With season 3 months away, Pitt coach Jeff Capel talks contract, Olympics, program pride

With the temperature outside Petersen Events Center hitting 90 on the first day of August, a relaxed Jeff Capel sat down with reporters for 34 minutes Thursday.

Topics of discussion ranged from Pitt’s nonconference schedule in the upcoming season to Capel’s contract extension through 2030 to the Olympics.

“I love the Olympics,” said Capel, an assistant on the men’s basketball team at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. “We were just watching the women’s gymnastics (in the locker room). I love the spirit of it, how proud these athletes are representing their country.”

Meanwhile, Pitt’s players found the Olympics offered a new avenue for some friendly trash talk. Canary Island natives Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham are fans of Spain’s men’s soccer team that won the European championship but lost to Egypt on Tuesday.

“Spain’s not doing as great in the Olympics right now, so they don’t have much to say,” Capel said of his twin forwards. “The guys are letting them know that.”

Back home, Capel said he is close to finalizing his nonconference schedule that he hopes offers a better opportunity to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. Presently, Pitt is scheduled to play five power conference schools outside the ACC: West Virginia, Oho State and Mississippi State, plus LSU and either Wisconsin or UCF in the Greenbrier Tip-Off Tournament.

”A lot was made of our nonconference schedule (last season),” Capel said. “We’ve tried to be mindful of that. We try to be mindful of it every year. I feel good about what we have on paper right now. The main thing is we have to play well for us to take care of our business.”

Capel’s contract extension was announced July 17, but he said it was finalized “for a while” before that.

”I don’t think it was ever in question,” he said. “Heather (Lyke, athletic director) and I have a great relationship.

“At the conclusion of the season, she had a conversation with my agent. I don’t get involved in contract stuff. I’m not equipped to do that. That’s not my expertise. I coach basketball. I’m grateful that Heather, the chancellor, the (Board of Trustees) gave me time, gave us time (to build the program).”

It’s been a busy summer for Capel, who has been on the road recruiting and attending the NBA Draft with his players at the invitation of Bub Carrington’s family and NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas at the insistence of Carrington’s father.

“Bub and his family wanted me to be (at the draft),” he said. “I was honored to be there and to be a part of that. These relationships we have with these guys are life relationships. It’s not a one- or two-year or four-year or how ever long the guy is here.”

When Capel told Bub Carrington Sr. he didn’t think he had time to squeeze a trip to Las Vegas onto his summer schedule, he was told, “I’m holding your feet to the fire. You need to be here.”

At that point, Capel couldn’t say no, and he was accompanied on his trip by staff members and program donors. There, they met with and watched former Pitt players Carrington, Blake Hinson and Justin Champagnie play for their NBA teams. Mo Gueye was injured and didn’t play.

Capel said past and present players coming together at the draft and The Basketball Tournament at the Pete recently painted a picture of his program that made him proud.

“When I took this job, it’s what I envisioned,” he said.

When he saw Hinson and Carrington return from Las Vegas and go straight to campus to work out with their former teammates, he asked Hinson why that was important to him.

“He said, ‘Justin did that for us. I wanted to make sure I was back with these guys.’ It shows the closeness that they have,” Capel said. “Probably more important to me is that these guys know they are a part of something bigger than them. That’s what I’ve wanted. That was my experience in college. I want all the guys that wear this uniform to feel that.”

He said when he spoke to the former players who composed the Zoo Crew at The Basketball Tournament, he told them, “This is your program. It didn’t matter if you played for Ben (Howland), Jamie (Dixon), me or Kevin (Stallings). You wore the jersey. You should always feel welcome here.”

The current team has been working out for several weeks at the Pete, and they have recently been joined by Jorge Diaz Graham and Papa Kante, who are recovering from injuries and should be ready for the season.

“I like what I’ve seen this summer,” Capel said. “Our returning guys got better, got stronger, got confident. The new guys fit in right away. I like the camaraderie that I’ve seen, the spirit of the team. I’m excited.”

He said it was “weird” not to hear Hinson’s voice at practice this summer, but players such as Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett are assuming Hinson’s leadership role.

“Blake’s imprint on this program goes well beyond the number of 3s that he hit (207), the distance of the 3s and the number of points (1,159) that he scored,” Capel said. “You can still feel his spirit on this team and in this program.”