Pittsburgh Basketball: Can Jeff Capel save the Panthers?

After two seasons under Kevin Stallings, the Pittsburgh Panthers have gone back to the drawing board, hiring Jeff Capel III in the process.

Life was good under head coach Jamie Dixon, that’s one sentiment resonating with the Pittsburgh Panthers faithful. He led the team to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in all but two seasons during his tenure as head coach. That’s why it took many by surprise when Dixon left the Pittsburgh Panthers basketball program to take the same position with the TCU Horned Frogs.

Since then, Dixon has gone 45-27 in his two seasons as the Horned Frogs head coach. His replacement at Pittsburgh, former head coach Kevin Stallings, is already gone. Stallings went 24-41 in his two seasons at the helm. He was hired from the Vanderbilt Commodores after leading them to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016. He became a staple with the Commodores, leading them to seven tournament appearances in 17 seasons as the head coach.

However, SEC basketball and ACC basketball are two different beasts, as Stallings learned rather quickly. Stallings went 4-22 in conference play in his short time with the Panthers. In The team went 0-18 in ACC play last season and it didn’t look like things would improve anytime soon.

By the time Stallings was fired, nine players on the Pittsburgh Panthers roster requested their release from the program. Only two of the players have remained with the basketball team since then, but that looks to be a good thing at the current moment.

The hiring of former Duke Blue Devils assistant coach Jeff Capel III marked a new era for the basketball program. Now, with his pedigree from a legendary coach, it’s up to Capel to resurrect the Pitt basketball program.

Analyzing Capel’s track record

Capel has the coaching and recruiting experience under his belt coming in from a prestige program like Duke University. It helps he’s turned into one of the top recruiters in the country as well considering Pitt is still in the ACC.

This isn’t his first stint as a head coach, either. He was a head coach at the University of Oklahoma and Virginia Commonwealth University. He steered the Sooners to a 96-69 record in five seasons and the Rams to a 79-41 record in four seasons.

It’s no surprise Jeff Capel III has wasted no time on the recruiting trail trying to strengthen the bare cupboard on the Panthers roster. Since his hiring, he’s offered a number of top players to go along with what remains in Oakland.

They lost Bryce Golden, a 4-star recruit out of Hagerstown, MD. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound power forward would have given them some much-needed bulk in the interior, but not anymore as he has since de-committed.

Capel was able to secure his first commitment of the 2018 class by securing Trey McGowens from Hargrave Military Academy. McGowens is an athletic 6-foot-4 combo guard with tremendous upside; expect him to get a ton of minutes for the Pittsburgh Panthers next season. He was originally a member of the 2019 class but decided to reclass and play a year early.

Another guard that Pittsburgh is actively pursuing is point guard Xavier Johnson (Arlington, VA ), who recently re-opened his recruitment, withdrawing his pledge from the University of Nebraska. Johnson is a 6-foot-1 point guard with tons of skill of both ends of the floor.

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Young and inexperienced will be a re-occurring theme for his team next year. Returning are guards freshman Shamiel Stevenson and junior Jared Wilson-Frame. So playing time shouldn’t be an issue for any player who signs with the Panthers. It will be interesting to see how the summer plays out for Capel and his coaching staff though as it’s paramount he gets some talent on this roster.