The dramatically positive revival of Pitt basketball this year was the result of coach Jeff Capel recruiting and developing the right men and helping them bond as more than teammates. In a span of only a few months, they became friends who had each other’s backs.

But what spawned the environment for that to happen occurred behind closed doors with Capel, two high-ranking Pitt officials and one university group.

In the first six seasons after former coach Jamie Dixon departed for TCU, his alma mater, Pitt basketball had lost the lofty national reputation it had acquired through most of the first 16 years of this century.

Pitt was winless in the ACC in former coach Kevin Stallings’ final season (2017-18), and Capel’s subsequent conference records were 3-15, 6-14, 6-10 and 6-14.

But he was allowed last year to continue with the restoration project, and the result was a third-place ACC finish (tied with Duke and Clemson), an overall record of 24-12, 14-6 in the conference, and Pitt’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2016.

“I’m really grateful,” Capel said. “It normally doesn’t happen (when losing teams are given time to recover). Fortunately for me, the two most important people and one group — athletic director Heather (Lyke); the chancellor at the time, Chancellor (Patrick) Gallagher; and the group, the Board of Trustees.

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“I think they understood what we were dealing with when we took this job,” Capel said. “I think they understood where the program was, the state of the program.

“It’s not a quick fix, as much as I wanted it to be. If you look at my past as a head coach at the two places (VCU and Oklahoma), in year two at both places is when we flipped it, and we got to the (NCAA) tournament.

“There was a part of me that, maybe, had arrogance thinking, ‘Hey, it’ll happen quickly.’ And it didn’t.

“I’m grateful for those two people and the Board of Trustees that they understood, they had patience in the midst of a lot of noise. It would have been easy from the noise and things that group was hearing, reading to go in a different direction. If that’s what they chose to do, then so be it.

“But I’m grateful that they didn’t. I’m grateful that they gave us an opportunity. I’m grateful for the guys who decided to stay after year four and I’m really grateful to the guys that we were able to recruit and to watch that come together.”

Perhaps Lyke’s most difficult period on the job occurred at the end of those four years.

“We lost some games we certainly should not have lost,” Lyke told reporters after the 2021-22 season. “We were trying to figure out who we were. Probably disappointed that we weren’t as prepared as I thought. I don’t know if there was a lack of belief or confidence.

“It does take time to build a program the right way. We all want immediate success.”

A year ago, Capel prioritized the NCAA transfer portal and brought in starters Blake Hinson, Greg Elliott and Nelly Cummings to supplement holdovers Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande, who had transferred to Pitt previously.

Pitt got on board with programs across the nation who are looking more intently at transfers to provide immediate help. Staff hires were made specifically to target players in the portal.

A year ago, Lyke was worried about fading fan support, but the run to the NCAA Tournament energized the campus and made The Pete a home-court asset again.

During the 2021-22 season, there were reports that Capel’s contract called for a $15 million buyout if he was let go after that season. A year ago, Lyke denied Capel was retained for that reason, citing the importance of continuity.

She declined to discuss the buyout figure, but she said, “If your question is, ‘Did the buyout deter me from making a change?’ The answer is no.

“You don’t make personnel decisions based on buyouts at the end of the day. You do it based on the ability and the leadership qualities of that person and your confidence in them and your belief in what they’re doing.

“When you see that sort of energy, positivity, work ethic happening in what he’s doing, you want to retain people and not have Pitt be a place that is not a destination place.”

Her patience helped Pitt men’s basketball take its place next to the athletic department’s other successful programs.

“Everyone here has a pride about working and being a part of the University of Pittsburgh and Pitt Athletics,” Capel said. “When you see the success over the years that volleyball has had, that football has had, that soccer has had, we are incredibly proud of them, but you want to have a moment, too, or you want to have moments.

“Just watching each other, student-athletes going to support each other and then seeing how it happens, I think some of that just rubs off on the other players, the other teams, the other programs.

“It’s really cool to see the support that these student-athletes have for each other.”

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