Jeff Capel still doesn't have any commitments from high school recruits for Pitt's 2022 class. But his comments during a Monday ACC coaches' Zoom session signaled that his plan for the Panthers might rely the Transfer Portal as a complete alternative.
The only high school prospect in the country committed to Pitt basketball right now is Marlon Barnes Jr., a four-star 6-foot-6 forward from Lyndhurst, Oh. who plays for Brush High School, the same school where John Hugley IV played. But Barnes' commitment only addresses the 2023 class, and after four-star guard Judah Mintz decommitted from the program after the Panthers' season opener loss to The Citadel, there still is no high school prospect committed to Pitt basketball for the upcoming recruitment class.
After seeing five players leave the program through the Transfer Portal, Capel was asked about his thoughts on the Portal as a recruitment tool.
"It's a tool that can be very important," Capel said. "Sometimes you get lucky and get guys you don't anticipate having the types of years they've had. The kid at Wake Forest, Alondes Williams, is a perfect example of that. He's as good a player as we have in our league. I don't think Steve (Forbes) or anyone on his staff expected that. They expected him to be good, but not to come in and be a frontrunner for Player of the Year in our league. We like the guys we were able to get and it's a tool we'll use moving forward. But it's a different tool that you have now to help your team become better."
Pitt used the Transfer Portal to replenish its roster with transfers like Mouhammadou Gueye, Jamarius Burton, Chris Taylor and Dan Oladapo. Gueye and Burton have emerged as team leaders for the Panthers in a recruitment class that had only one high school prospect in Nate Santos.
There's still time for Pitt to pick up high school commitments for its 2022 class, and Capel has been reported to be "warm" on two high school prospects according to 24/7 Sports. Both are guards in Mason Manning of Washington, Pa. and Tyson Commander of Bel Air, Md. But it's clear that Capel would much prefer players who can fit the mold he's trying to build Pitt basketball into this season. He's coached the Panthers to be a tough, defensive team that works to be more physical than teams as a major factor to win games. And he's clear that whoever he brings in will need to either fit into that type of team, or be part of whatever future plans he's making for the team to evolve.
"You try to get the guys you feel like are a fit for what you do and want to do with your program," Capel said of recruiting plans. "I don't think you can worry about what other people are doing, who else is recruiting, and other things like that. You try to get the guys you feel are a best fit. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't, but you keep working."
Capel's comparison to Wake Forest and how Forbes used the Transfer Portal could be the biggest sign of Pitt's plans. The Demon Deacons were one of the ACC's worst teams last season, finishing with a 3-15 conference record. But after pulling in Williams and three other transfers to the program to build around the two high school recruits already on the roster, Wake Forest has jumped to being 11-6 in the ACC, currently the fifth-best record and only 2.5 games back from Duke, who leads the conference.
If Capel can keep Hugley, Femi Odukale, Ithiel Horton, Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande, who has announced he would return on 93.7 The Fan, that would be a solid core to build around who would all have grown from Pitt's tough season this year. If Capel could hit on some playmakers like he did with Gueye and Forbes did with Williams, the Panthers could see a significant talent boost to their roster without having to outduel other programs over high school recruits.
• Capel also spoke about motivation and his outlook on how his team is approaching its final three regular season games against Miami, Duke and Notre Dame. All three are among the top teams of the ACC and pose serious challenges to a Panthers team that just lost to Georgia Tech, the team ranked last in the conference. That run of teams starts when Pitt plays Miami at the Petersen Events Center Tuesday night.
"We just concentrate on one game at a time," Capel said. "As a player you should be excited playing against three of the best teams in our league. It shouldn't take a coach or any motivating factors other than the competition to be ready for this game, so hopefully we are."
The 2021-2022 season was always meant to be a season of growth for Capel's team that centered around the improvement of two sophomores in Odukale and Hugley, as well as the hope that other young players like Santos, William Jeffress and Noah Collier could join veterans like Horton, Burton and Gueye as more consistent contributors in games. Capel feels like he's seen strides, but notes his players still have plenty of work to do.
"I think we've gotten better as the season's gone on," Capel said. "Like most teams, we've faced adversity between injuries, the suspension, the depletion of our guards and we got our butts handed to us. We've been able to respond at times. The thing I've been able to say over and over, is we've continued to show up, and because we've done that we've gotten better. One loss isn't indicative of where we are right now just like one win isn't indicative of who we are right now. As a coach, I understand what we're going through better than most and the progress we've made. Would I like for it to be more consistent? Sure. But I do understand the progress we've made. I do think our team has gotten better."
When asked about how he plans to motivate his players for a final stretch of the regular season against three of the ACC's best teams, Capel provided insight on his approach to coaching players for those moments.
"I don't know if it's more motivation or just teaching," Capel said. "To me, it's just coaching. I'm not big on rah-rah speeches and wasn't as a player. You just teach and tell them the truth. Is that motivating or inspiring? I don't know. Kids today are different. What inspires and motivates them? Sometimes during a pre-game speech I think I should send them all a text. If you're talking to them in a timeout, maybe they should all have phones and they'll get it in a mass text. It's a different time, but I think our guys are ready to play for the most part. Every team has moments when you're just flat and don't have it. We've had moments like that when we've been able to get out of it. Is it me and my words? I don't know if it's that or something inside of them. My job is to tell them the truth all the time. I've never had a problem doing that and I will continue to do it as long as I'm in this chair."
• Capel also spoke about the ACC Tournament returning to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. for the first time since it was played there in 2017 and 2018. Capel, a native of North Carolina who played college basketball at Duke, knows the history of the tournament as it's been hosted 54 times in North Carolina.
"I think the first year it was in Brooklyn was 2017," Capel said. "I was an assistant at Duke and a little skeptical of it, growing up in North Carolina and knowing how much it means there. I actually thought it was awesome in Brooklyn. Maybe that's because we won it, which was awesome, but it was really good. I'm fine with it being in Brooklyn. It gives fans a different type of experience and a lot to do when their teams aren't playing because they can experience the city. There's no greater city than New York City. It's fine there. If it was in Madison Square Garden that would be great because there's no better arena than Madison Square Garden. but Brooklyn has been very good for us."
