Pitt basketball finished the 2021-22 season with an 11-22 record, going just 6-14 in the ACC.
The Panthers turned in their third-straight season with six wins in league play, but finished with by far the worst winning percentage of Jeff Capel’s tenure to that point (.344). Things looked bleak in the program, despite such a confidence upon Capel’s hiring by athletic director Heather Lyke — who received a multi-year extension from Pitt on Wednesday, according to PSN’s sources.
However, after that season concluded, Lyke decided to stick with Capel, whom she had given a contract extension to years prior. Her choice paid off one season later.
“First and foremost, I’m grateful for that belief, for the belief that she had in me when she hired me,” Capel said on The Pittsburgh Basketball Show. “Then, sticking with me, and us, through those difficult times. They were very honest conversations. I think she and I have that type of relationship where we can be honest with each other. Certainly, after year four, this was not going the way that any of us wanted it to go. We had to change. We made a conscious effort as a staff. Like, I knew year five was really important. I knew it. I’ve been through it before, I’ve been fired before. I understood what was going on and where we were as a program. And so, we made a few changes.”
Pitt went out that offseason and added veterans like Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, and Blake Hinson to complement Jamarius Burton and co.
“Number one, we wanted to change how we played, and that required us to get more shooting, that was a big thing, to really try to improve shooting,” Capel said. “We changed our style a little, we went to more five out. Then, I think we always tried to be mindful of the type of guys that we recruited, but I think we made an even more concerted effort to gather as much information as we possibly could.”
The slight changes paid off, as the Panthers qualified for the NCAA Tournament and even took down two power-conference opponents once in the big dance. So, aside from the personnel on that roster, what was the difference between that team and the six-win teams of Capel’s past at Pitt?
“I thought one of the things that really helped, I really do, was after that season, we were able to go out and recruit,” he continued. “I don’t think anyone understood how difficult that was for those 18 months where we couldn’t go out, the world was shut down. So, everything was on zoom. It was really difficult for us to recruit on zoom, because our program had not won in the ACC since I had been here, since before I got here, except for 2014, 2015, 2016 with Jamie. So, it was a hard sell.”
“So, I think those were the things that Heather and I talked about. I think she still believed in the vision, but the results had to happen. I will always have an unbelievable connection with that team, that 2022-2023 team, because Jamarius, Nike, Will, those guys could have left. It would have been easy to jump ship. Coming off that season, there’s a lot of speculation about me, a lot of things about me, ‘I’m not going to be here,’ ‘I’m not going to make it,’ and things like that. So, it would’ve been easy to do that. Then, to go get Nelly, Greg, and Blake, Federiko, to get those guys, and then to get the twins. Then to put it all together. We started out, we lost those three games in a row and it looked like it was falling, and then we were back here, and I think it was Alabama State or A&M, one of those, we were trailing at half. I’m in a room by myself like, am I this wrong? I thought we were good. But I think we were able to overcome that because of the character that we had. To watch that thing, to go from that, and then to get Jaland and Bub, those guys committed before that season, so before we won, so for them to believe.”
Pitt wrapped up that 2022-23 season 24-12 overall and 14-6 in ACC play. The overall win total equaled the highest win total by a Pitt team since the 2013-14 season, in which Jamie Dixon’s Panthers made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Then, last year, Pitt turned in its second-straight winning season. The Panthers finished 22-11 (12-8 ACC), finishing fourth in the league but missing the NCAA Tournament. Regardless, Capel seems to be comfortable with his position as head coach of the Pitt basketball program, just years after that disastrous 2021-22 season concluded.
“It’s been really cool to watch the things that have happened from that 2022 season and the end of that and to where we are right now, it’s like night and day, and I’m really, really proud of that,” Capel said.
