Pitt has hired Jeff Capel as its new men's basketball coach. Athletic Director Heather Lyke made the announcement Tuesday afternoon after national media reports surfaced.
Here are 11 things to know about Capel:
1. He is Pitt’s first minority head basketball coach.
2. He's a longtime Steelers fan.
3. He was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Feb. 12, 1975. He played basketball for South View High School in Hope Mills, North Carolina. Capel led his team to the 1993 state championship and set a school career record in points, rebounds and assists. He was the 1993 North Carolina High School Player of the Year.
4. He was a four-year starter at Duke University and was team captain in 1996 and 1997. He is among Duke’s career leaders in minutes played, 3-point field goals made, 3-point field goal percentage and assists.
5. After graduating from Duke, Capel played professionally for two years with the CBA’s Grand Rapid Hoops and in France.
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6. He comes from a basketball family. His late father, Jeff Capel II, started coaching at the high school level. He was the head coach at Old Dominion University and an assistant coach for the Charlotte Bobcats. Capel II died in November 2017, two years after doctors diagnosed him with Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS.
7. His brother, Jason, was a star at Duke’s rival, the University of North Carolina. He coached the Appalachian State Mountaineers basketball team from 2010-2014. He also has been a basketball commentator for Raycom Sports & Bein Sports.
8. He got his coaching start as an assistant to his father at Old Dominion in 2000. He also was the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Oklahoma before he returned to Duke seven years ago as an assistant coach. At Duke, he has helped recruit 15 McDonald’s All-Americans in the last six years.
9. He coached in the Olympics and for the U.S. national team, alongside Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He was a staff assistant for the U.S. gold medal team at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
10. His grandfather, Felton Capel, served on the town council and as mayor pro tem in the town of Southern Pines, North Carolina. He helped integrate several businesses and the school in Southern Pines. He established the Felton Jeff Capel Endowed Scholarship in the Performing Arts at Fayetteville State University, where the basketball arena is named for him.
11. He has a B.A. in history from Duke. His wife, Kanika Capel, is the daughter of Dan Blue, the minority leader in the North Carolina Senate. The couple has two daughters, Cameron and Sydney, and a son Elijah.