After Pitt's loss to Virginia, Jeff Capel held his tongue: 'I don't want to say anything crazy'

Jeff Capel’s most impressive accomplishment Monday night after Pitt’s embarrassing loss to Virginia was self-restraint. There were comments about his team and its effort that he wanted to say out loud, but he held back.

Perhaps saving them for Wednesday when the Panthers next get together for practice.

“I try not to speak too much from emotion,” he said. “I don’t want to say anything crazy. That’s how I feel right now. I’m really trying to answer calmly. I don’t think I will be on Wednesday when I see them. But we’ll see.”

He even gave his players the benefit of the doubt, at least publicly. “I’ll go back. I’ll watch the tape.”

That may only make it worse.

It might be wise to lock his players in a video room and force them to watch the poor shot selection, failure to win 50-50 loose balls, the season-long rebounding deficiencies and even some guys jogging back on defense after a missed shot. How else do you explain Virginia making 56% of its shots, the same Cavaliers team that shot 32.8% against California earlier this season?

When asked about the plan to avoid another slow start — Pitt has been behind by eight or more points in the first half of all 11 ACC games — Capel said there was a simple strategy.

“The plan was to play hard,” he said before taking a long pause, disappointed he no longer had reason to praise his players’ effort.

“We had to guard the basketball. We knew what they were going to run offensively. Then, we had to rebound. We had to fight for our spots (on defense). We had to move the basketball. We have to do everything with strength. We have to be able to be physical, play through physicality.

“All those things we talked about, we did none of them. And, so, that was the game.”

The game was Pitt’s first in the ACC with a Saturday/Monday turnaround, but Virginia also played Saturday.

“This game was going to be about who could respond,” Capel said, “who can fight through a short turnaround. Obviously, we did not do that, and they did it at a very high level.”

Jorge Diaz Graham, who came off the bench to score nine points and outscore every teammate with the exception of Ishmael Leggett, was hopeful players will heed this wake-up call.

“This has to be that game that changes the season,” he said. “I believe there’s still time. I believe we’re a good team. We just need to keep fighting together. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

He’s right, you know. There are nine games left, and each one starts 0-0. But there are no longer any games Pitt fans can look at and say, “There’s a winnable game.”

Now, teams at the bottom of the conference standings — Boston College, N.C. State, Miami — can look at their date with Pitt and say, “There’s a winnable game.”

NCAA Tournament? Let’s first see if the Panthers (14-8, 5-6 ACC) can be competitive on the road, starting Saturday against North Carolina and, then, three days later at SMU. Pitt fell 10 spots in the NCAA NET rankings Tuesday morning, from No. 35 to No. 45.

The postseason is the last item on Capel’s mind, but with at least 10 games left (including the ACC Tournament), Pitt has a mathematical chance to reach 24 victories. Realistically, however, the Panthers must win seven of the 10 just to get to 21.

The optimistic Pitt fan will point to last year at this time when Pitt had the same overall and ACC records. Behind Blake Hinson’s strong leadership, the Panthers recovered and ended up with 22 victories, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy the NCAA Tournament committee.

Leggett and Jaland Lowe, who were part of Pitt’s second-half resurgence in 2024, need to assume Hinson’s role and prod the team to better efforts. But Lowe is shooting 37% (40 of 108) over the past eight games (six defeats).

“He’s got to play better, period,” Capel said.

Leggett has a strong personality and is averaging 15.8 points over the past seven. He could be the one to step up and help his teammates soldier through these rough days. Someone needs to do it.

Capel may play the role of bad cop when practice resumes Wednesday after the NCAA-mandated day off Tuesday. He said he’s been pleased with his players’ effort this season “for the most part.”

“But obviously what we’re doing right now is not enough,” he said, suggesting that changes in practice proceedings or even with the lineup may be appropriate.

“I’m open for anything right now,” he said. “We’ll get back together on Wednesday, and we’ll work. It’s as simple as that.”

He’d better hope it’s that simple.