CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- For the first time, Jeff Capel publicly breached the sensitive subject matter regarding Dior Johnson, the Pitt freshman guard who is awaiting a preliminary trial for five charges stemming from a domestic incident in early September.
In his first appearance since the charges were filed against Johnson last Thursday, Capel didn't completely deflect the question I asked regarding Johnson while players Nelly Cummings and Jamarius Burton and he were on the main stage in the grand ballroom of the second floor of the Westin Charlotte.
Here is the question, word for word, that I asked Capel within the public forum: "Regarding the situation around Dior, do you have any further comment on that? You talked about the depth at the guard position. How do you figure they can step up with the projected absence of him?"
Capel sat in a wooden high-top style chair, flanked by Burton on his left and Cummings on his right, clutched a white paper coffee cup in his left hand, with the lights shining bright, and television cameras rolling. He responded with the following:
“Yeah, I don't have any more (comments). It's in the law now, so there's nothing else that we can say about that, any of us, any guy on the team, myself, anyone associated with our program. We put out a statement, and that's the statement that we'll go with. You know, I feel for him, but we're good. As a program, we're good. We're in a good space. We're good.”
The statement via Pitt athletics, issued on Friday, that Capel referred to reads as follows:
"University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball student-athlete Dior Johnson has been indefinitely suspended from all team activities pending the resolution of legal charges filed against him. The Pitt Athletic Department, which became aware of the charges Friday afternoon, will decline further comment until the legal process has reached a resolution."
So, yes, Johnson is still suspended indefinitely, and while he has a preliminary court date set for Oct. 20 on the charges, Pitt and Capel must find a way to plunge forward into the approaching season, which begins on Nov. 7 against Tennessee Martin.
But, the ending of what Capel mentioned in the public space rings loudly. There is still an obvious personal concern for Johnson within Capel -- "You know, I feel for him..." -- and in spite of the charges forcing Johnson to miss time on the basketball floor, Capel reinforced that his team's depth keeps the Panthers in a good position as the season opener nears.
"... but we're good."
I'm also not an expert on body language, but Capel scanning the room back-and-forth with his eyes as he said and repeated "we're good" doesn't emit a 100% confidence level that Pitt is, in fact, "good."
That final nod from Capel is the reinforcement behind the claim of his depth, though an outsider would likely disagree as the Panthers' best player on the floor this season unarguably would have been Johnson, with a drop off to follow. Johnson is the highest-rated recruit pulled into Pitt by Capel, and he may never see the floor for the Panthers.
Over the offseason, Capel took to the transfer portal to bring in guards Cummings (from Colgate) and Greg Elliott (Marquette) and forward Blake Hinson (Iowa State), which are three of eight newcomers to compose more than half of the Panthers' roster.
But none of those players are near the talent level and potential of what Johnson could have been.
Johnson is the third Pitt player within the last 21 months to have a legal charge brought against him, which has caused a hell storm from each side of the spectrum about the character of the players Capel is bringing into his program. Johnson is obviously an adult and has to make his own choices, but Capel told us in late September that Johnson "fell in our lap at the end" as a recruit, and that the process for bringing in new pieces to the roster was a product of "a lot of work, a lot of phone calls, a lot of communication on our part trying to make sure we get the right guys that we feel like can help us going forward, that can help us get better as a program, as a basketball team, and try to take steps forward and build this thing."
That vetting process has been brought into question, especially given the gravity of the charges brought upon Johnson.
"I think one of the things everyone needs to be careful of -- myself included -- we don't know," Capel said in a separate media breakout session on Wednesday. "We don't know what happened. Unfortunately, especially with what we do in sports, guys -- people -- are assumed guilty without due process. I think we need to let due process happen. Again, I don't have any control over it, and let what happens, and then when that happens, whatever, I'll comment on whatever happens."
John Hugley IV had three felony charges dropped in May of 2021 from an incident regarding a stolen vehicle in July of 2020, and Ithiel Horton went through legal troubles as he plead guilty to two counts of disorderly conduct and one count of public intoxication in January, after having one charge each of aggravated assault and resisting arrest dropped from an incident in which a police officer said Horton struck him in the face.
Fans are now, understandably, wondering out loud how a Pitt player could be within the scope of legal issues for the third straight year.
Capel's response to that potential frustration:
"I'm not sure I would say much, just because I can't control what (others) think," Capel said. "I can't control what's written, what's said, what's talked about. And unfortunately there's some things I can't comment on. I control what I can control, which is inside of our program. I know what's going on inside of our program. I can't control what's painted by a media member, by a donor, by a fan, what's said, or things like that."
Even with as many players coming and going as Pitt has on its current roster, Capel referenced his players handling the Johnson situation well, as practices continue in the lead-up to the start of the season.
"Because they've been connected," he said. "It's happened organically. Those guys care about each other, so we just go. Again, we control what we can control. It's our attitude, it's our effort every day, our discipline, how we practice, how we are with each other, and things like that."
More coverage from the ACC Tipoff in Charlotte can be found within our LIVE FILE.
