Pitt’s Jeff Capel eager to see the results of his offseason reconstruction project
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Finally, Pitt coach Jeff Capel can put down his phone and start doing what he loves and does best: coach basketball.
Capel opened basketball practice Monday at Petersen Events Center with seven players who weren’t on the team last season, and he’s eager to see the tangible results of a busy offseason.
“From March, when my season ended, until July, I thought we had to have a lot of wins,” he said. “And I thought we did that. I thought my staff did an unbelievable job of navigating recruiting, the transfer portal and high school recruiting. We were able to land six guys, and one just fell in our lap with Dior (Johnson, a nationally ranked 6-foot-3 freshman guard).
“But it was a lot of work, a lot of phone calls, a lot of communication on our part. Just trying to really make sure we get the right guys that we feel can help us going forward, can help us get better as a program and as a basketball team.”
Capel, who believes this might be his most talented Pitt team, has rebuilt rosters previously during his four seasons, and he hopes he got it right this time.
“Hopefully, we’ve gotten better at it,” he said, noting that with covid restrictions disappearing he was able to do more face-to-face recruiting.
Of course, there are no guarantees.
“You don’t truly know someone until you are with them all the time,” he said. “We’ve had a few weeks with them now and we feel like they are the right guys.”
The list of newcomers includes transfer guards Nelly Cummings, who scored 17 points for Colgate against Pitt last season, and Greg Elliott, formerly of Marquette, where he had a 40.9% career shooting percentage from beyond the 3-point arc.
The others are forward Blake Hinson, formerly of Ole Miss and Iowa State; 6-11 center Fede Federiko, a Finnish native who played at First Love Academy in Washington; freshman twins Guillermo (7-foot) and Jorge (6-11) Diaz Graham from the Canary Islands; and Johnson.
Jeff Capel, on his restructured team with seven new faces. pic.twitter.com/nAG67EF8Hg
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) September 26, 2022
Capel is especially pleased to have four players in his backcourt who are fifth- or six-year seniors: Cummings, Elliott and returnees Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande, who is recovering from a serious knee injury suffered at the outset of last season.
Elliott said perhaps the younger players can lean on the older ones.
“We have enough people who know what’s going on in terms of college basketball where our younger guys won’t be out on an island,” he said. “We can help (Johnson) get through whatever he’s trying to get through, instead of bumping his head.”
Elliott also believes he can help take defensive pressure off Pitt’s best player, junior center John Hugley.
“He was telling me he was tired of playing in crowds all the time,” Elliott said. “I told him that is something I can definitely help him out with. I can shoot the basketball. Make space for John.
“From the film I watched, you throw the ball to John, and there are at least six eyes on him, eight at times. You can’t do that if I’m on the opposite side. You can if you want to, but I shot 41% from 3.
“John can throw it to me, and I can throw it back to him. We can play catch all day, honestly. Whatever my team needs me to do, I can do it.”
Where did such confidence originate?
“I work too hard not to have confidence in myself,” Elliott said. “You can’t do nothing without confidence.”
Johnson, who is ranked No. 35 nationally by ESPN in the class of 2022, took a circuitous route to Pitt that includes time at six high schools. He also committed to Syracuse and signed with Oregon before flipping to Pitt.
Capel said he spoke to several people who know Johnson.
“You ask a lot of questions. You call people you feel have touched the kid in some way,” he said. “He’s talented. I knew that. But it was questions about all the other things. Why you have been in so many different schools? What’s the real story with that? Trying to find out as much about his character as you possibly can.
“The one thing that kept coming from everyone who we talked to — and it was a lot of people — is that he is really misunderstood. I think because of all the moving, you’re labeled. It’s easy to get labeled in what we do. Everyone talked about ‘he’s a really good kid.’
“It’s going to take time. There’s a lot to catch up on, especially strength-wise. You’re playing against guys who are older. Because of all the moving, there wasn’t a lot of development as far as his body is concerned.
“Everyone’s going to be watching. They want to look and see.
“He’s a good kid. He wants to be really good. He’s not afraid of the work. Great attitude so far for us, and we expect that to continue.”