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TJ99
03-27-2018, 11:47 AM
https://247sports.com/Article/Source-Pittsburgh-is-hiring-Jeff-Capel-116740259

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-27-2018, 11:48 AM
https://247sports.com/Article/Source-Pittsburgh-is-hiring-Jeff-Capel-116740259

This makes more sense than Scheyer. Sorry to see him go, but glad to see him back in the first chair with a lot of potential.

DukeBlue666s
03-27-2018, 11:50 AM
There went our recruiting spree ...

FerryFor50
03-27-2018, 11:51 AM
So what does this do to the "Capel successor to K" rumors? Is that squashed because Capel went off and did the HC thing at an ACC school?

Also, I imagine this is going to really hurt in our recruiting. Capel has been *key* in getting these 5* guys to Duke.

kAzE
03-27-2018, 11:55 AM
Mind. Blown.

Ian
03-27-2018, 11:57 AM
Well, that came out of nowhere....

I wonder then if the stuff with Scheyer is Pitt trying to get him to join Jeff's staff? Like Jeff said he'd only go if Scheyer is hired as his head assistant or something.

TJ99
03-27-2018, 11:57 AM
So what does this do to the "Capel successor to K" rumors? Is that squashed because Capel went off and did the HC thing at an ACC school?

Also, I imagine this is going to really hurt in our recruiting. Capel has been *key* in getting these 5* guys to Duke.

Yea - I definitely feel like this is going to hurt our recruiting and I always thought the reason he stayed at Duke was to replace K.

arnie
03-27-2018, 11:59 AM
Mind. Blown.

This tells me K is coaching another 20 years and Capel didn’t want to wait.

ChillinDuke
03-27-2018, 11:59 AM
Color me shocked. I thought there was an unwritten rule that the Assistants had all of K's blessings to find an HC job, so long as it's not in conference.

Wow. Still digesting.

ETA: Or maybe this is a brilliant ploy in that Capel will send the Pitt transfers to Duke, one up Ole Roy with a whole gaggle of Pitt transfers. How you like that, Roy?

- Chillin

TKG
03-27-2018, 12:00 PM
Well, if true, certainly brings a whole bunch of change our way in 2018-19; players, coaches..........

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-27-2018, 12:00 PM
Mind. Blown.

Is this really so surprising? It rather makes sense to me. I mean, Capel has fought back hard from being a power five head coach who lost his job under unfortunate circumstances. He has been sitting next to K, recruiting his rear off, and filling in the big chair on occasion. Do you begrudge him taking another swing?

His first big job will be recruiting back those folks that asked for a release. That will keep him busy for a bit.

I wish him nothing but the best. He has given Duke as much or more than anyone this side of K. And, it may let the Indomitable Nate James slide over a seat.

Go get em Jeff!

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 12:02 PM
Congrats to Coach Capel!

I almost feel like the Scheyer talk was a decoy.


So what does this do to the "Capel successor to K" rumors? Is that squashed because Capel went off and did the HC thing at an ACC school?

I'm sure Jeff has Coach K and Duke's full support on this move. He's still very much in the running, imo. I'd be surprised if he and his agent did't negotiate an easy path out if the Duke job were ever offered to him.



Also, I imagine this is going to really hurt in our recruiting. Capel has been *key* in getting these 5* guys to Duke.


There went our recruiting spree ...

Doubtful. If you read/watch prospect interviews after they commit, they pretty much all say they came to Duke for Coach K. Now, perhaps Jeff was very good at selling Coach K to recruits. That's possible. But I feel like that's a skill that can be passed on to the next lead recruiter.

CDu
03-27-2018, 12:03 PM
Brutal news. Potentially a game changer for our recruiting.

Ian
03-27-2018, 12:03 PM
Is this really so surprising? It rather makes sense to me. I mean, Capel has fought back hard from being a power five head coach who lost his job under unfortunate circumstances. He has been sitting next to K, recruiting his rear off, and filling in the big chair on occasion. Do you begrudge him taking another swing?

His first big job will be recruiting back those folks that asked for a release. That will keep him busy for a bit.

I wish him nothing but the best. He has given Duke as much or more than anyone this side of K. And, it may let the Indomitable Nate James slide over a seat.

Go get em Jeff!

I think it's surprising because people expected him to take over for K in a few years, and here he goes and signs a 7 year deal? Which means either he doesn't think K will retire any time soon or he doesn't think he'll be the replacement.

Messimorgan17
03-27-2018, 12:03 PM
So what does this do to the "Capel successor to K" rumors? Is that squashed because Capel went off and did the HC thing at an ACC school?

Also, I imagine this is going to really hurt in our recruiting. Capel has been *key* in getting these 5* guys to Duke.

Is Coach K looking to go in a different direction, recruiting wise?

He is directly competing and a 7 year deal. Sounds like maybe same thing as with Hopkins and Boeheim. K not planning to retire anytime soon.

Mind blowing- rumors were about Scheyer being interviewed in Durham

tbyers11
03-27-2018, 12:05 PM
Congrats to Coach Capel!

I almost feel like the Scheyer talk was a decoy.



Or somebody got wind that Pitt people were talking to Duke people and just assumed it was regarding Scheyer.

kako
03-27-2018, 12:06 PM
Dang, really? If this is true, it sucks on several fronts:

1. Duke loses its main recruiter, a guy who could reach so many players. It's not obvious who replaces him.
2. Duke loses a former head coach on its bench. Capel wasn't amazing filling in for K while he was out, but he was at least competent.
3. Duke has to play Pitt. Capel knows K and is better able to plan against him. I think K is better, but the edge needs to be acknowledged.
4. In the past, Duke had someone ready to step up when someone left. Is Scheyer the man? James? Smith? I think all have big question marks. I hope they prove me wrong.
5. I will hate rooting against Capel. I'll do it, but I won't like it.
6. Pitt is a pretty tough place to try to build a program, so I don't know if he can be successful.

Ugh.

DangerDevil
03-27-2018, 12:09 PM
Is this really so surprising? It rather makes sense to me. I mean, Capel has fought back hard from being a power five head coach who lost his job under unfortunate circumstances. He has been sitting next to K, recruiting his rear off, and filling in the big chair on occasion. Do you begrudge him taking another swing?

His first big job will be recruiting back those folks that asked for a release. That will keep him busy for a bit.

I wish him nothing but the best. He has given Duke as much or more than anyone this side of K. And, it may let the Indomitable Nate James slide over a seat.

Go get em Jeff!

I find it surprising.

I’m not saying Pitt is a horrible job but if Capel wanted to leave I am surprised that he hasn’t had more enticing oppurtunites to leave.

I assumed he was very happy in the spot he had and was waiting to see what would happen when K retires.

Hopefully the good news out of this development is that Coach K doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.

Capel has played a large role in our recruiting success but Scheyer has also been mentioned and credited with a lot of that success.

lmb
03-27-2018, 12:10 PM
Is Coach K looking to go in a different direction, recruiting wise?

He is directly competing and a 7 year deal. Sounds like maybe same thing as with Hopkins and Boeheim. K not planning to retire anytime soon.

Mind blowing- rumors were about Scheyer being interviewed in Durham

Coaches get out of contracts all the time so I'm not sure the 7-year thing means much

CDu
03-27-2018, 12:12 PM
Is Coach K looking to go in a different direction, recruiting wise?

He is directly competing and a 7 year deal. Sounds like maybe same thing as with Hopkins and Boeheim. K not planning to retire anytime soon.

Mind blowing- rumors were about Scheyer being interviewed in Durham

I sure hope it means Coach K is planning to stay around a long time.

moonpie23
03-27-2018, 12:15 PM
lot's of speculation....let's see how it plays out starting in 2018-19.....

kind of a surprise tho....

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 12:17 PM
I sure hope it means Coach K is planning to stay around a long time.

That was my first thought.

My second is that for some reason K does not want Capel to replace him, and Capel knows this. Just a wild second thought....considering how close they seem.....but given what happened.....

My third thought is that the OAD era is coming to a close, and that was maybe Capel's biggest contribution to the team, recruiting soon to be pros. That's really a reach, but heck, it crossed my mind.

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 12:18 PM
Dang, really? If this is true, it sucks on several fronts:

1. Duke loses its main recruiter, a guy who could reach so many players. It's not obvious who replaces him.
2. Duke loses a former head coach on its bench. Capel wasn't amazing filling in for K while he was out, but he was at least competent.
3. Duke has to play Pitt. Capel knows K and is better able to plan against him. I think K is better, but the edge needs to be acknowledged.
4. In the past, Duke had someone ready to step up when someone left. Is Scheyer the man? James? Smith? I think all have big question marks. I hope they prove me wrong.
5. I will hate rooting against Capel. I'll do it, but I won't like it.
6. Pitt is a pretty tough place to try to build a program, so I don't know if he can be successful.

Ugh.

This seems glass half empty.

I think we should be happy for Coach Capel that he has gotten a chance at another P5 school, happy for Nolan Smith to (presumably) get promoted from "special assistant" to real assistant, confident that Coaches K, Scheyer, James, and Smith can keep the ball rolling in recruiting since recruits almost unanimously say they come to Duke for Coach K. Plus, the "Brotherhood" doesn't go away or anything. One "brother" has gone to Pitt, and I'm sure all the other "brothers" are happy for him and confident that Duke will roll on.

pfrduke
03-27-2018, 12:20 PM
This seems absurdly glass half empty.

I think we should be happy for Coach Capel that he has gotten a chance at another P5 school, happy for Nolan Smith to (presumably) get promoted from "special assistant" to real assistant, confident that Coaches K, Scheyer, James, and Smith can keep the ball rolling in recruiting since recruits almost unanimously say they come to Duke for Coach K. Plus, the "Brotherhood" doesn't go away or anything. One "brother" has gone to Pitt, and I'm sure all the other "brothers" are happy for him and confident that Duke will roll on.

Also, I would be very optimistic in Coach Smith's ability to succeed on the recruiting trail. He's such a personable guy and forms great relationships with people he comes across. Capel's shoes are no doubt large to fill, but I believe in the ability of the guys on the bench to be next man up.

fuse
03-27-2018, 12:21 PM
This shocks me and bums me out far more than the loss this weekend.

Congratulations to Pitt, they got a great one.
Happy for Pitt, sad for Duke.

K disciple in the ACC. Didn’t think we’d ever see that.

DangerDevil
03-27-2018, 12:23 PM
Also, I would be very optimistic in Coach Smith's ability to succeed on the recruiting trail. He's such a personable guy and forms great relationships with people he comes across. Capel's shoes are no doubt large to fill, but I believe in the ability of the guys on the bench to be next man up.

Nolan’s already has the jackets for the job, I am sure he can find the shoes to match!

Matches
03-27-2018, 12:24 PM
Coaches get out of contracts all the time so I'm not sure the 7-year thing means much

The Pitt job is a ground-up rebuild, though - I don't think anyone would take that job unless they were planning to stay at least 3-4 years. It will take that long to get that program on its feet.

Which suggests Capel did not believe he would be the Duke HC in the next 3-4 years. That could mean K plans to keep coaching indefinitely. It could also mean other things. I guess we'll see. Either way, good luck to Capel in his new position.

OldPhiKap
03-27-2018, 12:24 PM
Good luck Jeff!

kAzE
03-27-2018, 12:24 PM
Is this really so surprising?

I think it's surprising. It's not surprising that he's accepted a head coaching job. That was inevitable.

It's that he accepted THIS job, which several other coaches, including Dan Hurley, turned down. It's not exactly the greatest situation to inherit, either. I wonder if Jeff will convince some of the transfers to stay at Pitt.

But the most surprising part of it is that he will be coaching a team in the same conference as Duke. No matter how you want to look at it, he's now the enemy. Of course we wish him the best, but now we have to compete with him on the court and on the recruiting trail every year. It's a huge loss for Duke.

The way I'm rationalizing this is that Coach K encouraged him to take this opportunity because K knows he'll have to find a worthy successor soon, and wants to see how all of his former assistants handle running a program in this current era. I think it's going to come down to Wojo, Collins, or Capel.

Billy Dat
03-27-2018, 12:29 PM
For everyone tired of Duke's pivot to the one-and-done, your prayers have been answered!!!

Just kidding, kind of.

I had fully bought into the narrative that Capel was K's successor because (A) following K is a tall order and real serious candidates might like a buffer ala Gut/Doh! at UNC and (B) Capel wouldn't get a shot somewhere he deemed suitable because of his violation issues at Oklahoma. I agree that this might signal K's desire to coach for years (health willing). I also assume Nolan slides into full assistant status. Has Scheyer done enough to warrant the Associate HC tag? Who slides into Nolan's slot? Palace intrigue commence...

I am happy for Coach Capel. I have to assume they threw a ton of $$$$ at him.

TruBlu
03-27-2018, 12:29 PM
No worries. K will coach at Duke until his hair turns gray, and our recruiting wasn’t too shabby when Capel wasn’t on the bench.

Capel to Pitt gives us another reason to pull for Pitt when they play the cheaters. (As if we need another reason.)

tfk53
03-27-2018, 12:31 PM
Also, I would be very optimistic in Coach Smith's ability to succeed on the recruiting trail. He's such a personable guy and forms great relationships with people he comes across. Capel's shoes are no doubt large to fill, but I believe in the ability of the guys on the bench to be next man up.

Agree with this thought re recruiting capabilities of Smith - altho I hope he ditches that one sports coat he wore at Syracuse game on any recruiting trips.

I do feel the talk about Scheyer was Pitt blowing smoke to cover their true interest. I would be surprised to see Scheyer head to Pitt as an assistant as that move would not be as strong of a resume builder as staying with Coach K. I can see a mid-major coming hard for Scheyer.

Imagine the money talked loudly enough for Capel as well as seeing that K was not leaving anytime soon. Good for him to take this opportunity. A top notch guy who has contributed to Duke mightily as player and coach. Hard to imagine him leaving Pitt in several years to return to Duke - head coach switches within the ACC? Has that ever occurred? None that come to mind.

Also brings up the question of who does Coach K pick to take Capel's place on coaching staff. A spot for Paulus ?

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 12:34 PM
No worries. K will coach at Duke until his hair turns gray, and our recruiting wasn’t too shabby when Capel wasn’t on the bench.

Capel to Pitt gives us another reason to pull for Pitt when they play the cheaters. (As if we need another reason.)

Uh, K's hair would be grey already if it ever were going to be.......no judgment here, I touch up my facial hair and have for years. It is what it is.

Owen Meany
03-27-2018, 12:34 PM
I enjoy seeing all of the Duke guys do well. I especially like seeing Capel and the other guys from 1995 do well. Coming back to Duke has been great for Duke and Capel. I think this hurts since Duke has so little experience on its bench outside of Coach K. And this could hurt recruiting some. But I also think that Capels impact on recruiting has been exaggerated. Duke's resurgence in recruiting coincided with Coach K's resurgence - Olympic success (and just as importantly his visible relationship with LeBron and Kobe), his 4th National title, the publicity as he became the All time wins leader - all of which brought about a general public acceptance that Coach K is the GOAT.


Capel definitely did a great job selling Duke. But he had a great product to sell. Very few kids go to a school for an assistant coach. Capel did great and I'm not diminishing what he has accomplished. But I've seen him credited with bringing in kids that he wasn't even the lead recruiter on. One of the frustrations at Oklahoma was they didn't capitalise on Blake Griffin's popularity to get higher level recruits. Capel has done well enough that he hasn't just helped Duke, but actually elevated his own reputation as recruiter also - which is amazing for an assistant coach.

I think it's great that Capel well get another shot to prove he's ready for a head coaching position. It puts all of Coach K's guys on equal footing. But I'll be nervous to see who they bring in because I don't see an obvious replacement. Duke will have a young, inexperienced bench now.

rocketeli
03-27-2018, 12:35 PM
I was surprised when Capel took a job at Duke, as probably no other player stayed 4 years at Duke under Coach K and left less happy than Jeff and his family. It was not an accident that his younger brother went to UNC. But Coach Capel really seemed to have moved on and gave the job the traditional "110%" I think he's better as a recruiting specialist than a head coach, but he's still a big overall talent, so I'm surprised again, that it was Pitt. I would have thought, if he were really wanting to be a head coach again, he could get a much better situation. But who knows? Maybe the money was right, or the kids left home so he has the time now...maybe he doesn't want to succeed Coach K and this move makes it less mandatory that he do so. Whatever. I wish him the best, except when he's playing against, or recruiting against Duke.

DukeWarhead
03-27-2018, 12:36 PM
Also brings up the question of who does Coach K pick to take Capel's place on coaching staff. A spot for Paulus ?

This was this first thing I thought of as well. Kobe is retired and has a great bond with K. Think that might help with recruiting? HA!

UrinalCake
03-27-2018, 12:36 PM
The surprising thing to me is not just that he took this job, but that he DIDN'T take the Arizona State job last year, which was a MUCH better job. At Pitt he will be starting entirely from scratch, unless he can convince some of the current players to stay. We can all speculate on what changed from last year to this year, and how it potentially pertains to his future at Duke, but we'll probably never know for sure.

I had felt starting a couple years ago that Capel would be best served taking a HC job elsewhere to prove he could handle it. I thought that would put him in a better position to succeed Coach K than remaining as the associate. But as the years passed it seemed like he was intent on staying. If he goes to Pitt and is reasonably successful and K retires in, let's say, three seasons then that might still be the plan. But the timing of all this seems really odd.

Tripping William
03-27-2018, 12:37 PM
Good luck Jeff!

He'll need it. Major challenge in front of him.

UrinalCake
03-27-2018, 12:38 PM
Also, with respect to recruiting I guess I'm not as worried as everybody else is. Capel has been the guy to bridge the gap and who can relate to the young kids, but ultimately they're coming to play for K and because of the program's track record of getting guys to the NBA. That's not going to change. And if we take a dip on bringing in the OAD's and are able to instead land some 4-star multi-year guys, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world either.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 12:38 PM
The surprising thing to me is not just that he took this job, but that he DIDN'T take the Arizona State job last year, which was a MUCH better job..

It could well be that something changed.....maybe his long term prospects at Duke changed....maybe something else. Because you're right, ASU would be better job, and dadgummed better climate, than Pitt. That has not changed in a year. Neither has Capel's appeal. Something else must have.

OldPhiKap
03-27-2018, 12:41 PM
ASU was a long way from his ailing father. Would not discount that.

Natty_B
03-27-2018, 12:41 PM
It could well be that something changed....maybe his long term prospects at Duke changed...maybe something else. Because you're right, ASU would be better job, and dadgummed better climate, than Pitt. That has not changed in a year. Neither has Capel's appeal. Something else must have.

Capel turned down the Arizona State job in 2015 not last year. This is mainly intriguing because I had just assumed Capel was the head coach in waiting - that's not such a clear assumption anymore.

Acymetric
03-27-2018, 12:41 PM
The surprising thing to me is not just that he took this job, but that he DIDN'T take the Arizona State job last year, which was a MUCH better job. At Pitt he will be starting entirely from scratch, unless he can convince some of the current players to stay. We can all speculate on what changed from last year to this year, and how it potentially pertains to his future at Duke, but we'll probably never know for sure.

I had felt starting a couple years ago that Capel would be best served taking a HC job elsewhere to prove he could handle it. I thought that would put him in a better position to succeed Coach K than remaining as the associate. But as the years passed it seemed like he was intent on staying. If he goes to Pitt and is reasonably successful and K retires in, let's say, three seasons then that might still be the plan. But the timing of all this seems really odd.

Maybe he's had his fill of living west of the Mississippi? Plus, while the basketball program was in arguably better shape I'm not sure it is that much of a better job. Pitt has been bad lately, but it isn't like they have a long history of bottom dwelling like Duke Football or Northwestern Basketball.

weezie
03-27-2018, 12:42 PM
Also, with respect to recruiting I guess I'm not as worried as everybody else is. Capel has been the guy to bring the gap and who can relate to the young kids, but ultimately they're coming to play for K and because of the program's track record of getting guys to the NBA...

I'm with UCake. Families and players are listening ultimately to K.
Best of luck to Capel. He's got a pretty ideal opportunity. Build it from foundation up.

Tripping William
03-27-2018, 12:42 PM
ASU was a long way from his ailing father. Would not discount that.

And his then-aging (now very recently deceased) grandfather. I think you may be on to something here.

tbyers11
03-27-2018, 12:43 PM
ASU was a long way from his ailing father. Would not discount that.

This is a very good point that I hadn't really considered regarding Jeff taking (or not taking) a HC job in the last 2 seasons.

pfrduke
03-27-2018, 12:44 PM
And his then-aging (now very recently deceased) grandfather. I think you may be on to something here.

Yeah, a lot of life changes for Capel in the past year that makes puts him in a different decision-making position this offseason.

dukebluesincebirth
03-27-2018, 12:45 PM
It seems like a big gamble for Jeff imo, but obviously I don’t know all of his reasoning. To me, it’s a place where you could likely fall flat on your face in trying to rebuild. If that likely scenario plays out, then what? You can’t just hold your assistant position open next to K. You’ve failed at 2 separate programs as HC. What now? Seems like a big risk, but maybe the $ talked... do we know the parameters of the contract yet?

DangerDevil
03-27-2018, 12:45 PM
ASU was a long way from his ailing father. Would not discount that.

Excellent point about his family health issues that I had forgotten about.

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 12:46 PM
Capel turned down the Arizona State job in 2015 not last year. This is mainly intriguing because I had just assumed Capel was the head coach in waiting - that's not such a clear assumption anymore.

Oh, I think you can rule that out. If a promise had been made, he'd still be at Duke.

Now, I expect that Capel will be a candidate for the Duke job when Coach K retires, but it's not predetermined like many were assuming.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 12:46 PM
Capel turned down the Arizona State job in 2015 not last year. This is mainly intriguing because I had just assumed Capel was the head coach in waiting - that's not such a clear assumption anymore.

Thanks for clarifying, I was responding to a post that indicated it was last year. As for your assumption comment, I'll go one further. I think this makes it likely that this assumption was indeed murky at best. And you have to wonder if that is because something that has changed, or if it was always a shaky assumption. I admit, I was almost assuming it myself since 2015.

Wander
03-27-2018, 12:47 PM
It's good for Duke in the long term. The choice of who replaces K is going to be such a huge factor in determining Duke's place in college basketball for decades, and it's only good that we get to further test how one of the potential choices does as a head coach in the ACC.

DukeWarhead
03-27-2018, 12:48 PM
I'm not worried about the coaching staff. Pretty sure K can get a very good person to join the team. Plenty of $ and the best class coming in, not a bad landing spot. Would be interesting if he brought in somebody from USA basketball connections...

UrinalCake
03-27-2018, 12:48 PM
I think it's surprising. It's not surprising that he's accepted a head coaching job. That was inevitable. It's that he accepted THIS job, which several other coaches, including Dan Hurley, turned down.

That's my thought exactly. We know he was offered the AZ State job last year. I would have to imagine he has been approached by dozens of schools over the past few years, many of whom would be better jobs than Pitt. They ran Jamie Dixon out of town despite him making the tournament 75% of the time. Then they canned Stallings after only giving him two seasons, one of which had him forced into a heavily depleted roster starting five freshmen. Now the entire team has asked for their release. And they compete in the ACC, facing Duke and UNC 1-2x per season. Honestly I'm having a hard time thinking of a worse head coaching job than this. If I found out that Scheyer had taken it, my reaction would have been that he could have done much better.

EDIT: thanks to the earlier poster who corrected me on the AZ State job being offered TWO years ago.

Acymetric
03-27-2018, 12:48 PM
It seems like a big gamble for Jeff imo, but obviously I don’t know all of his reasoning. To me, it’s a place where you could likely fall flat on your face in trying to rebuild. If that likely scenario plays out, then what? You can’t just hold your assistant position open next to K. You’ve failed at 2 separate programs as HC. What now? Seems like a big risk, but maybe the $ talked... do we know the parameters of the contract yet?

I'm not sure why that would seem to be the case...Pitt has been above .500 in league play exactly twice in the last 7 seasons. The bar will be low early on, and he will get plenty of latitude.

cato
03-27-2018, 12:49 PM
It seems like a big gamble for Jeff imo, but obviously I don’t know all of his reasoning. To me, it’s a place where you could likely fall flat on your face in trying to rebuild. If that likely scenario plays out, then what? You can’t just hold your assistant position open next to K. You’ve failed at 2 separate programs as HC. What now? Seems like a big risk, but maybe the $ talked... do we know the parameters of the contract yet?

Fear of failure does not seem to keep many Duke guys back.

I think Coach Capel will be a success, but even if he does not succeed, he will have earned plenty of money and will have no problem getting back into the coaching gig somewhere.

I do not see this as a big gamble. This is a big opportunity, although a loss for Duke.

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 12:52 PM
It seems like a big gamble for Jeff imo, but obviously I don’t know all of his reasoning. To me, it’s a place where you could likely fall flat on your face in trying to rebuild. If that likely scenario plays out, then what? You can’t just hold your assistant position open next to K. You’ve failed at 2 separate programs as HC. What now? Seems like a big risk, but maybe the $ talked... do we know the parameters of the contract yet?

If he can recruit, he'll succeed. By all accounts, he can recruit.

CDu
03-27-2018, 12:52 PM
I mean, from a coaching standpoint, I think it is a great move by Pitt and a great opportunity for Capel. He has ZERO pressure to win now, despite being at a Power 6 program with a strong tourney presence this century. And Pitt gets a terrific recruiter with lots of head coaching experience and tutelage from the best. Seems like a win-win for both parties.

From Duke's standpoint, it makes me nervous. I HOPE that this was a situation where Coach K feels confident he has another 5-10 years left in him on the sidelines. If so, then I think it's great. Let another top assistant get a Power 6 job to increase the likelihood of having a clear-cut successor from the Duke tree. If Coach K does indeed have 5-10 years left, I can't imagine Capel sticking around as an assistant for that long considering his prior head coaching experience and the duration of his tenure at Duke.

It also gives guys like Nolan Smith and Nate James a chance to increase their roles in the program. Presumably Nolan now gets an assistant coach spot as opposed to being a special assistant to the program. Nolan can undoubtedly help with the "relating to the younger players" part, so hopefully Capel's exit doesn't hurt us on the recruiting trail.

Looking forward to seeing what Capel can do, and hoping that it doesn't throw a wrench into the home stretch of Coach K's career.

JD for Three!
03-27-2018, 12:53 PM
I wish Capel well. He has done a lot for Duke.
Interesting that I read a Can Reddish article this morning, and he said Scheyer called him immediately after the 2015 championship and said Reddish would take us to another. Hope so and hope Scheyer is doing a good deal of recruiting. Having met him a handful of times, I can telll you any parent would love him.

dukebluesincebirth
03-27-2018, 12:55 PM
If he can recruit, he'll succeed. By all accounts, he can recruit.

True. But he was recruiting FOR Coach K. Now he'll be recruiting AGAINST Coach K.... and some pretty darn good other coaches/recruiters in the ACC. A little bit of a difference there. I wish him luck.

kako
03-27-2018, 12:56 PM
OK, I'm over my shock and disappointment losing Capel. Perhaps it elicited my previous response since it comes on the heels of losing to KU... Anyway, reading threads more, I wonder this:

1. If other teams thought that Capel would be available, wouldn't they have approached him? There might have been better jobs out there if his availability was more known. Many other teams must have thought like many on this board did - he was waiting for K to retire.
2. Why Pitt? I see more negatives than positives here. Other than selfishly perhaps it is a Duke master plan to see how Capel coaches against ACC competition and then bring him back when K retires... though I doubt that since it would be unethical in my book.

And for the record, I'm holding out for Amaker to take the reigns from K someday.

Saratoga2
03-27-2018, 12:57 PM
Dang, really? If this is true, it sucks on several fronts:

1. Duke loses its main recruiter, a guy who could reach so many players. It's not obvious who replaces him.
2. Duke loses a former head coach on its bench. Capel wasn't amazing filling in for K while he was out, but he was at least competent.
3. Duke has to play Pitt. Capel knows K and is better able to plan against him. I think K is better, but the edge needs to be acknowledged.
4. In the past, Duke had someone ready to step up when someone left. Is Scheyer the man? James? Smith? I think all have big question marks. I hope they prove me wrong.
5. I will hate rooting against Capel. I'll do it, but I won't like it.
6. Pitt is a pretty tough place to try to build a program, so I don't know if he can be successful.

Ugh.

On ESPN they threw out JWills name. I don't think that would be enough financially for JWill to come.

CDu
03-27-2018, 12:57 PM
True. But he was recruiting FOR Coach K. Now he'll be recruiting AGAINST Coach K... and some pretty darn good other coaches/recruiters in the ACC. A little bit of a difference there. I wish him luck.

He did a pretty darn good job of recruiting at Oklahoma, which had plenty of good coaches/programs as well. I think he'll do fine on the recruiting trail.

I don't expect him to beat out Duke for the top recruits, but I think he'll get his share of upper-tier guys.

hallcity
03-27-2018, 12:58 PM
A couple of thoughts. First, I’ll bet Capel’s contract with Pitt gives him an out to take the Duke job. Second, I’d love to see Battier back as an asst coach

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 01:00 PM
That's my thought exactly. We know he was offered the AZ State job last year. I would have to imagine he has been approached by dozens of schools over the past few years, many of whom would be better jobs than Pitt. They ran Jamie Dixon out of town despite him making the tournament 75% of the time. Then they canned Stallings after only giving him two seasons, one of which had him forced into a heavily depleted roster starting five freshmen. Now the entire team has asked for their release. And they compete in the ACC, facing Duke and UNC 1-2x per season. Honestly I'm having a hard time thinking of a worse head coaching job than this. If I found out that Scheyer had taken it, my reaction would have been that he could have done much better.

EDIT: thanks to the earlier poster who corrected me on the AZ State job being offered TWO years ago.

I'm not sure that's a safe assumption. Even the ASU offer was influenced by Colangelo, who knew Capel through USA basketball.

I think it's far safer to assume that Jeff made a rational decision, i.e. Pitt was one of his better options out there, in fact, the best option in his view.

AtlDuke72
03-27-2018, 01:00 PM
Coaches get out of contracts all the time so I'm not sure the 7-year thing means much

I hate to see him go for the short term, but long term I think it is best for all concerned. None of the former players on the Coach K coaching tree have shown yet that they should be the heir to Coach K. Capel did pretty well at Oklahoma but nothing to suggest he was a coach at the highest level. He gets credit for being a great recruiter at Duke and I hope it continues for him at Pitt and he shows that he can be a big winner. If so, he will be at the top of the list in 4 or 5 years or whenever Coach K decides to stop coaching. Pitt has always had good teams and should get good again in a hurry. Congratulations to Coach Capel and thanks for all you have done for Duke!

Turk
03-27-2018, 01:00 PM
I think it's surprising. It's not surprising that he's accepted a head coaching job. That was inevitable.

It's that he accepted THIS job, which several other coaches, including Dan Hurley, turned down. It's not exactly the greatest situation to inherit, either. I wonder if Jeff will convince some of the transfers to stay at Pitt.

But the most surprising part of it is that he will be coaching a team in the same conference as Duke. No matter how you want to look at it, he's now the enemy. Of course we wish him the best, but now we have to compete with him on the court and on the recruiting trail every year. It's a huge loss for Duke.

The way I'm rationalizing this is that Coach K encouraged him to take this opportunity because K knows he'll have to find a worthy successor soon, and wants to see how all of his former assistants handle running a program in this current era. I think it's going to come down to Wojo, Collins, or Capel.

I don't know about *several* other coaches turning down the job. Thad Matta and Danny Hurley were on the top of the list. Mark Schmidt from St. Bona and Nate Oats from U of Buffalo have also been mentioned, but no indication they were actually offered anything.

As for coaching against former assistants in the ACC, Coach K has been competing against Mike Brey for a while, so it's not like there's no precedent, and I doubt it's jeopardized their relationship. I am confident Jeff will be able to persuade some of the current players to stay, but I think he has some work to do before he is directly competing with Duke for OADs.

Assuming Nate and Jon stay put, the most interesting question to me is who will join the Duke staff. I think we have enough former players; I'd like to see an assistant who has made his bones coaching defense. The floor is now open for nominations.

CameronBornAndBred
03-27-2018, 01:00 PM
2. Why Pitt? I see more negatives than positives here. Other than selfishly perhaps it is a Duke master plan to see how Capel coaches against ACC competition and then bring him back when K retires... though I doubt that since it would be unethical in my book.


If you want to prove yourself as a good coach and a good recruiter, Pitt is the perfect job to jump into. They can't have high expectations next year, so a glimmer of hope becomes a ray of sunlight in that scenario. Also, Capel doesn't have to sell a conference he isn't as familiar with to recruits. Another bonus.
I hope he does great in every game that he doesn't play us, and then if he proves himself, ethics or not, I'd love to see him back in Cameron.

CameronDuke
03-27-2018, 01:01 PM
It seems like a big gamble for Jeff imo, but obviously I don’t know all of his reasoning. To me, it’s a place where you could likely fall flat on your face in trying to rebuild. If that likely scenario plays out, then what? You can’t just hold your assistant position open next to K. You’ve failed at 2 separate programs as HC. What now? Seems like a big risk, but maybe the $ talked... do we know the parameters of the contract yet?

How did Capel fail at VCU as head coach? He was 79-41 in 4 seasons there as head coach. He won the CAA and made the NCAAT in 2003-2004. This was all before VCU's 2011 Final Four run so they were a much less well known program then than now. He recruited from Raeford, North Carolina arguably the greatest player in VCU history in Eric Maynor whose jersey now hangs in the rafters at VCU. The same player that went on to hit a dagger last second shot to beat Duke in the 2007 NCAAT first round in Buffalo. He obviously did well enough at VCU in his time there to be hired at Oklahoma. I don't think he failed at VCU whatsoever.

Also, keep in mind Capel took over at VCU as head coach when he was 27 years old.

CDu
03-27-2018, 01:04 PM
OK, I'm over my shock and disappointment losing Capel. Perhaps it elicited my previous response since it comes on the heels of losing to KU... Anyway, reading threads more, I wonder this:

2. Why Pitt? I see more negatives than positives here. Other than selfishly perhaps it is a Duke master plan to see how Capel coaches against ACC competition and then bring him back when K retires... though I doubt that since it would be unethical in my book.

And for the record, I'm holding out for Amaker to take the reigns from K someday.

Re: #2, I don't think Pitt is a bad job at all. It is a zero pressure gig, at a program that is committed to rebuilding things (new AD in place, throwing good money at the coach), and a program that has a good history of success in the not-too-distant past. Power 6 school means you'll get tons of TV exposure, which helps on the recruiting trail. Located in a great city. You simply don't get many opportunities like that, with no immediate expectations of success.

kako
03-27-2018, 01:05 PM
On ESPN they threw out JWills name. I don't think that would be enough financially for JWill to come.

Hubert Davis left ESPN to work for Roy... This would be interesting, but given it's ESPN this is probably just sportsyak.

kAzE
03-27-2018, 01:05 PM
A couple of thoughts. First, I’ll bet Capel’s contract with Pitt gives him an out to take the Duke job. Second, I’d love to see Battier back as an asst coach

Count me in for that. Love me some Battier.

CDu
03-27-2018, 01:06 PM
A couple of thoughts. First, I’ll bet Capel’s contract with Pitt gives him an out to take the Duke job. Second, I’d love to see Battier back as an asst coach

I would suspect that Nolan Smith is the replacement assistant coach.

crdaul
03-27-2018, 01:06 PM
Did somebody think this is April 1?????

Duke76
03-27-2018, 01:09 PM
Brutal news. Potentially a game changer for our recruiting.

maybe.....but what does it say about K's intentions...I think it says this, .....he's gonna fight for Duke until he can't fight no more...Duke's his everything or nothing", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nnstylh2g8

if that is what is one of the implications of this move....and i think it is...its Great news, imo

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 01:12 PM
As for coaching against former assistants in the ACC, Coach K has been competing against Mike Brey for a while, so it's not like there's no precedent, and I doubt it's jeopardized their relationship.

Yeah, and Coach K and Boeheim play each other every season and remain "best friends" (Coach K's words). I think the not-competing-in-the-same-conference thing is more of a fan thing/preference (including myself), but the reality for coaches is that there are only so many P5 jobs. Kevin Keatts was a former Pitino assistant who took the job at NCSU, for example, and only Pitino getting fired stopped them from competing.

CDu
03-27-2018, 01:13 PM
maybe....but what does it say about K's intentions...I think it says this, ....he's gonna fight for Duke until he can't fight no more...Duke's his everything or nothing", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nnstylh2g8

if that is what is one of the implications of this move...and i think it is...its Great news, imo

Yeah, that's the implication I'd like it to mean for sure.

Saratoga2
03-27-2018, 01:14 PM
If you want to prove yourself as a good coach and a good recruiter, Pitt is the perfect job to jump into. They can't have high expectations next year, so a glimmer of hope becomes a ray of sunlight in that scenario. Also, Capel doesn't have to sell a conference he isn't as familiar with to recruits. Another bonus.
I hope he does great in every game that he doesn't play us, and then if he proves himself, ethics or not, I'd love to see him back in Cameron.

Jeff is a mature guy and an experienced coach with a good record and an excellent recruiter. I think he has made a move in his interest, since coach K may be between 2 and 5 years away from stepping down.

There is talk of Capel being missed as a recruiter and I think that is true. Our recruiting has been outstanding and by all accounts he has been a big part of that success. I also wonder about his impact on coach K's coaching decisions. He is probably not credited with many of the positive things that have gone on with the Duke team. Those things will now be missing.

As far as worrying that a new and less experienced coach cannot handle the reins should coach K need to step down sooner than later, coach K was once one of those young and fairly inexperienced coaches. Maybe we will find the right guy and all will be well again and maybe even, one of the guys currently on the bench fits that description.

Turk
03-27-2018, 01:16 PM
A couple of thoughts. First, I’ll bet Capel’s contract with Pitt gives him an out to take the Duke job. Second, I’d love to see Battier back as an asst coach

Not me. Battier for President!!

SupaDave
03-27-2018, 01:16 PM
Count me in for that. Love me some Battier.

Me three - somehow this didn't even cross my mind but he'd be phenomenal.

cbarry
03-27-2018, 01:17 PM
Best wishes to Coach Capel. They must have paid him a fortune to coach at that dump of a hoops program. Maybe he can turn it around. Will take years, decades, if at all.

Please tell me there is no chance Capel could/would pull any of our incoming freshman to Pitt. Since he is the main recruiter, maybe he’s working to get some top level talent to play in Pittsburgh. I don’t see Capel stabbing K in the back like that though.

Ian
03-27-2018, 01:18 PM
Count me in for that. Love me some Battier.

Shane is my favorite player of all time but I don't see it. Getting into coaching is a huge life commitment, being an assistant coach is a grueling and mostly thankless job and you only get into it if you really want a career as a head coach some day. Guys who made their millions in the NBA like Laettner, Hill, Battier, etc aren rarely interested in that, they'll enjoy their retirement, do some TV commentary now and then, not spend countless hour away from their family watching game tape or on recruiting trips.

Spanarkel
03-27-2018, 01:18 PM
Oh, I think you can rule that out. If a promise had been made, he'd still be at Duke.

Now, I expect that Capel will be a candidate for the Duke job when Coach K retires, but it's not predetermined like many were assuming.

Will Muschamp was named HC in Waiting at Texas in the Fall of '08, had his DC salary more than doubled to .9M/yr(unheard of at that time) and was promised a 5 yr contract as HC when Brown retired, but left for Florida two years later...

Acymetric
03-27-2018, 01:19 PM
A couple of thoughts. First, I’ll bet Capel’s contract with Pitt gives him an out to take the Duke job. Second, I’d love to see Battier back as an asst coach

Battier has previously said he had no interest in coaching once his playing career was over (of course, he would not be the first person to change their mind over time).

A few people have mentioned the "coaching against K" issue. I suspect Coach K learned a lesson about this many years ago with Bob Knight and is not interested in repeating it with the guys who have come up under him. Would consider it a non-issue.

cspan37421
03-27-2018, 01:21 PM
No worries. K will coach at Duke until his hair turns gray, and our recruiting wasn’t too shabby when Capel wasn’t on the bench.

Sorry for the tangent, but I always assumed K must dye his hair like is always suggested by the Hypocrites on the Hill. But you know what, his five-o'clock shadow is pretty dark. So maybe he doesn't, IDK. Hardly matters.

Pitt is lucky. From what I read, they need to get players, and badly, and Capel is said to be excellent at precisely that. Right now they need that more than Xs and Os, and he's decent at that anyway. So they have a lifeline now.

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 01:23 PM
None of the former players on the Coach K coaching tree have shown yet that they should be the heir to Coach K.

Well, I wouldn't say that. I would only say that the former player in Coach K's coaching tree with, by far, the best coaching resume and coaching chops never gets mentioned to become Coach K's replacement.

This former player has an amazing pedigree of experience, including both international ball and also 4 years within a Duke-like professional organization of culture and success. If you polled the best basketball coaches in the world (enough of a hint?), this former K assistant would receive rave reviews for his defensive schemes and also some clever offensive schemes as well.

Acymetric
03-27-2018, 01:27 PM
Well, I wouldn't say that. I would only say that the former player in Coach K's coaching tree with, by far, the best coaching resume and coaching chops never gets mentioned to become Coach K's replacement.

This former player has an amazing pedigree of experience, including both international ball and also 4 years within a Duke-like professional organization of culture and success. If you polled the best basketball coaches in the world (enough of a hint?), this former K assistant would receive rave reviews for his defensive schemes and also some clever offensive schemes as well.

This guy?

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/3ninjas/images/b/b6/Tni_in4pb.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131228155818

...wait...wrong Snyder my bad.

Spanarkel
03-27-2018, 01:28 PM
Well, I wouldn't say that. I would only say that the former player in Coach K's coaching tree with, by far, the best coaching resume and coaching chops never gets mentioned to become Coach K's replacement.

This former player has an amazing pedigree of experience, including both international ball and also 4 years within a Duke-like professional organization of culture and success. If you polled the best basketball coaches in the world (enough of a hint?), this former K assistant would receive rave reviews for his defensive schemes and also some clever offensive schemes as well.

Quin Snyder

kako
03-27-2018, 01:28 PM
Re: #2, I don't think Pitt is a bad job at all. It is a zero pressure gig, at a program that is committed to rebuilding things (new AD in place, throwing good money at the coach), and a program that has a good history of success in the not-too-distant past. Power 6 school means you'll get tons of TV exposure, which helps on the recruiting trail. Located in a great city. You simply don't get many opportunities like that, with no immediate expectations of success.

OK, I'm not trying to jinx Capel. I'm a bit torn with wanting him to be successful and wanting Pitt to remain a doormat. Duke has enough competition in conference already!

That being said:

1. Pitt is coming off an historically awful season. We are definitely talking rebuild from scratch. Since Capel has cred, expectations will be higher than if they hired a low/mid-major coach with some NCAA success.
2. Yes, there's a new AD. But history does show the school itself did run off Dixon despite his success.
3. Pitt did not have much national TV exposure last year, and they were already slated to be bad. Next year, I think the regional ACCN will be their main TV exposure, except when they play Duke, UNC and maybe a game or two against major ACC powers in major TV markets (we are not going to see Pitt-Wake on College Game Night). Sure it's more than, say, Drake, but Pitt is pretty low for their Power 5 status (I no longer count Pac-12 as a power conference). One could submit it's better than nothing, but it's not much.
4. No teams/fan bases/bean counters have no immediate expectations of success. People wanted K fired 2-3 seasons in, even after he made the NIT his first year when the NIT meant something, and that was oh so long ago. Stallings was fired after 2 seasons. Again, yeah, new AD. But "trusting the process" doesn't work long in college.

I just think if the basketball world thought Capel was available, might not there have been better jobs available? Or other schools considering canning their current coach to get Capel? As I write this, I realize more and more I really don't like him going to a ACC school. Maybe that's it. But I stand by my opinions.

cspan37421
03-27-2018, 01:28 PM
Well, I wouldn't say that. I would only say that the former player in Coach K's coaching tree with, by far, the best coaching resume and coaching chops never gets mentioned to become Coach K's replacement.

This former player has an amazing pedigree of experience, including both international ball and also 4 years within a Duke-like professional organization of culture and success. If you polled the best basketball coaches in the world (enough of a hint?), this former K assistant would receive rave reviews for his defensive schemes and also some clever offensive schemes as well.

off the top of my head ...
Brey?
nevermind, not a former player (at least for K)

Bilas? Defensive schemes?
Toughie.

Chip Engelland?

Ian
03-27-2018, 01:29 PM
Well, I wouldn't say that. I would only say that the former player in Coach K's coaching tree with, by far, the best coaching resume and coaching chops never gets mentioned to become Coach K's replacement.

This former player has an amazing pedigree of experience, including both international ball and also 4 years within a Duke-like professional organization of culture and success. If you polled the best basketball coaches in the world (enough of a hint?), this former K assistant would receive rave reviews for his defensive schemes and also some clever offensive schemes as well.

Quinn Snyder is not leaving an NBA head coaching job though.

84Duke
03-27-2018, 01:32 PM
Best wishes to Coach Capel. They must have paid him a fortune to coach at that dump of a hoops program. Maybe he can turn it around. Will take years, decades, if at all.

Please tell me there is no chance Capel could/would pull any of our incoming freshman to Pitt. Since he is the main recruiter, maybe he’s working to get some top level talent to play in Pittsburgh. I don’t see Capel stabbing K in the back like that though.

I grew up in Pittsburgh and live there now. It was a very good program in the recent past, has a great arena, and fans who will jump back on the bandwagon if they return to a competitive level. Honestly, 3 of the past 5 Pitt coaches (Paul Evans, Ben Howland, Jamie Dixon) were successful coaches.

Capel has something to work with here - and he has ACC scholarships to give.

Oshima25
03-27-2018, 01:33 PM
Count me in for that. Love me some Battier.

Me Three! Jaywill seems more likely, but either would be awesome. I think ESPN is likely paying him as much or more than Duke could, but if I'm not mistaken Jaywill has made himself some money, and there's undoubtedly more potential for a lucrative raise in the future as a head coach than at ESPN.

Another name I think we should keep an eye on is Gerald. I only say this because he's around the program a LOT these days, much like Nolan was in the year before he was hired. (I realize Nolan was helping out and G is commentating, but he seems pretty closely attached.) I'd have said the same about Quinn a year ago, but he's now a little busy replacing Steph Curry.

dudog84
03-27-2018, 01:34 PM
Some people need to put out the fires on their heads. Duke will be fine. Capel will be fine.

I say great for Jeff. Good school, great city. Best basketball conference in the country (and no ACC recruiting rivals in their area). The other major university in the state is not much competition (Penn State made NIT semis this season, but no history, that's why the Pitt job is better than Arizona State...and I know about Villanova, but that's a different type of university experience).

K has always made it known that he wants his assistants to aspire to head coaching positions. The ACC isn't tight anymore, no round-robin, he'll probably not see Capel more than once a year until he retires. And I think it's very important from a Duke perspective they see how K's prospective successors do as a head coach. I always expected Capel to leave and prove himself. I think he'll do great. Duke is going to have a lot of options, and a very difficult decision (unless someone goes wild in the next few years), when K retires.

Congrats Jeff, and best of luck!

Turk
03-27-2018, 01:37 PM
Best wishes to Coach Capel. They must have paid him a fortune to coach at that dump of a hoops program. Maybe he can turn it around. Will take years, decades, if at all.

Please tell me there is no chance Capel could/would pull any of our incoming freshman to Pitt. Since he is the main recruiter, maybe he’s working to get some top level talent to play in Pittsburgh. I don’t see Capel stabbing K in the back like that though.

OK, this is getting old. As CDu and I keep reminding people, two years of Kevin Stallings has made people forget about the 18 years of Ben Howland and Jamie Dixon, where they made the NCAAT 13 times and had #1 seeds in 2009 and 2011. Now we have DBR posters (who should know better) getting Pitt confused with Duquesne, Slippery Rock, or Robert Morris. Enough already!

It took Stallings two years to trash the program, and it will take Jeff three years to get back to .500 in the ACC. Yeah, I'm going there. Book it.

Please be serious about Capel's mysterious mind meld over incoming recruits. None of Duke's OADs are going to decommit from Duke and go to Pitt. Just stop.

Capel will need to do three things: 1) keep the right players from the current roster (and yes, there are a few); 2) find a few transfers / grad students with eligibility for some competitive help the next couple of seasons; 3) recruit his own guys, finding under-the-radar players for 2018-19, and setting his own vision for 2019-20.

pfrduke
03-27-2018, 01:39 PM
Quinn Snyder is not leaving an NBA head coaching job though.

There's also the small detail of the recruiting sanctions at Missouri.

Owen Meany
03-27-2018, 01:42 PM
Quinn Snider would be great, purely based on coaching ability. I always assumed the troubles at Mizzou would prevent him from being hired. After reading more details about that it was an extremely weird situation involving Athletic Dept staff and wives. IIRC, Quinn was guilty of taking a flyer on a questionable kid and it backfired. In fairness to him, if it had worked out we might all be talking about how it turned the kid's life around. It was a shame because Snyder seemed destined to succeed. Of course, he got there but it was a long, circuitous trip. I blame Larry Brown.

I have assumed that his success with the Jazz makes him as unattainable as Brad Stevens. I can't imagine wanting to go through the grind of recruiting. But that may be my own personal bias. The pros probably have their own difficulties.

kako
03-27-2018, 01:42 PM
Chip Engelland?

There's a typo with the "D" in Engellan.... :)

CarmenWallaceWade
03-27-2018, 01:42 PM
Just an article (with a bunch of highly annoying ads), but an interesting take.

"Capel's going from Duke to Pitt, but only Krzyzewski may know what that really means"

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article206983009.html#storylink=cpy

budwom
03-27-2018, 01:47 PM
Some people need to put out the fires on their heads. Duke will be fine. Capel will be fine.

I say great for Jeff. Good school, great city. Best basketball conference in the country (and no ACC recruiting rivals in their area). The other major university in the state is not much competition (Penn State made NIT semis this season, but no history, that's why the Pitt job is better than Arizona State...and I know about Villanova, but that's a different type of university experience).

K has always made it known that he wants his assistants to aspire to head coaching positions. The ACC isn't tight anymore, no round-robin, he'll probably not see Capel more than once a year until he retires. And I think it's very important from a Duke perspective they see how K's prospective successors do as a head coach. I always expected Capel to leave and prove himself. I think he'll do great. Duke is going to have a lot of options, and a very difficult decision (unless someone goes wild in the next few years), when K retires.

Congrats Jeff, and best of luck!

I agree, everyone should be happy for Capel. I'm sure K is...long term deal at a school that does have some hoop history...and being as bad as they currently are, there can be no demand to win immediately.
Good situation. Does not preclude a possible return to Duke, not that Capel needs to succeed K anyway...and I think the "coaching vs K" worry makes no sense whatsoever....he's been a great assistant and now he's getting his due...

Bomar
03-27-2018, 01:48 PM
Also brings up the question of who does Coach K pick to take Capel's place on coaching staff. A spot for Paulus ?

We should rope in Singler, haha. Then one of my all-time favorite Duke triumvirates would be back, but coaching! (This has nothing to do with potential coaching ability, just Duke dreams)

Duke76
03-27-2018, 01:49 PM
Yeah, that's the implication I'd like it to mean for sure.

taking it a step further and its a large one, maybe fantasy on my part....Brad Stevens gets a couple of NBA titles under his belt and has all the money in the world, no longer is challenged there and hates the travel......... and when K is ready to retire in 5 to 7 years....Brad takes over

kako
03-27-2018, 01:51 PM
Just an article (with a bunch of highly annoying ads), but an interesting take.

"Capel's going from Duke to Pitt, but only Krzyzewski may know what that really means"

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article206983009.html#storylink=cpy

Pushing away from the bar and taking a swig of my beer... maybe like the article says, Capel was told he wasn't getting the job (another sip)... and he went to Pitt to try and prove he was the right choice (chug)...

Anyway, I do wish him well. Just not against Duke in any capacity... Call me a Lyft.

Owen Meany
03-27-2018, 01:52 PM
Pitt fans probably didn't fully appreciate the job Jamie Dixon did until he was gone. The same can be said for NCSU and Sendek and a lot of other guys. I'm guessing a couple of years of Stallings served as a real palate cleanser for those around the Pitt program. I also think people are greatly underestimating the draw of an 8 figure contract and the opportunity to run your own ACC program. Capel lost a job before and came out OK. Give me 15 million or whatever and I won't worry about job security.

cato
03-27-2018, 01:52 PM
Shane is my favorite player of all time but I don't see it. Getting into coaching is a huge life commitment, being an assistant coach is a grueling and mostly thankless job and you only get into it if you really want a career as a head coach some day. Guys who made their millions in the NBA like Laettner, Hill, Battier, etc aren rarely interested in that, they'll enjoy their retirement, do some TV commentary now and then, not spend countless hour away from their family watching game tape or on recruiting trips.

Agree completely. There are some former players who have enjoyed long careers in the NBA to get into coaching, but most coaches seem to have had short (or non-existent) pro careers.

Dukehky
03-27-2018, 01:54 PM
We don't need a special assistant. Nolan will get promoted, and we'll roll with Nate, Jon, and Nolan.

Unless, K wants a more senior coach, and I don't know who that would be, but it would likely be a coach from somewhere else. None of our old guys is really available there, because it's not going to be Paulus (I hope).

BD80
03-27-2018, 01:55 PM
Great move by Pitt's new AD.

My sense is that the AD realized that the search was not going well, and began to appreciate the depth of the hole that had been dug by the previous AD. And upped the ante. I hope Jeff is getting seriously paid for this gig.

It is win-win. Jeff gets the chance to prove himself on the national stage - which will up the cache of the Duke Brotherhood. It opens up at least one other assistant slot on the bench for a former player to occupy. It won't surprise me if Jeff takes on someone like Paulus or Smith.

I have no doubt that Jeff has a beneficial escape clause in his contract.

In my mind, Pitt will not be an awful job. If they were able to land Capel, I'm certain they promised full support - facilities and the like. Pitt has a world class medical program and I wouldn't be surprised if they immediately implement the entire training and recovery programs that Duke has implemented, complete with complete motion tracking throughout practices and games.

I'm betting Jeff convinces nearly all of the current players to stay.

Turk
03-27-2018, 01:57 PM
I grew up in Pittsburgh and live there now. It was a very good program in the recent past, has a great arena, and fans who will jump back on the bandwagon if they return to a competitive level. Honestly, 3 of the past 5 Pitt coaches (Paul Evans, Ben Howland, Jamie Dixon) were successful coaches.

Capel has something to work with here - and he has ACC scholarships to give.

Thank you. Agree 100%. I have young Turks at Pitt. We happened to be in the Pete on Feb. 28, 2016, barely two short seasons ago.
Does anyone else remember? I bet Coach K, Jeff Capel, and Grayson all do. Pitt blows out Duke wire-to-wire (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400839229)

Recency bias, anyone?

ehdg
03-27-2018, 01:57 PM
It could well be that something changed....maybe his long term prospects at Duke changed...maybe something else. Because you're right, ASU would be better job, and dadgummed better climate, than Pitt. That has not changed in a year. Neither has Capel's appeal. Something else must have.

Really hate to remind all but something did change for Coach Capel. His dad past away during this past season. That could have been a major reason he stayed and didn't take the ASU job. Didn't want to leave the area while his dad was ill and figured his dad and mom still needed him around and he wanted his kids to still have time with their grandfather. Just a thought.

Scorp4me
03-27-2018, 01:57 PM
No, no, no, no, no...this sucks! Candy coat all you want but this sucks on every front!

El_Diablo
03-27-2018, 01:57 PM
No worries. K will coach at Duke until his hair turns gray, and our recruiting wasn’t too shabby when Capel wasn’t on the bench.


Uh, K's hair would be grey already if it ever were going to be....no judgment here, I touch up my facial hair and have for years. It is what it is.


Sorry for the tangent, but I always assumed K must dye his hair like is always suggested by the Hypocrites on the Hill. But you know what, his five-o'clock shadow is pretty dark. So maybe he doesn't, IDK. Hardly matters.

You guys might want to invest in an HD television if you think Coach K doesn't have any gray hair.

Owen Meany
03-27-2018, 01:58 PM
FWIW, when the rumor broke about Scheyer it said that Coach K was pushing him for the job. Its likely that Coach K campaigned for this, which would explain how it happened so quickly and so under the radar.

UrinalCake
03-27-2018, 02:02 PM
We don't need a special assistant. Nolan will get promoted, and we'll roll with Nate, Jon, and Nolan.

Yeah that seems to be the usual progression when the associate leaves - everybody moves up a spot on the bench. Nolan will be great as a recruiter, he's such a likable guy. Also didn't Chris Carrawell have some sort of position on the staff a few years back?

I love Battier as we all do, but I don't see how we bring in a guy with zero minutes of coaching experience in his entire life unless it's at the bottom of the pecking order.

wavedukefan70s
03-27-2018, 02:02 PM
It's a lot to digest in one week.two major losses.

chrishoke
03-27-2018, 02:06 PM
Rumor has it that Scheyer turned Pitt down but recommended Capel.;)

tbyers11
03-27-2018, 02:06 PM
Yeah that seems to be the usual progression when the associate leaves - everybody moves up a spot on the bench. Nolan will be great as a recruiter, he's such a likable guy. Also didn't Chris Carrawell have some sort of position on the staff a few years back?

I love Battier as we all do, but I don't see how we bring in a guy with zero minutes of coaching experience in his entire life unless it's at the bottom of the pecking order.

Carrawell is an assistant under Wojo at Marquette.

dyedwab
03-27-2018, 02:07 PM
http://www.dukeblogger.com/statement-from-duke-head-coach-mike-krzyzewski-on-jeff-capel/

tbyers11
03-27-2018, 02:14 PM
http://www.dukeblogger.com/statement-from-duke-head-coach-mike-krzyzewski-on-jeff-capel/

Thanks for the link.

I never knew that Jeff named one of his kids Cameron. I like it.

DukeWarhead
03-27-2018, 02:14 PM
No, no, no, no, no...this sucks! Candy coat all you want but this sucks on every front!

Me dost think thou spazzeth too much. Chill.

dukelifer
03-27-2018, 02:15 PM
Great move by Pitt's new AD.

My sense is that the AD realized that the search was not going well, and began to appreciate the depth of the hole that had been dug by the previous AD. And upped the ante. I hope Jeff is getting seriously paid for this gig.

It is win-win. Jeff gets the chance to prove himself on the national stage - which will up the cache of the Duke Brotherhood. It opens up at least one other assistant slot on the bench for a former player to occupy. It won't surprise me if Jeff takes on someone like Paulus or Smith.

I have no doubt that Jeff has a beneficial escape clause in his contract.

In my mind, Pitt will not be an awful job. If they were able to land Capel, I'm certain they promised full support - facilities and the like. Pitt has a world class medical program and I wouldn't be surprised if they immediately implement the entire training and recovery programs that Duke has implemented, complete with complete motion tracking throughout practices and games.

I'm betting Jeff convinces nearly all of the current players to stay.

It makes a lot of sense for Capel. He is still in the hunt for the Duke job- he gets experience coaching in the ACC (which will help for the Duke job) with little expectations. If he makes the tourney - he will be viewed as a star at Pitt. It will hurt Duke's recruiting a bit but next man up for that. I am still surprised but money counts.

PensDevil
03-27-2018, 02:17 PM
Thank you. Agree 100%. I have young Turks at Pitt. We happened to be in the Pete on Feb. 28, 2016, barely two short seasons ago.
Does anyone else remember? I bet Coach K, Jeff Capel, and Grayson all do. Pitt blows out Duke wire-to-wire (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400839229)

Recency bias, anyone?

I was there as well. A miserable loss, but was that place rocking. When the Pitt students are out in force and engaged, the place really is a Zoo. It's also a very nice facility.

Chicken Little
03-27-2018, 02:21 PM
I am happy for Coach Capel. I have to assume they threw a ton of $$$$ at him.

Supposedly offered Danny Hurley $3M per... Got to be somewhere a little South of that for Capel, but still quite a pay bump. Doubt it was the main reason, but certainly can't hurt.

chrishoke
03-27-2018, 02:21 PM
Great statement by K. Absolute homerun hire for Pitt. Best of luck Coach Capel, and thanks!

UrinalCake
03-27-2018, 02:27 PM
8235

rasputin
03-27-2018, 02:28 PM
Sorry for the tangent, but I always assumed K must dye his hair like is always suggested by the Hypocrites on the Hill. But you know what, his five-o'clock shadow is pretty dark. So maybe he doesn't, IDK. Hardly matters.

Pitt is lucky. From what I read, they need to get players, and badly, and Capel is said to be excellent at precisely that. Right now they need that more than Xs and Os, and he's decent at that anyway. So they have a lifeline now.

Actually, keeping Coach K's hair and beard dark is a not-widely-known superpower of Nate James.

BeachBlueDevil
03-27-2018, 02:31 PM
First I'll say I'm happy for Capel getting another HC job and one in a power conference but he's got a lot of work on his hands. This will be pretty close to a complete rebuild for him and it will be a couple years before Pitt starts to make any real noise.

Now, I find it kind of funny that a lot of people on this board think Duke's recruiting is going to go down the toilet because Capel is gone. Will it take some sort of hit? Probably so. Does it mean Duke will stop getting these 5 Star blue chip prospects? Not at all. Capel did recruit them and is good at recruiting these kids. But lets be honest, he was selling these kids on a great school, proven brand with many accolades, and a coach who has done everything in basketball except win an NBA Championship. Duke and the Brotherhood speaks volumes when recruiting and Capel won't be landing many of these same kids when he goes to Pitt. He doesn't have a the brand to sell there.

Owen Meany
03-27-2018, 02:35 PM
Duke should hire Allen just to see heads explode. He never has to leave, he can just slide down the bench.

Just kidding, because I look forward to Allen moving on so hopefully when he is away from Duke people will give him some breathing room and move their obsession and ill-will elsewhere (outside of Durham). But I can imagine a 7'0 big man coach with a military and Duke background who might be willing to join the bench as a special assistant after a short absence.

Steven43
03-27-2018, 02:36 PM
Yea - I definitely feel like this is going to hurt our recruiting and I always thought the reason he stayed at Duke was to replace K.

Capel was never going to replace Coach K. No chance.

Ian
03-27-2018, 02:38 PM
First I'll say I'm happy for Capel getting another HC job and one in a power conference but he's got a lot of work on his hands. This will be pretty close to a complete rebuild for him and it will be a couple years before Pitt starts to make any real noise.

Now, I find it kind of funny that a lot of people on this board think Duke's recruiting is going to go down the toilet because Capel is gone. Will it take some sort of hit? Probably so. Does it mean Duke will stop getting these 5 Star blue chip prospects? Not at all. Capel did recruit them and is good at recruiting these kids. But lets be honest, he was selling these kids on a great school, proven brand with many accolades, and a coach who has done everything in basketball except win an NBA Championship. Duke and the Brotherhood speaks volumes when recruiting and Capel won't be landing many of these same kids when he goes to Pitt. He doesn't have a the brand to sell there.

I agree, I think Capel gets too much credit/blame for Duke's recruiting strategy and execution. I'm sure he does a great job but in the end Coach K is the person who determines whom to target and Coach K is why the recruits come.

SoCalDukeFan
03-27-2018, 02:38 PM
Short term expectations are low. He knows the conference. Fan base is there if successful. Can show that he can coach as well as recruit. Other coaches have been successful.

I think the recruiting issue for him will be identifying the players to recruit. Duke can just identify the best players in the class that fit the profile for academics and other factors and then go for them. At Pitt Jeff needs to find the players that can contribute for Pitt but are not so good that they will go to Duke, Kentucky, etc..

Capel certainly has a reputation as a top recruiter. If he can build a program at Pitt he will also be regarded as a top coach. He will also be coaching four year players.

Contract is obviously important. What are the outs for him? Duke job? What is the buy out if it does not work out.

I also think his father's health was a factor in his decision to stay at Duke and turn down other jobs.

SoCal

DukieInKansas
03-27-2018, 02:41 PM
Best of luck to Coach Capel. May he win many games there - just not against Duke. If he can beat unc everytime they play, I might even be ok with a win against Duke once every 5 years. :D

aimo
03-27-2018, 02:42 PM
That was my first thought.

My second is that for some reason K does not want Capel to replace him, and Capel knows this. Just a wild second thought...considering how close they seem...but given what happened...

My third thought is that the OAD era is coming to a close, and that was maybe Capel's biggest contribution to the team, recruiting soon to be pros. That's really a reach, but heck, it crossed my mind.

These are my exact thoughts. Capel is not next in line and the recruits he's been bringing in aren't going to be there in the near future, anyway.

53n206
03-27-2018, 02:43 PM
What constitutes a guarantee to anyone that he might be Coach K's successor? Do we expect that Coach K will be allowed to choose the successor without input from the AD or the university president? I think it's entirely possible that a successor will come from another program. Why not? Furthermore, as regards Coach Capel, success at Pittsburgh, through on the floor coaching and recruiting, might go along way in succeeding Coach K if he is interested.

CameronBornAndBred
03-27-2018, 02:46 PM
What constitutes a guarantee to anyone that he might be Coach K's successor? Do we expect that Coach K will be allowed to choose the successor without input from the AD or the university president? I think it's entirely possible that a successor will come from another program. Why not? Furthermore, as regards Coach Capel, success at Pittsburgh, through on the floor coaching and recruiting, might go along way in succeeding Coach K if he is interested.

Now it is officially the offseason. ;):rolleyes:

Wander
03-27-2018, 02:46 PM
1. Pitt is coming off an historically awful season. We are definitely talking rebuild from scratch. Since Capel has cred, expectations will be higher than if they hired a low/mid-major coach with some NCAA success.

Honestly, I don't think it's that difficult for a good coach to take a power conference basketball program from "awful" to "decent" in a few years.

Football is another story, and the jump from "decent" to "powerhouse" is also a lot harder. But I think he'll be fine...

cato
03-27-2018, 02:47 PM
Capel was never going to replace Coach K. No chance.

Just because you keep saying this does not mean it is true.

CDu
03-27-2018, 02:48 PM
Honestly, I don't think it's that difficult for a good coach to take a power conference basketball program from "awful" to "decent" in a few years.

Football is another story, and the jump from "decent" to "powerhouse" is also a lot harder. But I think he'll be fine...

Yep. With basketball, you can land 1-2 key recruits and fill in with JuCo transfers and/or grad transfers, and you have a completely revamped program. 2-3 players (sometimes even less) can completely change a program in a hurry. You can certainly turn things around in a few years, even from ground zero. Takes a lot of work, but it is very doable.

UrinalCake
03-27-2018, 02:51 PM
One thing we know for sure - he literally could not do any worse in ACC play than Stallings did last season.

Steven43
03-27-2018, 02:53 PM
On ESPN they threw out JWills name. I don't think that would be enough financially for JWill to come.

Please God, no,

Kfanarmy
03-27-2018, 02:54 PM
FWIW, when the rumor broke about Scheyer it said that Coach K was pushing him for the job. Its likely that Coach K campaigned for this, which would explain how it happened so quickly and so under the radar.

That is interesting...fertile soil for the mind to ponder the reasoning.

Steven43
03-27-2018, 03:00 PM
Just because you keep saying this does not mean it is true.
You are absolutely correct in a general sense. But I can tell you with certainty that what I said is 100% correct and I’ve been saying it for five years.

cato
03-27-2018, 03:13 PM
You are absolutely correct in a general sense. But I can tell you with certainty that what I said is 100% correct and I’ve been saying it for five years.

Oh, well, *now* I’m convinced.

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 03:14 PM
IMO, this is great news and means K plans on staying 3-7 more years! I think Wojo, Collins, and Capel still have a lot to prove, before they might be offered K's position, and this gives them much needed time. We have the GOAT and 3-7 more years is awesome!

Pghdukie
03-27-2018, 03:16 PM
If Scheyer goes with Capel, this may sting a bit.

Steven43
03-27-2018, 03:17 PM
Oh, well, *now* I’m convinced.
Okay, buddy. At least we got that done.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 03:17 PM
Oh, well, *now* I’m convinced.

I know absolutely nothing specifically about this, but if s43 has in fact been saying that for 5 years (I'm new here, but I trust that he has) - and he's been consistent about it - then I'd say his theory looks pretty good today. Not a slam dunk, but definitely looks strong at this moment.

Observing the last few years, I feel strongly both ways as the saying goes. Since 2015, I've sort of thought he was the heir apparent. But watching his fill in stints, admittedly tough and incomplete auditions, I was not blown away. When the news of the Pitt job hit today, my first thought was "he's not next in line. Maybe he never was."

84Duke
03-27-2018, 03:18 PM
Wake Forest, Boston College, and Virginia Tech have all had winless ACC seasons. If you recall, those last two beat us this year. It doesn't take forever to turn a program around. I watched a horrendous '81-82 Duke team, and who knew we would make the tournament in '84 and the Finals in '86.

duke79
03-27-2018, 03:21 PM
IMO, this is great news and means K plans on staying 3-7 more years! I think Wojo, Collins, and Capel still have a lot to prove, before they might be offered K's position, and this gives them much needed time. We have the GOAT and 3-7 more years is awesome!

LOL......like your optimism........BUT not sure it really means that!

TruBlu
03-27-2018, 03:24 PM
Will this have any impact on E J Montgomery's decision?

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 03:25 PM
LOL...like your optimism...BUT not sure it really means that!

I strongly suspect K wants to help his own. If K plans on leaving in 1 or 2 years, then how does this help Capel's odds? Capel will need at least 3 years to turn Pitt around.

If K leaves in the next 1 or 2 years, then I think Duke really needs to take a hard run at Bennett.

DangerDevil
03-27-2018, 03:29 PM
IMO, this is great news and means K plans on staying 3-7 more years! I think Wojo, Collins, and Capel still have a lot to prove, before they might be offered K's position, and this gives them much needed time. We have the GOAT and 3-7 more years is awesome!

Don’t forget about Hurley, especially if the timeline is a few more years to prove his worth at ASU.

DarkstarWahoo
03-27-2018, 03:29 PM
i strongly suspect k wants to help his own. If k plans on leaving in 1 or 2 years, then how does this help capel's odds? Capel will need at least 3 years to turn pitt around.

If k leaves in the next 1 or 2 years, then i think duke really needs to take a hard run at bennett.

Not today, Satan! :D

miramar
03-27-2018, 03:29 PM
Please God, no,

It was Seth Greenberg who threw out J Will's name, which only means that he should be escorted out of Cameron once again.

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 03:31 PM
Don’t forget about Hurley, especially if the timeline is a few more years to prove his worth at ASU.

Thanks, that was a bad oversight.

SoCalDukeFan
03-27-2018, 03:32 PM
We started 4 frosh and made it to the Elite 8.

Jeff can definitely turn Pitt around quickly.

SoCal

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 03:32 PM
Not today, Satan! :D

He is grossly underpaid and we have the money he deserves! IMO, he is currently the best under 50!

Steven43
03-27-2018, 03:33 PM
It was Seth Greenberg who threw out J Will's name, which only means that he should be escorted out of Cameron once again.
Exactly!

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 03:34 PM
I strongly suspect K wants to help his own. If K plans on leaving in 1 or 2 years, then how does this help Capel's odds? Capel will need at least 3 years to turn Pitt around.

If K leaves in the next 1 or 2 years, then I think Duke really needs to take a hard run at Bennett.

My favorite outside the K coaching tree was Brad Stevens, but dang it, he's been successful in the NBA (didn't think he would be) - and I think he's firmly an NBA Boston guy now.

Steven43
03-27-2018, 03:36 PM
Don’t forget about Hurley, especially if the timeline is a few more years to prove his worth at ASU.
Definitely do not forget about the great Bobby Hurley. And you know who else not to forget about? Quin Snyder.

dukelifer
03-27-2018, 03:37 PM
My favorite outside the K coaching tree was Brad Stevens, but dang it, he's been successful in the NBA (didn't think he would be) - and I think he's firmly an NBA Boston guy now.

Aren’t the Celtics owned by Pagliuca-he could fire Stevens in a moment to save Duke ;)

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 03:39 PM
Definitely do not forget about the great Bobby Hurley! And you know what else? Do not forget about Quin Snyder.

College hoops almost convinced Coach Snyder to pursue a different occupation. I'd be very surprised if he returns to the college game.

Steven43
03-27-2018, 03:42 PM
College hoops almost convinced Coach Snyder to pursue a different occupation. I'd be very surprised if he returns to the college game.
Stranger things have happened.

jacone21
03-27-2018, 03:48 PM
Bobby's sideline antics would be awesome to behold in Cameron. That dude is in beast mode when he's coaching.

dudog84
03-27-2018, 04:13 PM
Thanks for the link.

I never knew that Jeff named one of his kids Cameron. I like it.

Eh, I believe K named one of his dogs Cameron. But then I like pets more than kids. :D

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-27-2018, 04:13 PM
It was Seth Greenberg who threw out J Will's name, which only means that he should be escorted out of Cameron once again.

Maybe he is just tired of sitting next to him.

Reddevil
03-27-2018, 04:17 PM
I was thinking that the next Pitt coach better demand at least a 6 year contract to turn that ship around. Coach Capel got 7. Good. Look, regardless of what others may think, he obviously sees it as an opportunity, and it is. Pitt has a terrific basketball history. He gets to talk to the guys and get some to return. He gets to pick his staff. He gets to recruit his guys. This is not his first rodeo. He will get them back to the top half of the ACC. Of course it's a challenge, and I am guessing he wouldn't have it any other way.

As for Duke's opening, what's Bob Hurley Sr. up to? (half kidding)

El_Diablo
03-27-2018, 04:19 PM
Eh, I believe K named one of his dogs Cameron. But then I like pets more than kids. :D

I think Coach K's dog is named Blue (although he may have had more than one, of course).

dudog84
03-27-2018, 04:20 PM
Short term expectations are low. He knows the conference. Fan base is there if successful. Can show that he can coach as well as recruit. Other coaches have been successful.

I think the recruiting issue for him will be identifying the players to recruit. Duke can just identify the best players in the class that fit the profile for academics and other factors and then go for them. At Pitt Jeff needs to find the players that can contribute for Pitt but are not so good that they will go to Duke, Kentucky, etc..

Capel certainly has a reputation as a top recruiter. If he can build a program at Pitt he will also be regarded as a top coach. He will also be coaching four year players.

Contract is obviously important. What are the outs for him? Duke job? What is the buy out if it does not work out.

I also think his father's health was a factor in his decision to stay at Duke and turn down other jobs.

SoCal

Have you forgotten Blake Griffin, et. al.? Jeff recruited very, very well at Oklahoma.

miramar
03-27-2018, 04:29 PM
Aren’t the Celtics owned by Pagliuca-he could fire Stevens in a moment to save Duke ;)

Why I'll bet that has been Coach K's plan all along!

Since he's worth $410 million, I'm sure that Pagliuca would be happy to go along.

gam7
03-27-2018, 04:31 PM
If anyone predicted that this would be an off-season thread topic, kudos to you.

Is this an early DBR April Fools?

Ima Facultiwyfe
03-27-2018, 04:32 PM
There went our recruiting spree ...

Yeah. Maybe now we'll go back to guys who hang around! ;-)
Love, Ima

Ima Facultiwyfe
03-27-2018, 04:35 PM
Eh, I believe K named one of his dogs Cameron. But then I like pets more than kids. :D

If I recall, K named his Black Lab "Defense". That was some time ago. Doubt he has the same dong now. But a terrific name.
Love, Ima

rasputin
03-27-2018, 04:40 PM
If I recall, K named his Black Lab "Defense". That was some time ago. Doubt he has the same dong now. But a terrific name.
Love, Ima

So will the next one be named "Zone," or "Orange"?

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-27-2018, 04:41 PM
So will the next one be named "Zone," or "Orange"?

Horns and Floppy?

bedeviled
03-27-2018, 04:41 PM
Maybe he is just tired of sitting next to him.Perhaps Seth noticed that JWill has been finding the routine ESPN shtick tiresome and Seth is afraid his cushy gig will come to an end. It did seem like Jay was irked by it a number of times this year. And, Jay does cherish his opportunities to guide youth.

More fun, unlikely speculation: David Robinson as a stopgap Special Assistant for next year. It would actually give him more time with his family! Unfortunately, a year too late for tutoring Wendell. However, every team can use more pick-and-roll.

dudog84
03-27-2018, 04:42 PM
If I recall, K named his Black Lab "Defense". That was some time ago. Doubt he has the same dong now. But a terrific name.
Love, Ima

I'm not touching that comment with a ten-foot pole.

devildeac
03-27-2018, 04:42 PM
So will the next one be named "Zone," or "Orange"?

Will you take 2:3 odds on either one?

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 04:43 PM
There's a good chance we will one day have a Cameron sitting behind the bench at Cameron. Jeff Capel is not alone, Bobby Hurley named one of his daughters Cameron.

VA_BDevil
03-27-2018, 04:45 PM
Doubt he has the same dong now.


Well, he has had several body parts replaced, so who knows, that could have been replaced too.

Clay Feet POF
03-27-2018, 04:52 PM
This tells me K is coaching another 20 years and Capel didn’t want to wait.

Yeah, I think Coach K talked to Jimmy B.

OZ
03-27-2018, 04:53 PM
Well, he has had several body parts replaced, so who knows, that could have been replaced too.

Eating and stumbled onto this post. Now my RN wife is trying to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on me while I am choking and laughing.

Tripping William
03-27-2018, 04:53 PM
More fun, unlikely speculation: David Robinson as a stopgap Special Assistant for next year.

Not a chance. He's Navy. K's Army. :p

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 05:02 PM
If I recall, K named his Black Lab "Defense". That was some time ago. Doubt he has the same dong now. But a terrific name.
Love, Ima

Terrific name? The poor dog never could get sufficient rest, K was usually shouting for it.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 05:21 PM
I'm not touching that comment with a ten-foot pole.

touche :cool:

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 05:27 PM
College hoops almost convinced Coach Snyder to pursue a different occupation. I'd be very surprised if he returns to the college game.


Stranger things have happened.

Quin would not be the K+1 hire, but he could be the K+2 hire. (Similar to how Roy was Dean+2).

Now, call me cynical, but I would expect that K+1's fate after five years on the job would be the same fate that I would predict for any Legend+1 coach. It's just a bad situation to be in. There's an old coach's saying: "You don't want to be the guy that replaces the legend. You want to be the guy that replaces the guy that replaces the legend."



I have assumed that his success with the Jazz makes him as unattainable as Brad Stevens. I can't imagine wanting to go through the grind of recruiting. But that may be my own personal bias. The pros probably have their own difficulties.

I would normally agree, but Stevens doesn't have undergrad, JD, and MBA degrees from Duke like Quin does. Also, keep in mind that in professional sports, it's rare for coaches to last more than ten years. Quin's in his 4th season of coaching the Jazz, and he's done an outstanding job. The city loves him and he loves them back, but fast forward 7 years, and let's say the Gobert/Mitchell core hasn't resulted in an NBA championship for Utah yet. Now everyone's more lukewarm about each other, including the players who might be ready to listen to a new voice. In professional sports, you don't have to be a bad coach to not fit with a franchise anymore. It could just be that you stayed in one place too long, things become stale, and both sides become ready to move on to a new situation.

At that point, if Duke comes calling, Quin would have to decide where he is more likely to win a championship one day. Does he wait for the divorce with Utah and become an NBA retread coach? Or does he come home to his alma mater and become the savior of Duke men's basketball after K+1 has been fired?


It's good for Duke in the long term. The choice of who replaces K is going to be such a huge factor in determining Duke's place in college basketball for decades, and it's only good that we get to further test how one of the potential choices does as a head coach in the ACC.

IMO, K+1 won't really matter as long as we get K+2 right.

Tripping William
03-27-2018, 05:30 PM
There's an old coach's saying: "You don't want to be the guy that replaces the legend. You want to be the guy that replaces the guy that replaces the legend."



Exactly what Matt Doherty said in his job interview, I'm sure. :o

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-27-2018, 05:33 PM
More fun, unlikely speculation: David Robinson as a stopgap Special Assistant for next year. It would actually give him more time with his family! Unfortunately, a year too late for tutoring Wendell. However, every team can use more pick-and-roll.

Finally, someone who can coach our bigs!

/sarcasm, shout out to Wojo

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 05:38 PM
Exactly what Matt Doherty said in his job interview, I'm sure. :o

D'oh, I forgot about D'oh. Strike what I wrote above about Roy. He was Dean+3 not +2.

rocketeli
03-27-2018, 05:40 PM
I never get this mania some people have to have to hire a "coaching tree" coach. If you were at work and you overheard your boss saying she would only hire people who were members of her sorority for management positions, would you feel really great about your job and your company's future, or would you start thinking about updating your resume? Duke should hire the best coach they can get, period. If it's a guy who used to play or work here that's fine, but it shouldn't be that important a criterion.
The best coach that is not Coach K is probably still Brad Stevens, and he might think about taking a Duke job...for a minute or so.
The best basketball mind with Duke ties is noted supervillian and clothes horse Quinn Snyder, but he comes with baggage and likely wants nothing to do with college ball.
Of former Duke assistants, I would rank in this order of desirability.
Bobby Hurley
Mike Brey
Chris Collins
Steve Wojoetc,
Jeff Capel
Johnny Dawkins
Tommy Amaker

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 05:46 PM
I never get this mania some people have to have to hire a "coaching tree" coach. If you were at work and you overheard your boss saying she would only hire people who were members of her sorority for management positions, would you feel really great about your job and your company's future, or would you start thinking about updating your resume? Duke should hire the best coach they can get, period. If it's a guy who used to play or work here that's fine, but it shouldn't be that important a criterion.
The best coach that is not Coach K is probably still Brad Stevens, and he might think about taking a Duke job...for a minute or so.
The best basketball mind with Duke ties is noted supervillian and clothes horse Quinn Snyder, but he comes with baggage and likely wants nothing to do with college ball.
r

I agree with your bigger point about a coaching tree, but K has purposefully brought in only former players as his assistants since Brey left. This kind of makes this conversation a very natural and unavoidable one for the future. I would not call it mania. I would call it logic in light of our staff the last 15 years or so.

Interesting, earlier I mentioned that Stevens would be my choice, and I figured several years ago that his failed NBA experiment would coincide with K's retirement, and he'd end up here. Then Stevens has to go and be that rare college coach who does very well in the NBA. Go figure...I think he's an NBA guy and a Boston guy now. I never thought it would happen.

And so is Quin Snyder now, and NBA guy, due to that baggage you mentioned. Snyder has actually shown flashes of brilliance in coaching, maybe more than anyone else in "the tree." A Duke beat reporter from Raleigh radio used to absolutely rave about Snyder's coaching and how important he was to the staff while he was at Duke. Said he was absolutely brilliant. But I don't see this happening either.

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 05:49 PM
D'oh, I forgot about D'oh. Strike what I wrote above about Roy. He was Dean+3 not +2.


At that point, if Duke comes calling, Quin would have to decide where he is more likely to win a championship one day.

The college game has almost always treated Roy well, but not Quin. Coach Snyder seriously considered changing professions. I'm not sure how much was made public, so, I will stop.

CameronBornAndBred
03-27-2018, 05:51 PM
Steve Wojoetc,


There are more than three Wojos?

jv001
03-27-2018, 05:57 PM
Many posters have questioned our recruiting going forward and rightly so. One thing to keep in mind is the NBA's intent to change the entry rules into the NBA. If high school seniors are allowed to apply for the draft straight out of high school, recruiting will change. No longer will the best high school players play in college. That means the focus will be on h/s players that can improve in 2 or 3 years in the college game. My thinking would be that more emphasis would be on the guys that show the ability to play good man2man defense. The great offensive players will be playing in the NBA. GoDuke!

NashvilleDevil
03-27-2018, 05:58 PM
Definitely do not forget about the great Bobby Hurley. And you know who else not to forget about? Quin Snyder.

Quin will not coach in college again. Funny you say and have continued to say that Capel was never the heir apparent but you throw Quin’s name out there as a successor when he had some major issues at Missouri.

GeneBanksManCrush
03-27-2018, 05:58 PM
Tanned. Rested. Ready: Christian Laettner.

jv001
03-27-2018, 06:01 PM
Tanned. Rested. Ready: Christian Laettner.

The enforcer. Yeh, I could see Christian on the bench. Desire to win would not be a problem. GoDuke!

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 06:01 PM
Tanned. Rested. Ready: Christian Laettner.

I would have loved to have seen a little Laettner 'in your face' attitude in the huddle Sunday evening.

Nugget
03-27-2018, 06:02 PM
The surprising thing to me is not just that he took this job, but that he DIDN'T take the Arizona State job last year, which was a MUCH better job. At Pitt he will be starting entirely from scratch, unless he can convince some of the current players to stay. We can all speculate on what changed from last year to this year, and how it potentially pertains to his future at Duke, but we'll probably never know for sure.

I had felt starting a couple years ago that Capel would be best served taking a HC job elsewhere to prove he could handle it. I thought that would put him in a better position to succeed Coach K than remaining as the associate. But as the years passed it seemed like he was intent on staying. If he goes to Pitt and is reasonably successful and K retires in, let's say, three seasons then that might still be the plan. But the timing of all this seems really odd.

Perhaps Jeff wanted to spend as much time as possible close to his father before leaving the area to take another HC job.

lotusland
03-27-2018, 06:22 PM
Agree completely. There are some former players who have enjoyed long careers in the NBA to get into coaching, but most coaches seem to have had short (or non-existent) pro careers.

Johnny Dawkins had a very long career and made millions. Not the kind of NBA money that gets thrown around now but not chump change either.
I’ll take JWill, Battier or Gerald but Grant would be the most awesomest in my opinion. I think some guys like to compete and coaching is way more competitive than color commentating. Bilas could never go back to being assistant coach. How can you be an assistant when you’re always the smartest person in the room? Plus his comments to the on court reporter at half time might delay the second half.

WHOneedsSOX
03-27-2018, 06:25 PM
Johnny Dawkins had a very long career and made millions. Not the kind of NBA money that gets thrown around now but not chump change either.
I’ll take JWill, Battier or Gerald but Grant would be the most awesomest in my opinion. I think some guys like to compete and coaching is way more competitive than color commentating. Bilas could never go back to being assistant coach. How can you be an assistant when you’re always the smartest person in the room? Plus his comments to the on court reporter at half time might delay the second half.

Money probably isn't the main motivating factor. Some guys just love being around the game and some don't. Some are willing to sacrifice their lives to coach and some just like analyzing. All depends on the person.

heyman25
03-27-2018, 06:34 PM
Very surprised to hear this news, but like it was said previously Pittsburgh is a great city and a great school. Read the reactions of our Fab 4. Read the link.


http://www.zagsblog.com/2018/03/27/duke-commits-react-to-jeff-capel-hiring-at-pittsburgh/

I think the seats will change and Nolan Smith will be the next Assistant Coach. Don't know if Scheyer will get the same title as Capel or if maybe Nate James will get it.

In any event I think we all have the Post Season Blues.

Natty_B
03-27-2018, 06:40 PM
If you’re looking for somebody with head coaching experience and ties to Duke then I believe Lefty Driesell if the guy.

sagegrouse
03-27-2018, 06:50 PM
Agree completely. There are some former players who have enjoyed long careers in the NBA to get into coaching, but most coaches seem to have had short (or non-existent) pro careers.

Yes, they have enough money. I mean, Grant owns an NBA franchise. Ferry moved into the NBA front office, like his Dad. Anyway, I don't expect to see Dunleavy, Boozer, Battier of JJ on a college bench.

Jeffrey
03-27-2018, 06:50 PM
If you’re looking for somebody with head coaching experience and ties to Duke then I believe Lefty Driesell if the guy.

You only get the chance to be UCLA East once. Lefty blew it and K did it!

SoCalDukeFan
03-27-2018, 06:51 PM
Yes, they have enough money. I mean, Grant owns an NBA franchise. Ferry moved into the NBA front office, like his Dad. Anyway, I don't expect to see Dunleavy, Boozer, Battier of JJ on a college bench.

Gerald Henderson

proelitedota
03-27-2018, 07:05 PM
Nolan gets promoted to full time assistant. We bring on Matt Jones to be the special assistant. He can do wonders for our m2m defense.

If not we should reach out to

Tyler Thornton: currently graduate manager at Marquette.
Zoubek,
Josh Hairston.

gep
03-27-2018, 07:11 PM
I was thinking that the next Pitt coach better demand at least a 6 year contract to turn that ship around. Coach Capel got 7. Good. Look, regardless of what others may think, he obviously sees it as an opportunity, and it is. Pitt has a terrific basketball history. He gets to talk to the guys and get some to return. He gets to pick his staff. He gets to recruit his guys. This is not his first rodeo. He will get them back to the top half of the ACC. Of course it's a challenge, and I am guessing he wouldn't have it any other way.

As for Duke's opening, what's Bob Hurley Sr. up to? (half kidding)

I heard one assistant coach in a big football program say this... The only way to work with coaches you like is to be the head coach and hire all your assistants...

dyedwab
03-27-2018, 07:20 PM
...I want to re-up this quote from K's interview with Jonathan Alexander published February 13th. In my recollection this was the most extensive comments K has ever made re: retirement and succession. Most relevant is the he hopes that his successor is "someone who has played here and has worked for me, including the guys who are on staff now."



I would hope that when my time comes that it’s someone who has played here and has worked for me. And we have a lot of people, including the guys who are on the staff now, where they would understand Duke. And understand the history. They don’t have to do things how we do it. But like what Pop said, ‘I understand the culture of USA basketball.’ Now he might run a whole different offense, defense, or how he does training camp, but he understands culture. And that’s what we would like to continue. It’s been a culture of a university, athletic department, and a basketball program working together. The president, the (athletic director) and myself have been a team. That’s been continuous. And we want it that way going forward. And I think there’s a better chance of it happening that way if someone who has been here would be that person.

And I don’t think I’ll be the person who names that, because that’s not right. But that would be my wish. And then we would stay here, not in the locker room here, in some type of emeritus, ambassador role, not just to help Duke basketball, but to help the university. So I believe in it. I’ll help that person in whatever way I can when the time comes. But right now I’m trying to figure out how we can play a helluva lot better defense than what we do. Which isn’t very good right now.

Here's the link to the interview: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/duke-now/article199904324.html

CDu
03-27-2018, 07:22 PM
Nolan gets promoted to full time assistant. We bring on Matt Jones to be the special assistant. He can do wonders for our m2m defense.

If not we should reach out to

Tyler Thornton: currently graduate manager at Marquette.
Zoubek,
Josh Hairston.

Thornton is actually no longer a grad assistant at Marquette. I think it has been a while actually since he was there. He is now back to playing... as a member of the Yakima Sun Kings of the NAPB.

DangerDevil
03-27-2018, 07:45 PM
I agree with your bigger point about a coaching tree, but K has purposefully brought in only former players as his assistants since Brey left. This kind of makes this conversation a very natural and unavoidable one for the future. I would not call it mania. I would call it logic in light of our staff the last 15 years or so.

Interesting, earlier I mentioned that Stevens would be my choice, and I figured several years ago that his failed NBA experiment would coincide with K's retirement, and he'd end up here. Then Stevens has to go and be that rare college coach who does very well in the NBA. Go figure...I think he's an NBA guy and a Boston guy now. I never thought it would happen.

And so is Quin Snyder now, and NBA guy, due to that baggage you mentioned. Snyder has actually shown flashes of brilliance in coaching, maybe more than anyone else in "the tree." A Duke beat reporter from Raleigh radio used to absolutely rave about Snyder's coaching and how important he was to the staff while he was at Duke. Said he was absolutely brilliant. But I don't see this happening either.

Tim O’Toole actually joined the staff after left Brey as an assistant in 95 and stayed until 97. I think he was the last assistant that wasn’t a Duke player. Mike Jarvis Jr ended up on the staff later, in the mid 2000s but I don’t believe he was one of the 3 assistants. Did I miss any other non Duke assistants post 1995?

I get why K likes to keep guys from the “brotherhood” around but I think he would actually benefit from bringing in an outsider every once and a while. Not to say there aren’t other ways to get outside perspectives (like USA Basketball and learning embrace the Zone from Boeheim). Additionally I think the dynamic of being a former player especially to the greatest coach of all time stifles the desire/ability of someone to speak up and offer an opposing/alternative idea.

For his eventual successor I completely agree with the idea that one of his former players and ideally a former player and assistant would be the heir, I’m just not sure anyone has establiahed himself as a that front runner. Not that has anyone asked for my 2 cents.

Neals384
03-27-2018, 07:55 PM
There went our recruiting spree ...


So what does this do to the "Capel successor to K" rumors? Is that squashed because Capel went off and did the HC thing at an ACC school?

Also, I imagine this is going to really hurt in our recruiting. Capel has been *key* in getting these 5* guys to Duke.


Yea - I definitely feel like this is going to hurt our recruiting and I always thought the reason he stayed at Duke was to replace K.


Brutal news. Potentially a game changer for our recruiting.

It's over.

Neals384
03-27-2018, 07:57 PM
Nolan gets promoted to full time assistant. We bring on Matt Jones to be the special assistant. He can do wonders for our m2m defense.

If not we should reach out to

Tyler Thornton: currently graduate manager at Marquette.
Zoubek,
Josh Hairston.

I would love to see Thornton of the Yakama SunKings as an assistant coach. He epitomizes toughness, going the extra mile and defense.

Neals384
03-27-2018, 07:59 PM
If I recall, K named his Black Lab "Defense". That was some time ago. Doubt he has the same dong now. But a terrific name.
Love, Ima

Doesn't K often say the key to defense is communication? "Defense, speak!"

rocketeli
03-27-2018, 08:03 PM
Duke assts (official, paid) years are different in different sources, does not include grad assistant, volunteer or other position time, does not include unpaid coaches
Dwyer 1980-83
Swenson 1980-86
Bender 1983-89
Gaudet 1983-85
Brey 1987-95
Amaker 1989-97
O'Toole 1995-97
Snyder 1995-99
Henderson 1995-2000
Dawkins 1998-2008
Wojo 1999-2011
Collins 2000-2014
James 2008-
Capel 2011-2018
Scheyer 2014-

O'Toole was probably the last non-Duke associate coach

BigWayne
03-27-2018, 08:16 PM
Don't know if Scheyer will get the same title as Capel or if maybe Nate James will get it.



Answer is both. (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211708168&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

sagegrouse
03-27-2018, 08:22 PM
Duke assts (official, paid) years are different in different sources, does not include grad assistant, volunteer or other position time, does not include unpaid coaches
Dwyer 1980-83
Swenson 1980-86
Bender 1983-89
Gaudet 1983-85
Brey 1987-95
Amaker 1989-97
O'Toole 1995-97
Snyder 1995-99
Henderson 1995-2000
Dawkins 1998-2008
Wojo 1999-2011
Collins 2000-2014
James 2008-
Capel 2011-2018
Scheyer 2014-

O'Toole was probably the last non-Duke associate coach

A typo probably, but Gaudet was top assistant at Duke from 1982-1995. He was K's successor at West Point and lasted two seasons.

DangerDevil
03-27-2018, 08:29 PM
Duke assts (official, paid) years are different in different sources, does not include grad assistant, volunteer or other position time, does not include unpaid coaches
Dwyer 1980-83
Swenson 1980-86
Bender 1983-89
Gaudet 1983-85
Brey 1987-95
Amaker 1989-97
O'Toole 1995-97
Snyder 1995-99
Henderson 1995-2000
Dawkins 1998-2008
Wojo 1999-2011
Collins 2000-2014
James 2008-
Capel 2011-2018
Scheyer 2014-

O'Toole was probably the last non-Duke associate coach

Not to nitpick but those are all of K’s Duke assistant coaches, not necessarily all of them were “associate” coaches or more specifically “associate head coaches”.

proelitedota
03-27-2018, 08:43 PM
I don't know if anyone else echoes my sentiment, but if I had to pick one of Scheyer or Capel to keep, I'll pick Scheyer. I am glad that Scheyer is remaining with us. The guy is going to be an all time great coach someday,

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 08:58 PM
Luke DeCock, Raleigh Nuisance Disturber, is a pretty good beat writer for them on Duke (and the Hurricanes). His take on Capel leaving is what a good number of us theorized.....that A: K is gonna stay for a good while yet and/or B: Capel was told he was not going to be the next head coach.

And he admits to being surprised by this. FWIW...should anyone want to read: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article206983009.html

Billy Dat
03-27-2018, 09:08 PM
Luke DeCock, Raleigh Nuisance Disturber, is a pretty good beat writer for them on Duke (and the Hurricanes). His take on Capel leaving is what a good number of us theorized....that A: K is gonna stay for a good while yet and/or B: Capel was told he was not going to be the next head coach.

And he admits to being surprised by this. FWIW...should anyone want to read: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article206983009.html

Jim Sumner, we need some insider translation. This piece makes it sound a lot more complicated than maybe it is. I think the simplest answer is that K isn't ready to step down, not that he had some level of dissatisfaction with that idea that Capel is too good of a recruiter.

rocketeli
03-27-2018, 09:10 PM
A typo probably, but Gaudet was top assistant at Duke from 1982-1995. He was K's successor at West Point and lasted two seasons.

It's a typo should be 82-95

Ian
03-27-2018, 09:15 PM
Both Nate James and Jon Scheyer have been promoted to associate head coach.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 09:17 PM
Both Nate James and Jon Scheyer have been promoted to associate head coach.

FWIW, a story at a link about Cam Reddish kind of indicates that Scheyer was the main recruiter in his case.....

dukelion
03-27-2018, 09:31 PM
Luke DeCock, Raleigh Nuisance Disturber, is a pretty good beat writer for them on Duke (and the Hurricanes). His take on Capel leaving is what a good number of us theorized....that A: K is gonna stay for a good while yet and/or B: Capel was told he was not going to be the next head coach.

And he admits to being surprised by this. FWIW...should anyone want to read: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article206983009.html


Interesting read which leads to loads of speculation.

Most interesting to me is the possible shift away from one and done recruits. Time will tell but I doubt that K just starts to go after 4 stars exclusively and lets Cal have all the Bagley's of the world.

Dev11
03-27-2018, 09:52 PM
Today I learned that Jeff Capel is a Steelers fan. Maybe that's all we needed to know.

I'm excited to see who gets tapped to fill Nolan's end of the bench role, and I agree with some of the sentiment here that it would be neat to have a non-Duke person in there, just to mix things up. I also hope that this promotion gets more publicity for Nate James, who I feel doesn't get discussed much outside of the occasional mention of his toughness on this board.

As for succession speculation, stop. We don't know anything and we probably have never known anything. K and the greater Duke Basketbal family have decided not to discuss it publically, so until that time, we all will remain in the dark.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-27-2018, 10:14 PM
Interesting read which leads to loads of speculation.

Most interesting to me is the possible shift away from one and done recruits. Time will tell but I doubt that K just starts to go after 4 stars exclusively and lets Cal have all the Bagley's of the world.

I think the OAD rule in the NBA is going to be changed soon, and college recruiting will be different. I've no idea if that dynamic has anything to do with this event, but it did cross my mind.

dudog84
03-27-2018, 10:29 PM
Today I learned that Jeff Capel is a Steelers fan. Maybe that's all we needed to know.

I'm excited to see who gets tapped to fill Nolan's end of the bench role, and I agree with some of the sentiment here that it would be neat to have a non-Duke person in there, just to mix things up. I also hope that this promotion gets more publicity for Nate James, who I feel doesn't get discussed much outside of the occasional mention of his toughness on this board.

As for succession speculation, stop. We don't know anything and we probably have never known anything. K and the greater Duke Basketbal family have decided not to discuss it publically, so until that time, we all will remain in the dark.

I was thinking of writing this exact thing...but then I thought, what else are internet boards for?

Seriously, some the of speculative comments have been in poor taste. Thanks for saying it, it needed to come from a mod.

sagegrouse
03-27-2018, 10:39 PM
I think the OAD rule in the NBA is going to be changed soon, and college recruiting will be different. I've no idea if that dynamic has anything to do with this event, but it did cross my mind.

As I have blathered endlessly on this board, look to the Commission on Basketball, which has Coach K's fingerprints all over it, for some solutions. While the NCAA has no authority over the NBA draft rules it is clearly an interested party and, in some sense, the business partner of the NBA. I expect there are conversation not only between the commission and the NBA but also between Coach K and NBA Commissioner and Duke trustee Adam Silver.

Try to explain to me how the membership of the Commission is "accidentally" linked to Duke and Coach K:
Gen. Martin Dempsey, former chairman of the JCS, Duke alum, Coach K buddy and president of USA Basketball.
Grant Hill, owner and vice chair of Atlanta Hawks plus, you know...
David Robinson, NBA great and most often seen behind the Duke bench

Likely there are links to other members, like chairman Condi Rice, ex-Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, ex-Georgetown coach JT III, Notre Dame President John Jenkins, etc. etc.

I expect there to be major changes to college hoops very soon, some self-administered via the Commission and some as a result of NBA (and NBPA) actions. The latter will, it is hoped, be agreeable to the major colleges.

Troublemaker
03-27-2018, 11:08 PM
Luke DeCock, Raleigh Nuisance Disturber, is a pretty good beat writer for them on Duke (and the Hurricanes). His take on Capel leaving is what a good number of us theorized...that A: K is gonna stay for a good while yet and/or B: Capel was told he was not going to be the next head coach.

And he admits to being surprised by this. FWIW...should anyone want to read: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article206983009.html


Jim Sumner, we need some insider translation. This piece makes it sound a lot more complicated than maybe it is. I think the simplest answer is that K isn't ready to step down, not that he had some level of dissatisfaction with that idea that Capel is too good of a recruiter.


Interesting read which leads to loads of speculation.

Most interesting to me is the possible shift away from one and done recruits. Time will tell but I doubt that K just starts to go after 4 stars exclusively and lets Cal have all the Bagley's of the world.

The DeCock piece seems like all speculation from him. I wouldn't give it any more consideration than a fan post on a message board.

jv001
03-27-2018, 11:36 PM
A thought from the "grassy knoll". As another poster alluded to, Coach K has the ear of several people; Basketball commission, Adam Silver, NBA executives, etc. From those contacts he knows the landscape of college basketball is about to change. So, he tells Jeff Capel, he's staying around for 5 or 6 years longer and now would be the time to take a job and begin recruiting a few OADs and 4 star players. Get Pitt back to being a good program and be ready to take the Duke job. I know the Warren Commission will shoot this theory down. :cool: GoDuke!

Steven43
03-28-2018, 12:17 AM
A thought from the "grassy knoll". As another poster alluded to, Coach K has the ear of several people; Basketball commission, Adam Silver, NBA executives, etc. From those contacts he knows the landscape of college basketball is about to change. So, he tells Jeff Capel, he's staying around for 5 or 6 years longer and now would be the time to take a job and begin recruiting a few OADs and 4 star players. Get Pitt back to being a good program and be ready to take the Duke job. I know the Warren Commission will shoot this theory down. :cool: GoDuke!
Consider it shot down. Well, at least the part about ‘be ready to take the Duke job.’

Hope you’re right about the first part, though.

OZZIE4DUKE
03-28-2018, 03:18 AM
Good luck Jeff. Hope we beat you every time we face you! :cool:http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

dalmatians98
03-28-2018, 06:36 AM
I have no idea whether Coach Capel was viewed as a possible successor to Coach K or what if anything he might have been told by the powers that be. What follows is merely speculation about why someone like Capel might turn down the chance to be the next head coach at Duke.

Coach K casts a very long shadow and whoever immediately follows will live in that shadow. Finding someone to succeed K may be complicated by that fact. Coaching at this level is hard enough without the added pressure of living up to the expectations, some unfair and unrealistic, that will accompany being the successor to the GOAT.

If you're a coach who wants to achieve success in your own right, taking over a program like Pitt that you can rebuild and place your own signature upon may be preferable to enduring the pressures and scrutiny that will accompany being K's successor.

Whatever his reasons for leaving, I too thank Coach Capel and wish him luck - except when his team plays Duke.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-28-2018, 07:41 AM
The DeCock piece seems like all speculation from him. I wouldn't give it any more consideration than a fan post on a message board.

Oh it's pure speculation, because he is more of a columnist than he is a straight beat reporter. But over the years, it's been clear to me that he is well above average intelligence for his industry (writers, talk show hosts, studio hosts, for sports) - which is admittedly a low bar - but he is far from dumb, and he is somewhat well connected. (I would also put David Glenn in that category as way above the mean for the local industry).

He also reached the immediate first conclusion, or first theories, that many around here did....of course, in my short period of observation, this is not an average fan message board by any means either.

Turk
03-28-2018, 10:16 AM
I don't know if anyone else echoes my sentiment, but if I had to pick one of Scheyer or Capel to keep, I'll pick Scheyer. I am glad that Scheyer is remaining with us. The guy is going to be an all time great coach someday,

Really? Based on what evidence? How did you reach that conclusion? I agree he appears to be intelligent, hard-working, and looks good in a suit, but how many games have you seen him coach?

No disrespect to Jon, I am also glad he staying, and I would love it if your guess is right. But it's only a guess, and he has to start by being a successful head coach somewhere. Jeff Capel has already done that.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-28-2018, 10:17 AM
Really? Based on what evidence? How did you reach that conclusion? I agree he appears to be intelligent, hard-working, and looks good in a suit, but how many games have you seen him coach?

No disrespect to Jon, I am also glad he staying, and I would love it if your guess is right. But it's only a guess, and he has to start by being a successful head coach somewhere. Jeff Capel has already done that.

It's the glasses. Everyone knows people in glasses are smarter.

HereBeforeCoachK
03-28-2018, 10:29 AM
It's the glasses. Everyone knows people in glasses are smarter.

I'm reminded of the great scene in House of Cards, where the teacher's union lobbyist Marty is organizing a bunch of AFL CIO thugs to pretend to be teachers, and he tells the rally organizer to hand out glasses to the AFL CIO types "so they'll look smart."

robed deity
03-28-2018, 10:43 AM
Oh it's pure speculation, because he is more of a columnist than he is a straight beat reporter. But over the years, it's been clear to me that he is well above average intelligence for his industry (writers, talk show hosts, studio hosts, for sports) - which is admittedly a low bar - but he is far from dumb, and he is somewhat well connected. (I would also put David Glenn in that category as way above the mean for the local industry).

He also reached the immediate first conclusion, or first theories, that many around here did...of course, in my short period of observation, this is not an average fan message board by any means either.

Decock is ok, but I cannot stand David Glenn and his sanctimony. That, and his glossing over the UNC scandal while making the Grayson thing out to be the worst calamity imaginable have made it impossible for me to take him seriously.

Turk
03-28-2018, 10:53 AM
Luke DeCock, Raleigh Nuisance Disturber, is a pretty good beat writer for them on Duke (and the Hurricanes). His take on Capel leaving is what a good number of us theorized...that A: K is gonna stay for a good while yet and/or B: Capel was told he was not going to be the next head coach.

And he admits to being surprised by this. FWIW...should anyone want to read: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article206983009.html

Meh. He's guessing, just like the rest of us. No quotes, no conversations with "sources", nothing new. He didn't even mention Jeff's personal situation with his father's illness, which to me seems the most compelling reason he removed himself from consideration or turned down other offers these past few years.

DeCock also lost me when he compared Pitt to "arguably more attractive opportunities like Georgia Tech and Arizona State in recent years." I'd be interested in hearing how that argument goes, especially since ASU hired Bobby in 2015 and GT hired Pastner in 2016, well before this season's Stallings train wreck. Pitt has been the vastly superior program to either in this century, with the only exception being GT's fluke NCAAT runner-up to UConn in 2004 under Paul Hewitt.

Which brings up a question we'll probably never be able to answer: Did Pitt contact Jeff when looking for Jamie Dixon's replacement in 2016? My guess is the previous AD, Scott "West Coast Basketball Guy" Barnes was such a dumb jagoff that he would only consider current head coaches and never gave Jeff a call. But inquiring minds still want to know!

cato
03-28-2018, 11:06 AM
Meh. He's guessing, just like the rest of us. No quotes, no conversations with "sources", nothing new. He didn't even mention Jeff's personal situation with his father's illness, which to me seems the most compelling reason he removed himself from consideration or turned down other offers these past few years.

DeCock also lost me when he compared Pitt to "arguably more attractive opportunities like Georgia Tech and Arizona State in recent years." I'd be interested in hearing how that argument goes, especially since ASU hired Bobby in 2015 and GT hired Pastner in 2016, well before this season's Stallings train wreck. Pitt has been the vastly superior program to either in this century, with the only exception being GT's fluke NCAAT runner-up to UConn in 2004 under Paul Hewitt.

Which brings up a question we'll probably never be able to answer: Did Pitt contact Jeff when looking for Jamie Dixon's replacement in 2016? My guess is the previous AD, Scott "West Coast Basketball Guy" Barnes was such a dumb jagoff that he would only consider current head coaches and never gave Jeff a call. But inquiring minds still want to know!

Yeah, I don’t know why people are making the ASU job out to be something great. It is much lower profile than Arizona in a state that doesn’t care much about college basketball, in a conference that really doesn’t care about basketball.

It was a step up for Bobby, but he has been in coaching shorter and has accomplished less than Capel.

Pitt has more upside.

Owen Meany
03-28-2018, 11:11 AM
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/candid-coaches-which-assistant-is-most-likely-to-be-a-very-successful-head-coach/

Last summer, CBS polled over 100 coaches on various topics - including "Which assistant is most likely to be a very successful head coach?" 46 different assistants were named by at least 1 respondent. Jon Scheyer was ranked first with 13.9% of the vote. The percentages dropped sharply after the top 3 (JOn at 13.9%, then 12, 10.2, 5.6, 3.7). So while we don't know for certain what kind of coach Scheyer will be, he is viewed remarkably well by his peers (particularly given his age and experience).

He was also a cerebral player who maximized his talents to the extent that he became the star point guard on a national championship team despite a widely-held belief that he lacked point guard skills. There is definitely reason for enthusiasm. Capel definitely cast a large shadow and was not your typical assistant coach. Perhaps Jon will take this opportunity to expand his role and influence. I doubt we have seen the best of what he has to offer. I would certainly think that Coach K, who has increasingly been willing to delegate responsibilities, will be looking for strong partners at this point in his career.

Sir Stealth
03-28-2018, 11:29 AM
Many people without inside knowledge seem entirely too sure of what Jeff taking the Pitt job "means." The fact that his father had been sick is the only theory I've heard so far that I'd credit as something influencing the timing of Jeff's decision to take the job, which offers him a lot of long term stability at a good program in a power conference. His acceptance of the job indicates that being a head coach has value to him - most coaches, even at Duke, ultimately want to be head coaches rather than assistants. It almost certainly confirms there was no predetermined plan in place for Jeff to take over from K (not that there was never any reason for there to have been such a plan), but it doesn't mean that K has decided how much longer to stay or that any decisions have been made about the succession once K steps down one way or the other.

CameronBornAndBred
03-28-2018, 11:46 AM
As for succession speculation, stop. We don't know anything and we probably have never known anything. K and the greater Duke Basketbal family have decided not to discuss it publically, so until that time, we all will remain in the dark.
Phlllttttttt! It's an annual tradition and it's fun.

As for the theory that Capel, or anyone, was told by K that they won't be the next coach, I don't buy into that.
What happens if K doesn't get his wishes? I mean it's not like he could quit in protest or something. I have a strong belief that K will be a part of the coaching search, and his voice will carry weight, but he will be on a team of people seeking to make the best hire possible. It is even possible that the first choice says no. Those are going to be huge shoes to fill with lots of expectations, and failure won't be handled well. (Isn't that right, Matt Daugherty?)

Dev11
03-28-2018, 11:48 AM
Yeah, I don’t know why people are making the ASU job out to be something great. It is much lower profile than Arizona in a state that doesn’t care much about college basketball, in a conference that really doesn’t care about basketball.

It was a step up for Bobby, but he has been in coaching shorter and has accomplished less than Capel.

Pitt has more upside.

The potential of any particular job is improved by better conference affiliation, mostly because of exposure and money, but being the 9th or 10th or 11th best program in the ACC is probably harder than being the 5th best program in the PAC-##. ASU has all the same resources as Pitt, but the only elite programs in its conference are Arizona and once upon a time UCLA. Oregon, Utah, USC, Washington, and Stanford have all gone through periods of success, but nothing sustained. For the short and medium term future in the ACC, you're contending with three Hall of Fame coaches, Tony Bennett, Leonard Hamilton, Mike Brey, and some other up-and-comers like Kevin Keatts. It's easy to sell the ACC to recruits, but it is hard to win.

Also, not that I personally would make this choice, but I think a lot of people find Tempe more attractive than Pittsburgh.

As for Georgia Tech, you have all of the challenges of Pitt but at least you play in a bigger market with more local talent. Pitt probably can't recruit a nationally competitive basketball team from the western PA area, but Georgia Tech theoretically could in Atlanta.

cato
03-28-2018, 12:15 PM
The potential of any particular job is improved by better conference affiliation, mostly because of exposure and money, but being the 9th or 10th or 11th best program in the ACC is probably harder than being the 5th best program in the PAC-##. ASU has all the same resources as Pitt, but the only elite programs in its conference are Arizona and once upon a time UCLA. Oregon, Utah, USC, Washington, and Stanford have all gone through periods of success, but nothing sustained. For the short and medium term future in the ACC, you're contending with three Hall of Fame coaches, Tony Bennett, Leonard Hamilton, Mike Brey, and some other up-and-comers like Kevin Keatts. It's easy to sell the ACC to recruits, but it is hard to win.

Also, not that I personally would make this choice, but I think a lot of people find Tempe more attractive than Pittsburgh.

As for Georgia Tech, you have all of the challenges of Pitt but at least you play in a bigger market with more local talent. Pitt probably can't recruit a nationally competitive basketball team from the western PA area, but Georgia Tech theoretically could in Atlanta.

I could be convinced that being coach of the 5th best program in the PAC-12 is better than being coach of the 10th best program in the ACC. But since when was ASU the 5th best program in the PAC-12? They have never won a conference championship and I don’t know if they have ever been competitive. Per wiki, they have a winning record against two conference foes: Washington State and Oregon State.

ASU is more like the 8th, 9th, or 10th best program in the PAC-12, which is itself a vastly inferior basketball conference.

As far as Tempe v. Pitt, YMMV. But Pitt is certainly closer to more basketball talent than Tempe.

Dev11
03-28-2018, 12:36 PM
I could be convinced that being coach of the 5th best program in the PAC-12 is better than being coach of the 10th best program in the ACC. But since when was ASU the 5th best program in the PAC-12? They have never won a conference championship and I don’t know if they have ever been competitive. Per wiki, they have a winning record against two conference foes: Washington State and Oregon State.

ASU is more like the 8th, 9th, or 10th best program in the PAC-12, which is itself a vastly inferior basketball conference.

As far as Tempe v. Pitt, YMMV. But Pitt is certainly closer to more basketball talent than Tempe.

I'm not saying it's the 5th best program per se, just that there's more fluidity in who the top programs are. It doesn't take much to be in the top 5 in a conference that has the resources to send a lot of teams to the tournament, and as we see every year, once you're in the tournament, pretty much anything can happen.

I don't feel strongly about ASU vs. Pitt, just trying to point out that it's not clear cut. At ASU, you can recruit LA kids to a school that is famous for having a pretty great social scene, which I'm sure is a consideration for some of these kids (shout-out to Quick Rick Pitino!).

HereBeforeCoachK
03-28-2018, 12:44 PM
Phlllttttttt! It's an annual tradition and it's fun.
)

I agree.....I mean, what use is a message board if you don't speculate.......I mean, then you're just left with hard news.......

tbyers11
03-28-2018, 01:29 PM
Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a very nice recap of the Jeff Capel's introductory news conference his Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/CraigMeyerPG)

Love the comment by Capel about Scheyer being rumored for the job


@CraigMeyerPG

Jeff Capel telling a story about getting a call from Mike Tomlin and over the course of it, he mentioned Jon Scheyer

"I think you all had him coming here."

9:42 AM - 28 Mar 2018

Troublemaker
03-28-2018, 01:43 PM
Message from Jeff to Pitt fans:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7-lZBhf2kM

Troublemaker
03-28-2018, 01:44 PM
Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a very nice recap of the Jeff Capel's introductory news conference his Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/CraigMeyerPG)

Love the comment by Capel about Scheyer being rumored for the job


@CraigMeyerPG

Jeff Capel telling a story about getting a call from Mike Tomlin and over the course of it, he mentioned Jon Scheyer

"I think you all had him coming here."

9:42 AM - 28 Mar 2018

Also, here's the youtube link, which I haven't watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jg6kAWk5A