I know it's sacraligeous for a Loyal Mountaineer to like anything associated with our hated rival to the North, but as we are nearing the end of this disastrous year in basketball, and AD Baker is most likely entering the final stages of his coaching search, I must hope that he's noticed how the sPitt AD did the same thing about five years ago.
Jeff Capel has definitely turned the entire sPitt basketball program around. Five years ago they were 0-18 in ACC play. The coach naturally was fired. Jeff Capel at that time was one of Coach K's top assistants, as well as a former player, at Duke. Yes, he spent from 2006-2011 in the B12 at OU before returning to Duke as an assistant. I am confident that after his unsuccessful tenure at OU, his time at Duke under Coach K taught him a lot about player evaluation and game strategies. Now, Capel has sPitt among the elites in the ACC. Are they ready to win the ACC outright -- not yet. But, their future is much brighter than ours.
Now, I am not saying that this model need to be followed by Wren Baker directly. There is alot about selecting our next coach that I do not, nor ever will, understand. However, you must take note that sPitts program was in much worse shape than ours when Capel was hired. Hopefully, AD Baker has talked with the sPitt AD about the process that sPitt endured prior to selecting Capel. And, the patience sPitt has shown in allowing Capel to rebuild the program from scratch. It did not happen overnight.
Hopefully we can all be just as patient in allowing our new coach to do things the right way. I know everybody wants us to be a Conference Champ again next year. I hope that happens. But, realistically, there are only two chances of that happening -- slim and none. Le'ts all hope that AD Baker is planning for the long term, not just a quick solution.
Jeff Capel has definitely turned the entire sPitt basketball program around. Five years ago they were 0-18 in ACC play. The coach naturally was fired. Jeff Capel at that time was one of Coach K's top assistants, as well as a former player, at Duke. Yes, he spent from 2006-2011 in the B12 at OU before returning to Duke as an assistant. I am confident that after his unsuccessful tenure at OU, his time at Duke under Coach K taught him a lot about player evaluation and game strategies. Now, Capel has sPitt among the elites in the ACC. Are they ready to win the ACC outright -- not yet. But, their future is much brighter than ours.
Now, I am not saying that this model need to be followed by Wren Baker directly. There is alot about selecting our next coach that I do not, nor ever will, understand. However, you must take note that sPitts program was in much worse shape than ours when Capel was hired. Hopefully, AD Baker has talked with the sPitt AD about the process that sPitt endured prior to selecting Capel. And, the patience sPitt has shown in allowing Capel to rebuild the program from scratch. It did not happen overnight.
Hopefully we can all be just as patient in allowing our new coach to do things the right way. I know everybody wants us to be a Conference Champ again next year. I hope that happens. But, realistically, there are only two chances of that happening -- slim and none. Le'ts all hope that AD Baker is planning for the long term, not just a quick solution.
