'I think this team has solid character': Jeff Capel defends Pitt's attitude, outlook through skid

Pitt’s four-game losing streak has its players and coaches looking in the mirror searching for solutions and trying to weather the storm.

The Panthers (12-6, 3-4 ACC) have not won since Jan. 4 against Stanford and most recently lost in overtime to Clemson at Petersen Events Center on Saturday.

Entering the week, Pitt’s NET ranking is No. 33.

While far from optimal, coach Jeff Capel believes Pitt’s longest skid since 2021-22 offers an opportunity to observe the true make-up of his team.

“I’ve always felt that, if used properly, this could be a time where you learn so much about yourself that you become tougher and stronger,” Capel said Monday. “At least, that’s been our experience the past couple of years. You find out the true character of your team. I think this team has solid character. I think we have good leadership. Certainly, it’s tested right now.”

Pitt has all of this week to reset and refocus ahead of its next game Saturday at Syracuse.

As preparations for the Orange begin, Capel has been on the lookout for signs of sagging morale. Through the Panthers’ ongoing stretch of adversity, Capel has found his team engaged.

“(Players) have continued to show up with a good attitude,” Capel said. “Certainly, we’re down. But this is something that we have to fix, and we feel it’s fixable. But we have to do it. We have to understand and recognize the things that we have (and) be willing to go out and do those things consistently to get better.

“Obviously, this is hard. It’s tough. The past two weeks have been extremely difficult. But we’re excited about the challenge we have ahead of getting this thing fixed.”

Ultimately, losses are losses, and the Panthers’ defeat against Clemson was exactly that: another tally in the wrong column with regard to their record.

However, rallying from a second-half deficit that grew to as much as 14 against a veteran Tigers squad that reached the Elite Eight last year showed grit.

“I loved our fight,” senior guard Ishmael Leggett said after the game. “I loved everything about who we were. We didn’t fold under pressure. We were down 10 at half, but we kept fighting, kept fighting, kept fighting and stayed in the fight. It didn’t go our way today, but I love the way that we handled ourselves when we played.”

Capel agreed with the sentiment Leggett expressed.

But Pitt putting itself in a position where late-game heroics were needed to emerge from a double-digit hole is among the things Capel and Co. are working to get corrected before it’s too late.

That’s not to suggest Pitt’s losing streak has featured four valiant efforts that came up short.

The Panthers were not competitive against Duke on Jan. 7, losing by 29 points, and the loss to Florida State on Jan. 15 featured a season-high 17 turnovers.

Capel is making sure his players recognize the areas of their individual and team game that need to be rectified.

“We can’t get down, have these lulls and then fight back,” Capel said. “We fought back in all of the games, but we have these stretches where we’re not getting stops, we’re not scoring and instead of it lasting for a couple of minutes, it lasts for three minutes and four minutes. All of the sudden, we’re down 16, or we’re down 15.

“First and foremost, we have to defend better for two halves. We have to be able to get stops down the stretch. We have to get 50-50 balls. We have to do a better job of executing offensively and understanding that when there are guys in the gap, we have to get off the ball.”

Capel knows the composition of his team better than anyone.

On the hardwood, plenty remains to be fixed for the Panthers.

But Capel finds some solace in knowing his players’ outlook and intentions are sound.

“I have confidence in our guys, every one, 1 through 12,” Capel said. “Our guys have great attitudes, they’ve showed up to practice (and) are trying to get better. It’s not anything where there’s a bad attitude. We collectively as a group — and it starts with me — we have to be better in every area. We’re going to work our butts off to try to make that happen.”