ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAY

October 12, 2021

Jeff Capel

Nike Sibande

Ithiel Horton

Pittsburgh Panthers

Press Conference

Q. Comments about your former head coach taking his last lap this season?

JEFF CAPEL: Yeah. Well obviously he's had an unbelievable career in the impact he's had on the game of basketball and the people within the game of basketball. Just a really special man, special coach, special leader, special man.

Has had a profound impact on my life and on all the people that have been fortunate enough to play for him, so wish him luck. Except for one game.

And I'm glad he's -- he has the opportunity to do it his way. I think he's earned that. And certainly they were able to execute that.

Q. Coach, what's it going to take to make the next step to consistently make the NCAA tournament and go far?

JEFF CAPEL: Yeah. Well, one of the main things is that we have to be together all the time. I mean, that's really the main thing. I think our talent has improved. This is year four for me. I think our talent has improved. I think we have more quality depth. But the main thing is we have to be together all the time. We have to understand that for every team, even the really good teams, you go through difficult times.

You may lose a couple games in a row. There's some sort of adversity. And those moments, you have to be even more together. And you can't splinter.

And so we have to understand that all the time. And we have to do that all the time. And we have to be more concerned about us than me or I. Our program, we have to use plural pronouns. It needs to be us, we, our instead of singular pronouns. And so that's what it's going to take and it's going to take that every day.

Q. What are some ways that you kind of acknowledge your little Coach K-isms in you? Like whenever you're coaching do you stop yourself and think, I sound like Coach K? How has he been embedded in your coaching style?

JEFF CAPEL: You know, I don't know how he's been embedded in my coaching style. I don't know that because I'm not really sure what my coaching style is. I just -- I try to coach off of feel, so it can be different from game to game or situation to situation.

But I know that he's had an unbelievably profound impact on my life. It's probably three men that have impacted me as a man more than anyone. The first one is my father. And then the next two are probably right the same, and that's coach and my grandfather. And I find myself now as a husband, as a father, really leaning back on a lot of the things that I learned from him as a player.

One of the -- one of my favorite stories -- and it kind of embodies -- team has always been sacred to me, always, my whole life. I don't know if it's because I grew up with a coach at home and so I was always around team. Players were always at the house. When my dad was a high school coach they were our babysitters. You know, I got to be on the bus. You know, the team bus when I was little and he was a high school coach. When he went and he was an assistant at Wake Forest his first college job, I was a ball boy. So team has always been really, really important. It's been a huge part of my life.

My freshman year at Duke we played Xavier. It was early. It was maybe like the third or fourth game of the year. And it was one of the first like big games I had as a freshman.

It was the first national TV game, and they were really good, a top 15 team. And I played well. So afterwards, I have the cameras in front of me in the locker room and I'm saying, you know, well I had it going and I was able to make some shots and I was able, and we come back the next day for feedback and thinking we're going to see good plays, bad plays, whatever, and the feedback is my interview.

And it's what he talked about. He's like, Look it should never be about I. It needs to be we, us, our. You didn't do this by yourself. So I find myself doing that in everything that I do. As a father, trying to teach my kids these same things. Probably as a coach, some of the things I say to my guys are probably things that I heard during my time there. And even when I went back and worked there for seven years.

So he's had an unbelievable and continues to have an unbelievable impact on me as a man.

Q. Coach, for you in these three seasons that you've been at Pitt, how would you describe kind of what you wanted the evolution to be and where it is right now and how you see it moving forward?

JEFF CAPEL: Yeah. I think we've taken steps and I think we've gotten better each year. It certainly has not happened as fast as I would have liked to have it happened. If you look during my previous two stints as a head coach, year two at both places, VCU and Oklahoma, is when we flipped it.

We've had opportunities to do that, but we haven't been worthy of doing it because we haven't been together. And so that part is frustrating.

But I know we're headed in the right direction. Obviously I knew when I took over that it was going to be a challenge. All jobs are a challenge. And this job in particular, it was a lot of stuff going on. You make the moves to the ACC in 2013, '14, that's the first season. So you go into a different neighborhood, a different neighborhood that you're not used to. From 2014 to 2018, when I was hired -- I'm the third coach during that time. We're on the third athletic director. So it was a lot of instability. We have stability now. And so again, just taking the necessary steps, we want guys that want to be a part of it. That have a chip on their shoulder, as I've learned more about the program, the history of the program, that's what I've found the really good teams at Pitt have had.

And there was a period from 2002 to 2014 when this program was as good as any in the country. And during that time, you had guys that had a chip on their shoulder. They were unbelievably together, they were tough. And they felt like they had something to prove and they played like it every day. And that's what we have to do. We have to play like it every day. We've done it in spurts but we have to be able to stay together and stick together when adversity hits.

Q. Ithiel, you started 18 games last year and that was after sitting out due to transfer the previous season. Talk about the impact you think you had for the team last year as a starter.

ITHIEL HORTON: I feel like my impact was -- it wasn't as I thought it was going to be. Obviously I had a lot of growing to do. But I mean, it was a blessing being able just to be back on court and playing again, and I'm looking to take a bunch of steps forward this year.

Q. This is for both of you as far as name, image and likeness goes, and, coach, if you want to give a thought as well. Just how you have understood name, image and likeness up to this point and if you feel the need to utilize it or kind of how you see it as you go forward?

ITHIEL HORTON: You said NIL? Well, to be honest, I haven't really thought much about NIL really. I'm just really trying to just focus on the season.

NIKE SIBANDE: I think it's a pretty positive thing, but we both really focused on season and things like that.

JEFF CAPEL: I think it's an incredible opportunity for these young people. I think it's way beyond time for them to be able to profit off of their name, image and likeness. I don't think anyone completely understands it right now. I think everyone is trying to figure it out as we go.

One of the things I told my team when we talked about it on July 1st when everything was passed is that I'm excited for them, but it can't get in the way of work. It can't get in the way of the gym, of you being in the gym and working and really working on your craft and trying to get better.

It's an unbelievable opportunity and I know some people have really taken advantage of it. And as we continue to get better and our guys will be able to take advantage of it too. We have some guys that are. And -- that have been afforded some amazing opportunities. But we look forward to growing as we continue to learn more about it.

Q. This question is for the players. Last year during COVID, a lot of things were magnified. To me, the most important thing was being more than an athlete. How have you two grown outside of the court in making sure that your voices are heard and even uncomfortable and comfortable spaces and making sure that your legacy isn't just left on the court.

ITHIEL HORTON: Could you repeat the question?

Q. No problem. I said last year a lot of things were magnified. The main thing for me was being more than an athlete. So how have you grown outside the basketball court and using your voices for positive change?

ITHIEL HORTON: I would say I've grown tremendously in that aspect. I know I guess before COVID I really wasn't one to speak out on anything that was going on outside in the world. But while I was home seeing the events that was happening on the news, seeing what was going on in everyday life I just felt like I had an obligation to speak up and to use my voice especially with the platform that I have. So I think in that aspect I've grown a lot as a player. But I'm trying not to have that side compromise what I'm -- what my gift is and what I'm trying to do with my life. But I say yeah I've definitely grown a lot in that aspect.

NIKE SIBANDE: I can say the same thing as well. I definitely took steps forward in growing as far as speaking out on things that's going on and stuff like that, but I just -- like the same as him, just try to focus on the ball and not let it get in the way of anything.

Q. Nike, just as a little bit of a follow up to that. You are part of the older group. What are you teaching the younger guys this year?

NIKE SIBANDE: Just as coach said, trying to make everybody be together, stay together as one unit and gel and grow as a family. Because at the end of the day, we're all going to need each other. It's going to be a long season. And the more close we are, the more connected we are, it's giving us more of a chance to win. So that's all I want to do is win. And that's what -- that's all that matters to me so --

Q. I'd like to know who is the truer comedian, who is funnier, Jeff or Jason?

ITHIEL HORTON: I've got to go with JC.

NIKE SIBANDE: JC is more animated.

JEFF CAPEL: JC is my brother. That's what they call my brother.

NIKE SIBANDE: He's a little more animated.