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UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 28, 2018Heather LykeJeff CapelPittsburgh, Pennsylvania HEATHER LYKE: Good afternoon and welcome, everyone. It's about time, right? Thank you all for being here to welcome our new head men's basketball coach. Your presence means a great deal to our basketball program, to our Department of Athletics, and to our unbelievable university. It demonstrates the support and excitement for our future. There are many people who have played an important role in this meaningful opportunity to bring us together for this memorable day. Starting with the leadership of our university, our chancellor, Pat Gallagher, and our Board of Trustees. You often hear the term 'alignment of leadership', how important that is in any successful organization. Without it, it's impossible to make it happen. With it, there are no limits on what we can accomplish. I am thankful to be aligned with the leadership of our university, and that the limits are endless. I want to thank Chancellor Gallagher and our leadership Geovette Washington, our general counsel's office, for all of their hard work, for their guidance, and for their belief in what we're building here at Pitt. I want put out a special thanks to our administrative team, the best in the business, our coaching staff, all the staff that are working hard to build a culture of comprehensive excellence. You held down the fort when we were out on the road recruiting, and we landed a difference maker. I want to also say a special thanks to Eddie Fogler, our consultant, throughout the process. He is a pro and a trusted friend. Thank you, Eddie, for helping us find the perfect fit for Pitt. All of our efforts would not be possible without the commitment and the pride and the support that we have from our loyal donors, our fans, the students in the Oakland Zoo. It is never about one person or one coach. It is about every single person in this arena, in this city, that's connected to Pitt, bringing their A game every single day to make us the best championship culture that we can build here at Pitt. We're thrilled that you are all here today to help us make that happen. I'll tell you, as I embarked on this process, I talked to many trusted colleagues and friends. They know who they are. Relationships matter. I want to thank those true friends and mentors in the business. As your athletic director, there's a plethora of things that we deal with every single day, but there's nothing more important and more exciting and really more rewarding than the opportunity to hire a head coach. The head coach directly impacts the lives of our people's children every day. It is a critical decision. I hoped to be able to meet the expectations of what we needed and wanted in a leader for our men's basketball program. I was determined not to settle for anything less. We found that leader in Jeff Capel. When I first spoke with Jeff, here is what stuck in my head: Jeff was insightful, he's genuine, and he's intensely competitive. He knows what's important to him. He knows who he is as a leader and a head coach. He knows the importance of sleeping on big decisions. He knows the impact that a coach can have on young people's lives every day. He's highly sought after. I knew he would be selective about where he would coach next. I want you to know that not only did we choose Coach Capel, but he chose Pitt. I didn't know how much his love for the Steelers had to do with it, or the impact of the City of Champions can have, but a call from Coach Tomlin to welcome his family to Pittsburgh is invaluable. We are thrilled to be a part of the fabric of this community. Early on, a wise friend of mine told me that you need five characteristics in hiring anyone: integrity, character, culture, work ethic, talent, in that order. We found those characteristics in Jeff in that order. Jeff's success is self-evident. As a player and coach, he has competed, coached and recruited at the highest levels. He's intimately familiar with the ACC and our competition. For a guy who has sat next to a legend in the game for the past seven years, his preparation to build a program of the same success is extraordinary. He is astute. He has a passion for this game. Most importantly, he has a passion for impacting young people in a positive way and what the game can do for them. Lastly, Jeff is an unbelievable role model for our student-athletes. As a husband, as a father, as a brother, as a son, as an uncle, and a friend, and ultimately a coach. You win with people. I'm confident we're going to win with Jeff Capel. We're thrilled to welcome Kanika and Karen and Sydney and Elijah to our Pitt team. So, ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct privilege to welcome and introduce to you our new head men's basketball coach, Jeff Capel. JEFF CAPEL: Thank you, thank you. First of all, Heather, I appreciate that introduction. I appreciate all of you being here today. Being inside I'm sure it's better than being outside today. This is a big deal for my family and myself. I've had the great fortune of being around the game my whole life. It started with being the son of a coach. My dad coached at every level, from high school to Division II, Division I, in the NBA developmental league, and then finally in the NBA. I've always understood the impact that a coach can have on a young person. When I got into coaching, that's the thing I wanted to do. I was very fortunate in my life to have an amazing high school coach, then to play for I think the best college basketball coach ever. I saw the impact that they had. It's an honor for me today to stand before you as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. I have so much respect and admiration for this university and this basketball program. Heather mentioned over the seven years when I was back at Duke, I had opportunities throughout to maybe branch out, to take over a program. But for us, when we do this it's us, me, my wife, my kids, it has to be the right fit. It's not like we were actively looking, but we never found the right fit. When this kind of came about, they reached out, we talked, things like that, I was intrigued. When I met with them, when I met with Heather, with Chancellor Gallagher, with Chris, with Geovette, when my wife and I walked out of the room after it was almost three hours, when we walked out of the room, we got to the car. I just said to her, What do you think? She said, I was blown away. I said, Yeah, me too. We're driving away, we get to a stoplight. She says, May I ask you a question, I just want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. Are we going? I said, Absolutely. I spoke to Heather that night. This is Monday night. I told her, Hey, look, I felt really good about it. My wife felt really good about it. But I want to sleep on it. That's something that my dad taught me. Any big decision, sleep on it, don't go off just emotion. Make sure when you wake up, it's the same feeling. When I woke up the next morning, Kanika was sitting right beside me on the edge of the bed. She was like, So what do you think? I said, We're going, let's do it. So that's how this all came about. Again, I'm honored to be here, to be aligned with this great university, this great academic institution, then the tradition of the program. There are a few thank yous I would like to start with. The very first one is to Duke University. I had the great fortune of playing there. I didn't understand when I signed to go there how it would greatly impact and change my life. The people there that we have gotten to know there in our time, from under grads, to being back as assistant coaches, I'm very grateful to them. They know who they are. To the Duke basketball program. I'm incredibly grateful and indebted to them. I learned so much from each person involved in the Duke basketball program, from the players, to the administrators, to all the coaches that I had the great fortune of working with, to everyone, the families and everyone like that. As it pertains to Duke, the final thanks and biggest thanks is to my coach, Coach K. When I made the decision, I committed to Duke when I was a junior in high school, at the end of my junior year. When I made the decision to go to Duke, I was 17. I didn't realize that the guy that I chose to play for would become one of the my dear friends. Not just a mentor, but a friend, someone that I obviously look up to, but someone I've laughed with, I've cried with, that has been there for me in the greatest times but also in the most difficult times. I'm very grateful for those relationships. I'm thankful for my parents. My dad is not with us physically, but I can feel him in here today. When I was laying in bed Monday night, it was completely dark, this is a true story. I'm laying there. I said a prayer. Hey, this is what I'm feeling, this is what I want to do, but I want to make sure it's right. I'm laying there. I couldn't sleep. I keep saying to myself something from the Bible, Be still. I'm trying to do that. I'm just trying to think. All of a sudden, you know, I felt like something was at the edge of the bed. It was like someone was pushing it down. It was 1 in the morning. I thought it was Elijah trying to get in the bed. It wasn't. That's when I knew my dad was there telling me that this is the right decision. My mom, she's been the rock of our family. This has been a very difficult year for us with the passing of my father. But there's no one that's more proud of me today than my mom. I know she's probably watching somewhere, figuring out how to stream it. I'm sure she's sitting there proud. My younger brother, I can't say my little brother, he's a lot bigger than me now, but my younger brother who is a heck of a coach himself, heck of a player, now a broadcaster. I know he's very proud. That was my team before I joined any team: my family. I'm grateful to the administration here at Pitt that I've had the opportunity to meet. We were absolutely blown away by Chancellor Gallagher. His vision, his sincerity, how genuine he was. He was like a real dude (smiling). Sometimes you get people that are high up that are not that. So that was very impressive to me. Then to Heather. There was a connection right away. I felt it. Over these last seven years as Kanika and I have talked about it, the thing I always said was that what I would look for in a situation, when I become a head coach again, there are a lot of these things that we would look for, but the main thing is that I need an athletic director that believes in me, that understands me, that believes in me. We had one conversation prior to the meeting on Monday. Then on Monday when we were in there, that's the thing that I felt right away. The people that were in that room, I felt like they believed in me. I felt like they believed in us. That's how I knew it was right. For the players, our players right here, I've had a chance to visit with them, to talk to them collectively as a group. I've had a chance to talk to some of them individually on the phone or via text. I'm excited to get to know them. I have empathy for what those guys have been through. When you lose a coach, it's very difficult. But I'm glad to see them here. I look forward to working with them, to helping them get better, helping them grow as men. The thing that we will talk about in our program a lot, and these are lessons that I learned from my dad as I was growing up, these are the things that these guys will hear a lot, the very first thing that we will do every day is that we'll show up. When I say 'show up,' it doesn't mean you just appear. You're prepared, mentally and physically prepared to show up and give your best. We'll show up in the community. We'll show up in the classroom. We'll show up on the court. We will do everything we can every day to try to get better and to be at our best. The second thing that is we'll keep our promise. I promise you, anyone that's affiliated with this university, the fans, the administration, everyone, that I will give you everything that I have every day. I will give you 100% of me. We will be involved in the community. We will be involved on campus, certainly with our program. I understand that this is not just my program. This is our program. In order for it to be restored, so to speak, or to get it to where we all want it, then we all have to own it. We have to value it. We have to respect it. We have to show up every day. We have to give it our best every day. I promise you I will do that. I promise those young men that every day they'll get the best from me. They'll get everything that I have: knowledge, love, support, discipline. Everything that I have they'll get every day. The only thing I ask is that they give it back to me, they give me 100% of themselves. The third thing is that we will appreciate what we have. We all are very fortunate to be a part of this great institution. There's a lot of pride here. I felt it from the time I got off the plane and stepped on campus. I felt it with everyone that I've met here, the pride you guys have in Pitt. I feel it. I feel that pride about being a part of this university. We will appreciate what we have. We're in a great city. We're in a city that has a lot of pride. The City of Champions. That's what we're about, is about building champions. That's what we are going to be about. Pitt men's basketball is going to be about that. We will do that every day. The last thing, it's probably the biggest lesson my dad taught me when I was growing up, I heard it all the time, is that there will be no excuses. We will figure out a way collectively to get this done. There will be no excuses for lack of work, for not being the best that we can be. That will not happen. We will do that every day. I look forward to teaching these guys that, to working with them, and to helping them become the best versions of themselves individually. When we do that, we'll become the best version we can become collectively as a group. There are many reasons why I chose, or we chose, that this was of the place for us. You've heard me talk several times about academics. I didn't realize until I started doing homework on the school as we were going through this process how good of a school it is. That's important to me. Academics are very, very important to me because that's the thing that lasts forever. I look forward to meeting all the professors, deans, whoever it is on campus, being part of your team. For us, aligning together. The people in academic support, all those things. But that was one of the things that was very enticing to me. The fact that it's in the ACC, a conference that I grew up watching, dreamed of being a part of when I was young. I had the great fortune as a player to be a part of it. When I became a head coach, my journey to become a head coach was very different. I was an assistant for two years, then became a head coach at 27. I never really had a dream job. I never wanted to be a coach until a little bit later in my life. So I never had a dream job. But my dream was to coach in the ACC. That was very enticing. The fact that it's on the East Coast, all of our family is on the East Coast, so that was very exciting. A program that has tradition. If you look back at the great players here, the great teams, the championships that were won in the Big East, as we've embarked now in the ACC, I look forward to building that, being part of a tradition. A great city, a city where I could see our family living and being a part of the community. That's what drew me. The last thing, as important as anything, are the people. So I stand here today honored, excited, and ready to go, ready to get started, to build this back into a championship program. I have absolutely no doubt that's something we will do. Again, I thank you all for being here. I look forward to meeting all of you. I'm a person that I enjoy meeting people. I enjoy getting to know people. I look forward to getting to know all of you. So thank you. If there are any questions that anyone has, I think they're going around with the mic. THE MODERATOR: We'll begin the media portion of our Q&A. Q. Coming off of your seven years at Duke, after the way your time at Oklahoma ended the way it did, in your time at Duke what about you do you feel changed as a coach and as a person? What did you learn about yourself as a coach and person during that time? JEFF CAPEL: I appreciate the question. Duke was necessary for me. It was something that had to happen. I believe everything happens for a reason. When you get fired from a program, which I did at Oklahoma, that's not fun. It's something that I probably always feared. Like I was named the head coach at 27. It wasn't a very popular thing. People thought that the people of VCU were crazy. I always coached with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder to show them that, Hey, these people weren't crazy, they did see something. There was always a little bit of fear there. When I got fired, it was rocky to me and my family. It was Kanika and the two girls at the time. It's a complete life change. Going from a head coach for nine years back to an assistant, it was interesting. It was interesting, but necessary. I learned during my seven years at Duke, I think the biggest thing is how to really run a program. I thought that I was good before, but I know I'll be better now because I've had a chance to sit beside and be with every day and have these intimate conversations with a guy that I think is the best that's ever done it. I knew Duke as a player, but I didn't know the ins-and-outs. That's the thing that I've learned. I'm a guy that asks a bunch of questions. Through seven years, Coach probably got tired of me asking questions. But, again, I think I've learned how to run a program better, the ins-and-outs, everything with the program. I know I've become a better coach. I think I will have better balance now as a head coach maybe than I did before. I think I've learned not to take myself as seriously as I once did when I was a head coach. And this should be really fun, too. Those are the main lessons I think over the seven years that I learned back there at Duke. Q. A question for you about why and when. Why did this feel as much of a good fit for you as it was with the roster being in so much of a state of flux as it is? I think you alluded to one conversation you had before the meeting on Monday. When exactly was that? Is that when Pitt appeared on your radar to be a point of interest for you, or had it been since they moved on from Kevin? JEFF CAPEL: 'Why' is, like I said, just the tradition. I just felt like this was the right fit. When Pitt called and expressed interest, obviously, like I mentioned, I knew the tradition of the program. I had friends of mine, really good friends, that were part of the Big East when Pitt was there. They talked about how this was the most difficult place to play. I knew of the Oakland Zoo. I think it was 2016. They kicked our butt up here. We came up here, our team at Duke. There was a young freshman on that team that's in the building right now that really played well against us. They really kicked our butt. 2014 was the first time we came up here when I was at Duke, and we played. Like you got to experience the Oakland Zoo. I got to hear all these things I heard about. When I came up here to play as an opposing coach, I saw the facilities. I saw this. I was very, very impressed by that. I thought, Okay, this university, this school, this program must be committed to basketball. I've always heard really good things about the city of Pittsburgh. It was all those things that were why. As I dug deeper into it, into trying to learn as much as I possibly could in a short period of time, then you saw all these other things, all these other really great and positive things. For me, like I mentioned, was when I met with the leadership group. That's when I knew, Okay, this is the one. My wife kept saying that to me, This is the one. We've been fortunate to be a part of some other things as far as some other opportunities, but there was always something, You know what, this isn't the fit. But this was the one. It was all those reasons. And when, I think it was Thursday. I think it was Thursday the first time we talked. I told Heather I want to concentrate on our team. We were trying to get to the Final Four. I didn't really want to talk any more. I was interested, but I felt I owed that to our team. So the next conversation was Monday. Monday night is when I knew. Before this question, if you don't mind, the last group that I didn't thank, and I'm sorry, is my wife. My wife and my family, the most important group. I'm very fortunate that I have an amazing wife. I always joke with people and tell them it's the best recruiting job I've ever done. She's brilliant, she's beautiful, she's an amazing mom, and she's an incredible wife to me. I have three amazing kids. I have a 10-year-old daughter Cameron, I have an eight-year-old daughter Sydney, and I have a five-year-old little boy Elijah. They're all excited to be here. They were excited to be on a plane. They didn't have to go to school today or tomorrow, probably more excited about that. They're excited to stay in a hotel. When I told Elijah yesterday that we were going to be moving, that we were moving, I picked him up from a friend's house, I told him that we were going to be moving. He said, Where? I told him. The first thing he said was, Can I take my basketball guys? Can I take my basketball guys, my players, the little figurines? I said, Sure. So I'm thankful for them because without them, without their support, it would be hard to do this. So I would be remiss if I didn't do that. I'm very grateful for them, for their support, their love, for our team joining this team. Q. What would you say is your vision for what a Jeff Capel coached basketball team is going to look like on the floor? What are the fundamental principles you want to promote? JEFF CAPEL: It's play hard, play together, very simple. Then depending on who we have as a group, that will determine the style. I'm not a coach that's married to a particular style. I know how I'd like to play. I'd like to play fast. I'd like to play where we score, we get out. You have talented guys, you put them in positions to be instinctual. You teach and have freedom and things like that. Again, who you have on your team determines your style. I like man-to-man defense. If you watched us at Duke, you wouldn't have thought that this year. I like man-to-man defense. I like being versatile. I like players that are versatile, players that can guard multiple positions and do, you know, different things offensively. I want to have a point guard. In my opinion, that's the only true position in the game any more. If you look the game now, it's completely different. So having a point guard is very, very important. But the main thing is that we want to play hard and we want to play together. We need to have the right attitude. We need to be all about the team, what's best for the team. The thing I talked to these guys about is we have to own this, this is ours, we have to own it. If you own it, you care about it a little bit more, you'll invest a little bit more into it. You won't take it for granted, all those things. That's what I want my teams to be about. Q. Not long after the job became vacant, several of your players expressed an interest in not being here next season. Talk about your conversations with them, any reassurances they may or may not have given you in that regard. JEFF CAPEL: Yeah, I've talked to them. I understand them feeling that way as a player, as a guy that wore the jersey. Look, my freshman year at Duke, we played for the national championship. The Final Four was in Charlotte. I was a starter. It's two hours from where I grew up. My sophomore year we were 2-14 in the conference. That's the year Coach K was out. We weren't sure as players if he was coming back. I would be lying to you if I didn't think during that time, I don't know if I'm going to be back if he's not. I get that. I understand that. We've had conversations. I've expressed to them my vision for our program going forward, that I plan to meet with them individually over the next few days about them individually. I've talked to them. I've tried to express for them the empathy that I have for them. But we'll see what happens. I think they would be excited about how we play, the things that we do. But I respect the fact that they have the freedom to make their decision. So we'll go from there. I want them back. I think they're talented. But we'll see what happens. Q. Your starting point, how many guys are on the team? JEFF CAPEL: Our team right now? Q. Yes. JEFF CAPEL: I don't know. Q. Is that particularly daunting compared to your other beginnings in your career? How do you start up? JEFF CAPEL: I've been through this. When I took over VCU, we lost some guys right away. Right after the press conference, I kicked three guys off the team. I met with them as a group. Again, it was different. I had been there as an assistant. I knew the culture. The thing I knew needed to be changed more anything was the culture. In order to change the culture, we had to remove some guys. I met with them. Excellence will be demanded from here on out in everything we do. I want you guys to look around, because all of you can't do it. I already know that, all of you can't do it. I'll meet with you guys individually and we'll figure some things out. Right when that was over with, I dismissed three guys. A kid transferred. Then a little bit later I think that summer, maybe even before the summer, we had to dismiss another kid. That was when they had the 8-5 rule. My first year there, I had eight scholarship players. When I went to Oklahoma, there was NCAA stuff. That was reduction of scholarships. There were all these things. I didn't know that team. I've been there. It's at a different level, but at Duke as an assistant, the end of the year, we don't know who our team is going to be, who is leaving, who is turning pro, transfers, things like that. That's the nature of college basketball right now unfortunately. I'd like for it to be different. Hopefully as we build this thing, as we go forward, it will be different. But right now that's something that I'm not exactly sure of right now. Is it daunting? Yes. I knew that when I took the job. But all new jobs are daunting. That's the nature of what we do. Q. The question I posed to Coach Tomlin when he first arrived, any thoughts about being the first African American coach in this position? JEFF CAPEL: I didn't know that. Obviously it's an honor. The plight for black coaches has been very different from our counterparts. It's something that I take very seriously, and take with great pride. My dad was a guy that knocked down doors, that did different things. I grew up in an era where my dad was friends with Coach Thompson, with Coach Chaney, Coach Richardson. Those are some of the examples of mentors that I've had and people that I've looked up to. I'm excited about that. I'm excited to get to know Coach Tomlin. I was very excited yesterday. I was at home, obviously it was a whirlwind yesterday once the news came out. I was at home. Kanika was out picking the kids up, they were out shopping. Elijah was with friends. I was at home by myself. I was inundated with calls, texts, all things like that, trying to find a way to relax in the midst of all of this. One of the things I like to do to relax is I like to cook. I was chopping vegetables yesterday. All of a sudden I had my phone right there and the phone rang. I saw it was a Pittsburgh area code. I wasn't really answering any calls because I'm getting calls from everyone, so many people that want a job. Anyway... I saw a Pittsburgh area code. I answered it because I thought it was one of the players. I reached out to some of them via text. I hadn't necessarily plugged their names in yet. Let me get this. This is maybe one of the guys. I answered. Hey, Jeff, this is Mike Tomlin. I thought I was being punked, to be honest with you. A great friend of mine, I told those guys on the ride over here today, a really good friend of mine, a colleague, a guy whose friendship I really value, Jon Scheyer, I think you guys had him come in here, Jon has this app on his phone where he has this like prank call app on his phone. He's always prank calling people. We would be at a training meal, he'd be prank calling our players. I thought it was Jon because he knows how much I love the Steelers. I was very honored to talk to Coach Tomlin. He talked to me about Pittsburgh, living here, we're going to get together, things like that. I'm honored to be the first African American coach here. I take that with a great deal of pride. I'm sure the community will take that with a great deal of pride. Hopefully this opens doors for other young coaches out there that aspire to be in this position one day. Q. Everybody that we talked to yesterday about you, all quotes on this sheet, everybody refers to you as an elite level recruiter. Can you give us a little bit of insight as to what you think makes you a great recruiter, and do you feel like when you're wearing Pitt on your jacket instead of Duke, you'll be able to get in the same level of player's house as you were able to the last seven years? JEFF CAPEL: I don't look at myself as a great recruiter. I don't look at myself as a great anything. I think I'm a great father. I'd like to think I'm a good husband. I think I'm a great father. Everything else, that's for everyone else to put those superlatives on me, whatever they want. Do I think we can get in the door? Yeah. We got in the door with guys that maybe were above us when I was at VCU. We certainly got in the door with guys -- people didn't think we could when I was at Oklahoma. So I have no doubt we can do that here. There's a brand here. Being a part of the ACC, there's a tradition here. There are facilities here, resources here. You have a great city. You have a great academic institution. I don't see why we can't. We're going to go after it. We want to get guys that fit. I want to get guys that fit what we're trying to build here, what we're trying to do here. That's what I want. So sometimes that's an incredibly high-level player. Sometimes it's a guy that you know is high level that maybe other people don't know. I've never been one that looked at, This guy is highly ranked, I should go after him. It's about the right fit. That's something we'll go after, whoever is the right fit for us. We're going to try like heck to get them here at Pitt. Q. Is there a geographical area of emphasis that you have or will have in recruiting? JEFF CAPEL: I mean, emphasis? I think the East Coast. But me, I believe I can recruit anywhere. I believe I can recruit a kid from anywhere if I get to know him, know the parents, build the relationship. I think we have the resources and things here, if we can get a kid on campus, where they would see the things that we would talk to them about. So I'm not putting a limit on just the East Coast or any particular area. We're going to go after the best players wherever they are. My man Dick Groat there. Excited to see him. He was always been the nicest guy to me from the time Pitt joined the ACC, we started playing them. I remember the first time we came up here, I was always honored to meet him, always saw his jersey, heard these stories about him. Every time we played him, he was the nicest guy in the world to me. This year, brought a bunch of gear up to him. Glad he got back down to Duke to be honored. I'm really glad to see you sitting right there. Thank you for being here. Q. You mentioned in jest about people calling you about jobs. Have you thought about what your staff might look like, what you're going to try to do? JEFF CAPEL: I have an idea of who I want. Now it's trying to close the deal and get them here. I've been working on that since Monday. I've been working on some of it. I have an idea of some people I'd like. Not necessarily do I have an idea of one guy I'd really like to get. Hopefully we can make that happen. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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