Old friends, Pitt’s Jeff Capel and Clemson’s Brad Brownell prepare for crucial ACC clash
Share this post:
There was a time more than two decades ago when Jeff Capel and Brad Brownell matched their teams and their wits against each other with a different prize at stake than what will go to the winner Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C.
Capel was the coach at VCU, and Brownell was at UNC-Wilmington. Both teams played in the Colonial Athletic Association.
“He was a young coach. I was a young coach,” Brownell said. “There was a kinship there. We both had our hands full.
“There’s a friendship that’s been there a long time, based on respect and being good guys and being the right kind of guy in the job and the way you treat people and go about your business when you compete against each other. Happy to see what Jeff’s done … not just this year, but resurrecting the program.”
The hope around the Pitt program, though, is that Brownell won’t be as happy after 40 minutes of a crucial ACC game between Capel’s Pitt team and Brownell’s Clemson Tigers.
Both teams are tied for fifth in the ACC with N.C. State, seeking to finish fourth and earn the coveted double bye in the conference tournament that begins in two weeks. Perhaps even more important — depending on your point of view — is earning respect from the NCAA Tournament committee. Clemson (19-8, 9-7) may have a slightly firmer grasp on a potential invitation than Pitt (18-9, 9-7).
Actually, Pitt might need the victory even more desperately than Clemson, which is 23rd in the NCAA Net rankings with an 8-6 record in Quad 1 and 2 games. Pitt is 47th and only 5-7 against the best teams on its schedule.
Clemson has had an up-and-down season, starting with a nine-game winning streak that included victories against Alabama, South Carolina, TCU and Pitt (79-70 at Petersen Events Center on Dec. 3).
Capel said there isn’t much to gain by rewatching that game. He would rather forget it.
“I’ve watched some of it,” he said. “It was really very difficult to watch. We’re so much better (now). They’re better.
“So early. They played well. We did not play well. They made us not play well. We still had some opportunities. I think we’re very, very different now. They’re different.”
The big difference for Pitt has been the emergence of freshman point guard Jaland Lowe, who played only 8½ minutes in that game without scoring. Lowe plays the point now and is averaging 8.9 points and nearly three assists in 24.6 minutes per game. CarltonCarrington has moved to shooting guard, where he is Pitt’s second-leading scorer at 12.7 points per game.
“It allowed Carrington a little more freedom to just be a scorer and just take some pressure off him,” Brownell said.
Brownell also has noticed Pitt playing with a goal in mind.
“You see a tough-minded group, a group playing with a lot of urgency, very connected,” he said.
One hidden stat that has lifted the Panthers recently is their opponents’ 29.8 shooting percentage beyond the 3-point arc. That’s best in the ACC.
“We’ve done a little bit better job of guarding the basketball so we’re not in as many rotations,” Capel said. “We’ve done a better job of understanding scouting reports and personnel and being able to keep the ball in front of us. Our transition defense has been a little bit better.
“(Clemson) had us in rotations constantly (in December) and we did a really poor job, especially the first half, of transition defense against them, and they were able to get out and hit some easy 3s.”
Clemson is a well-rounded team with P.J. Hall third in the ACC in scoring (18.7), Ian Schieffelin third in rebounding (9.3 after getting 17 against Pitt) and Joe Girard III leading the conference in free-throw shooting (94.9%, 93 of 98) and third in 3-point percentage (42.5%, 82 of 193).
Capel calls Schieffelin Clemson’s “glue guy.”
“That kid Schieffelin is maybe as improved as anybody in the whole league,” Capel said. “He has a great spirit about how he competes. So does P.J.
“We really have to do a better job defensive rebounding, defending in the post. Our ball-screen defense, our transition defense were really bad the last time we played them.”
With the notable exception of the 91-58 loss to Wake Forest last week, Pitt has allowed an average of only 62 points per game in February.
“I like where we are right now,” Capel said, “just excited about the opportunity to go down and play a really good team.”
Meanwhile, Clemson has won 8 of its past 12 games, with the losses by one point each to N.C. State, Virginia and Duke, and three points to Georgia Tech. All four, except the Duke game, were at home.
“We’ve had to deal with some adversity, proud of the way our guys have responded after some heartbreaking losses,” Brownell said. “I don’t know if that’s going to harden us down the stretch.”