At the end of the most recent episode of The Pittsburgh Basketball Show, I made sure to ask Pitt head coach Jeff Capel for his thoughts on the state of basketball in the Steel City.
First, Capel went into Pitt and Duquesne’s recent success at the collegiate level.
“I think we have really good basketball here,” he said. “Obviously, if you look at the past two years for us, it was really awesome watching Duquesne last year when they found themselves after starting out the conference struggling a little bit to make the run that they did in the tournament. I’m really excited to watch Dru [Joyce] and see what he does.”
Duquesne is the only team from the area that made the NCAA Tournament last season, but the Panthers had another 20+ win season and made the dance two seasons ago. The Dukes then promoted former associate head coach Dru Joyce III to the head coaching position after Keith Dambrot retired.
“Robert Morris has switched conferences, and they’ve struggled a little bit the last couple of years, but Andy will get it back going,” Capel continued. “Obviously, we know he’s a really good coach. Unbelievably passionate, does so much in the community here.”
Robert Morris had its fourth-straight losing season last year since joining the Horizon League, but just two seasons ago, the Colonials worked their way up to an even 10-10 record in league play. This year, they will look to Justice Williams, Kam Woods, and others for production.
“I think the high-school [level], you have really good players,” Capel said. “You have two of the top seniors from Pittsburgh in the country. I think it’s really good coaching here.”
Pittsburgh is home to five-star prospect Meleek Thomas, as well as four-star prospect Amari Evans. Thomas is ranked as the No. 9 player in the country, while Evans is ranked as the No. 96 player in the country. He is a four-star prospect on 247 Sports. Pitt has been recruiting both players for years, and the Panthers were recently included in both players’ top-school lists.
You won’t be able to watch Evans or Thomas this year as seniors. Both players play for Overtime Elite down in Atlanta, Georgia, after transferring out of the WPIAL.
For Capel, looking at the state of basketball in the Steel City, he thinks it’s in a good place. However, when asked how we can improve it as a whole, he offered a detailed answer.
“The thing I would say is just for people to appreciate it more, he said. “To come to our games, to go watch Duquesne if you’re a Duquesne fan, if you’re passionate about them. The same thing with Robert Morris. And then, with the high-school kids. I’ll say this, when I was in high school, I was a pretty good guy, I was a pretty good player. My senior year, I was a top-25, top-30 player in the country. You couldn’t get into my games. I don’t know if that’s just a North Carolina thing, but, you have to get there by halftime of the girls’ game. So, if you have a guy like that, or guys like that, get out and support them and appreciate them and things like that.”
“The basketball scene here is really good, it’s competitive, it’s really good coaching, they’re passionate about it,” Capel concluded. “We see it at our team camp with the high-school coaches that come and watch us practice. So, I’m grateful for it, and I look forward to watching it continue to grow.”
How can we improve it? -> “appreciate it more”
How about rivalry games with RMU, and especially Duquesne for the City Game!
Pitt needs to stop being so lame with everything.