the portal, have always stood out.

The additions of Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, Nike Sibande, Blake Hinson and Ish Leggett have helped fuel the resurgence of Pitt basketball, but it’s the freshmen — and incoming recruits — that inspire confidence in the future of the program.

Pittsburgh Panthers guard Jaland Lowe (15) February 3, 2024 David Hague/PSN

Bub Carrington and Jaland Lowe are starring as true freshmen, growing more integral to team success by the week, and Marlon Barnes and Papa Kante are waiting in the wings. Brandin Cummings and Amdy Ndiaye will be arriving from the class of 2024. The future is bright. In part because Capel never stopped chasing excellence.

“I just kept saying don’t lower your standards when you go out recruiting, you know the caliber of talent you need here,” Lyke said. “Build it. He’s such a relationship person, and I think he gets the best out of the kids, he really does, and I am so proud of how he has kind of worked through it all. It’s tough. It’s so easy to criticize quickly and then sort of maybe second-guess yourself.

“I’m really proud of how he has stayed to his course and been patient and yet had such great high expectations and built a team that he loves. I mean, the kids are fabulous, they’re great kids to be around. And he’s built a program that not only is he proud of but he loves being around these kids, and they love being around each other.”

Those relationships matter. Lyke said that Pitt has the resources to support Capel in the transfer portal, and will continue to do so, but if the dollar amount is the first point of conversation, it’s usually a sign that Pitt isn’t the best fit for that recruit. Of course, in today’s age of NIL, it’s certainly a factor though. Pitt has relied upon Alliance 412, but it likely wouldn’t work without Capel in place to bring in the right players, develop them on and off the court and establish a winning culture.

“I’ve got a lot of belief that he’s gonna continue to build this and set great expectations,” Lyke said. “There’s no question his expectation is to get in the NCAA Tournament. We want to win an ACC championship, and we want to advance deep into the NCAA tournament. So, to build and sustain success, for him at Pitt, is certainly what we want to see happen.”

Capel has bought into the city of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is — and always has — bought into Pitt basketball. There’s a history of basketball in the city of Pittsburgh, with the likes of Don Hennon, Charles Smith, Clyde Vaughan, Billy Knight, Sam Clancy, Curtis Aiken, Dejuan Blair, Brandin Knight having starred for the Panthers, and the goal is to reach those lofty heights again. It’s a goal that wouldn’t be possible without the support of the fanbase.

“We’re proud, we’re excited that it becomes a source of pride for the city of Pittsburgh,” Lyke said. “And we’re really excited and grateful for Pitt fans coming to the Pete. You know, it’s one of the things that attracted Coach Capel to Pitt. He knew the reputation. He knew how tough of an environment it is here in Pittsburgh. He knows how well the city supports college basketball and Pitt basketball. And so that was an attractive piece.”

Lyke still remembers how the Pete was brought up during Capel’s interview process. He spent years at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., as a player and then as a coach, so he’s more than familiar with the Cameron Crazies. The Pete, he told Lyke then, is the hardest place to play in the ACC.

“I mean, obviously Cameron Indoor is special, but I remember the first time it was really packed here,” Lyke said. “He was like, ‘Do you think Cameron’s loud? This was loud.’ There’s no comparison to the Pete being packed and the Oakland Zoo is just fantastic. So, it makes a huge difference. And I think basketball’s a big part of the city.”

The Pete will be rockin’ Saturday night when Virginia Tech comes to town in a crucial matchup between bubble teams, and a win would go a long way in a late-season push for the tourney. A loss, well, that’s trouble. Pitt battled down the stretch last season, and the Panthers will need to do so once again this season. Lyke will continue to do as she has done since Day 1 — put her trust in Capel.

Lyke serves a lot of roles when it comes to assisting Capel. Of course, she’s his boss, but she’s also an advisor, a confidant and a supporter. There’s a level of trust and respect that has been fostered through years of great conversations — in her office, in his, on the road, wherever. Capel isn’t afraid to open up. And all of those little moments — maybe even more so than when Pitt won two games at the NCAA Tournament last season — are what stand out from their time working together. But there’s still work to be done.

An ACC championship doesn’t just happen. It takes dedication, hard work and just a little bit of patience. Lyke hired Capel for a reason, and she knew like all good things, it was going to take a little bit of time.