Pitt’s Capel gets another chance to coach against Carolina’s Davis, whom he used to emulate
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The relationship between Pitt coach Jeff Capel and North Carolina’s Hubert Davis, whose teams meet Wednesday night at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill, N.C., stretches back to the 1990s in Capel’s backyard in Fayetteville, N.C.
Only Davis might not be aware of the origin.
In those days, Davis was a star at North Carolina and Capel a standout high school player.
When Capel and his buddies played pickup games in his backyard, everyone tried to emulate Davis playing for the Tar Heels in the Final Four.
“I could shoot,” Capel said. “I couldn’t shoot like him.”
Later, when North Carolina was trying to recruit Capel, the future Pitt coach visited Chapel Hill and, briefly, met Davis in the locker room.
When both were assistants at Duke and North Carolina, they crossed paths at — of all places — their children’s soccer games. At one point, Davis helped Capel and his wife find a school for their kids when Capel returned to North Carolina after coaching at VCU and Oklahoma.
“He was on the (school’s) board,” Capel said.
The friendship will take a two-hour hiatus Wednesday when the Tar Heels (15-6, 7-3 ACC) try to stop Pitt’s momentum (15-7, 8-3) that has included four victories in the past five games.
North Carolina was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason poll but suffered through a 4-5 stretch in late November and December, losing to Pitt, 76-74, at Petersen Events Center.
Jamarius Burton scored 31 points for Pitt that day, but Davis said the Panthers are “more than just Burton.”
“They have a number of guys who can create a shot at any given time throughout their offensive possession,” he said. “What makes them so dangerous is they can hit contested shots, not just open shots. They can hit with guys in their face.
“They’re an older, more experienced team. They are a hardened, tough team that doesn’t get shaken.”
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels are unranked, but they have won four in a row while looking like a team no one wants to meet in the postseason. Armando Bacot, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound center and 2022 All-ACC first-team selection, leads the conference in rebounding (11.4 per game) and is second in scoring (17.8).
Pitt also defeated North Carolina and Davis, then a first-year coach, last season. Funny thing: It was Pitt’s last victory in a forgettable season, but North Carolina won six of its next seven and five in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Kansas, 72-69, in the national title game.
Capel is impressed with the job Davis has done, following legends Dean Smith (for whom he played) and Roy Williams (for whom he served on his staff). Smith’s and Williams’ North Carolina teams won 1,364 games, 26 ACC titles and five national championships.
“It’s very difficult in those jobs to replace legends,” Capel said. “He’s done a great job in one of the most pressure-filled jobs in what we do.”
He also called Davis “one of the best people you’ll meet.”
“He’s a really, really good man, very thoughtful, very humble. It’s never about him. It’s about the players.”
If North Carolina has struggled at times, Capel said he didn’t see any such signs at the Pete.
“I thought they were really good the last time we saw them,” he said. “I still think they’re really good. It starts with Bacot, the pressure he puts on your whole defense, with his ability to score, to draw fouls, rebound, give them extra possessions.”
North Carolina also is rested, getting a Saturday off after its 72-68 victory Jan. 24 at Syracuse.
In that game, R.J. Davis was hit in the eye by Syracuse’s Judah Mintz, who was called for a Flagrant 1 foul and ejected.
Davis was playing at an “All-American level” before the injury, according to his coach. He scored 26 against N.C. State, sinking all 14 of his free throws.
Davis is expected to play, but his coach said he probably will do so with a black eye.
“He couldn’t see out of one eye,” Davis said.
Reserve guard Puff Johnson, a Pittsburgh native who helped Moon win a PIAA championship in 2019, probably won’t play because of a knee injury, Davis said.