Felton Jeffrey Capel III (born February 12, 1975) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh's Panthers men's basketball team. He played for Duke University and was a head coach at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

and

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

Youth

Capel is from a basketball family. His father was the late basketball coach Jeff Capel II, former assistant coach for the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

and former head coach at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

, and his younger brother

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

played basketball at Duke's biggest rival, the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and was the head basketball coach at Appalachian State University. As a senior at

South View High School South View High School is a 9– 12 public high school in Hope Mills, North Carolina, United States. It is a member of Cumberland County Schools (CSS). Adjacent to South View High School is South View Middle School. Enrollment of students is ...

in Hope Mills, North Carolina, Jeff led his team to the 1993 state championship defeating Charlotte powerhouse South Mecklenburg 53–52 with a last second lay-up. He also set school career records in points (2,066), rebounds (668), and assists (663).

College career

While at Duke University (1993–1997), he earned a starting position as a freshman and was a starting

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

on the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

for four years. On February 2, 1995 in the regular season game played at home against UNC, with Duke trailing 95–92 at the end of the first

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

, Capel hit a running 40-foot shot at the buzzer which sent the game into double overtime. Although Duke lost the game 102–100, Capel's shot was hailed as one of the most memorable plays in Duke basketball history, and it was nominated for an

ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the for ...

for College Basketball Play of the Year. Capel's college career was marked with success. During his years as a Blue Devil, he racked up 1,601 points, 433 assists, and 220 three-point field goals. He finished his career among Duke's all-time Top 10 in minutes played, three-point field goal percentages, three-point field goals, and assists.

Professional career

Following his graduation from Duke, Capel played professional basketball for the Grand Rapid Hoops of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). In 1997-98, he saw action in 56 games for Grand Rapids, averaging 11.9 points per contest. He was selected to the CBA All-Rookie Team in 1998. Capel was also drafted in 1997 by the

Raleigh Cougars The Raleigh Cougars was a United States Basketball League team based in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1997 to 1999. The team included many well known players from local colleges. The team played its home games at Dorton Arena. The Cougars were ow ...

of the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

. In 1999, he played two games (5.5 ppg) with

Élan Chalon Élan Sportif Chalonnais, commonly known as Élan Chalon, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The team's main colors are red and white, and their mascot is a moose. The team's home arena is called ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and had another 33 outings for the Grand Rapid Hoops, scoring 8.1 points a contest in the CBA.

Coaching career

Virginia Commonwealth University

Capel began his coaching career serving as an assistant coach under his father, Jeff Capel II, at

for the 2000–2001 season. In 2001, he joined the coaching staff of

as an assistant. He was promoted to head coach of the

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Wake Forest in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Surprisingly, one of his toughest opponents was the Division II crosstown rival,

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

. Capel's Rams lost two years in a row to the Panthers on VCU's home court. However, he did lead the Rams to a 7–3 record against CAA rival, and former employer, Old Dominion. In 2005, Capel was named an assistant coach in the USA Men's World University Games Team, joining then Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez in assisting Villanova head coach Jay Wright. The United States won the gold medal in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, in August.

University of Oklahoma

On April 11, 2006, Capel was named the head coach of the Oklahoma men's basketball team, succeeding

Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Dale Sampson (born October 5, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the University of Houston of the American Athletic Conference. Early life Sampson was born in the Lumbee Native American community of ...

. Though the Sooner Nation as a whole greeted Capel's hiring with optimism, one notable downside of the coaching change emerged—Sampson's departure caused three players who had signed with OU (once considered a top 5 recruiting class) to rethink their decisions to attend OU.

Scottie Reynolds Scottie Reynolds (born October 10, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Prior to his professional career he played college basketball for Villanova. Reynolds also ...

went on to Villanova, where he led his team to the NCAA tournament and

Damion James Damion Marquez Williams James (born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Vaqueros de Bayamón of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for Texas. High school car ...

was a key part to a Texas team which was defeated by Southern California in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

2006–07

In his first year as head coach, the Sooners finished 16–15. After going 9–4 in non-conference games, with losses to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Purdue, Villanova, and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, the Sooners started a promising 6–3 in conference play, before losing their final 7 conference games. After winning only one game in the Big 12 Conference tournament, losing to eventual conference tournament champion

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, this caused the Sooners to miss any form of postseason play, which snapped the nation's longest streak of 23 consecutive years in the postseason, starting with

Billy Tubbs Billy Duane Tubbs (March 5, 1935 – November 1, 2020) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native was the head coach of his alma mater Lamar University (1976–1980, 2003–2006), the University of Oklahoma (1980– ...

' second year in 1982 and ending with Kelvin Sampson's final year in 2006.

2007–08

In his second year, after signing McDonald's All-American Forward

Blake Griffin Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the consen ...

, the Sooners showed vast signs of improvement and finished 21–10 during the regular season (9–7 in Big 12 play) earning them a #4 seed in the Big 12 tournament, where they won one game before losing to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in the semi-finals. They received a #6 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they defeated St. Joseph's in the first round before losing to #3 seed

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in the second round.

2008–09

Player of the Year Candidate Blake Griffin announced he would be returning for his sophomore season, forgoing a possible lottery-pick status in the NBA draft. Coupled with the signing of another

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

guard in

Willie Warren Willie D. Warren (born October 22, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Al-Qurain SC of the Kuwait Basketball League. He played college basketball for Oklahoma. High school career After a successful high school career at ...

, the 2008–09 season looked to be promising. The team experienced one of the best starts in school history at 25–1, until Blake Griffin was sidelined with a concussion during the first half of the OU-Texas game on February 21. The Sooners went on to lose consecutive games for the first time all season, losing to

by 5 in Austin and

by 9 in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. Without their star player, the Sooners fell short. Griffin returned to the lineup a week later and the Sooners returned to their winning ways defeating

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

by 15 in

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

on February 28, before losing on the road to

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and finishing the regular season by sweeping in-state rival

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. After a first-round bye in the Big 12 tournament, the #2 seeded Sooners lost to the #7 seeded Cowboys by 1 point during the final seconds of the game. Capel's Sooners were granted a #2 seed for the NCAA Tournament, and easily beat #15 seed Morgan State in the first round, #10 seed

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the second round, and #3 seed Syracuse in the Sweet 16, whose vaunted 2–3 zone defense did nothing to slow down the Sooner's hot shooting from the perimeter. However, after hitting nine 3-pointers during the previous game with Syracuse, the Sooner guards went 0–15 from beyond the arc during the first 35 minutes of their Elite 8 game against

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, before finally finishing 2–19 in the game. This ultimately led to their demise by the Tar Heels on March 29, losing 60–72.

, announced he would forgo his final two years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft. He was drafted #1 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers and was the University of Oklahoma's first #1 draft pick in the NBA.

2009–10

Entering his fourth year, Capel's record at OU was 69–33 (0.676) overall, 28–20 (0.583) conference, with 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances, and one Elite Eight appearance. In the Big 12, Capel had yet to win a Conference tournament Title or Regular Season Title. Capel was averaging 21 wins per season (21–12) and 8 conference wins per season (8–8), almost on track with his predecessors Tubbs & Sampson. With the return of McDonald's All-American and projected NBA Lottery Pick

, and the addition of two more McDonald's All-American recruits in Tommie Mason-Griffin & Tiny Gallon, the Sooners were ranked #13 in the pre-season AP Poll and picked to finish 3rd in the Big 12 Conference. Unfortunately, injuries and off-court issues plagued the Sooners and the team failed to live up to expectations. Capel led Oklahoma to a 13–18 record in the 2009–10 season (all 13 wins were later vacated due to use of an ineligible player), the first losing season at Oklahoma since 1981. The Sooners ended the season with nine straight losses, the longest losing streak at Oklahoma in 41 years.

2010–11

In April 2010, Oklahoma announced the resignation of Capel's assistant Oronde Taliaferro without specifying the reason. There was speculation that it might be related to media reports that Tiny Gallon had received an impermissible extra benefit from Merrill Lynch employee and this was confirmed when subsequently released phone records tied him and Taliaferro and the NCAA confirmed it was investigating. Five underclassmen left the program in the offseason and Capel was forced to play mostly unheralded leftovers and newcomers. Oklahoma went 14–18, attendance dropped significantly, and Capel was fired in March 2011 after two of the worst back-to-back losing seasons in Oklahoma basketball history. While enjoying a 30-win season and an Elite 8 appearance, Capel's tenure at Oklahoma is generally regarded by Sooner fans as a disappointment. In August 2011, Oklahoma admitted that Taliaferro had committed 2 NCAA violations in the Gallon case; Capel was not implicated in the violations.

Duke University

On May 8, 2011, it was announced that Jeff Capel would be joining the staff of

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five nati ...

at his alma mater, Duke University, as an assistant coach. In April 2014, Capel was promoted by Krzyzewski to associate head coach. On February 2, 2016, Jeff Capel stepped in as head coach for Duke University for one game versus Georgia Tech, due to an illness to Mike Kryzewski, and guided Duke to an 80–71 victory. In January 2017, Capel served as Duke's Acting Head Coach, filling in for Krzyzewski who underwent back surgery.

University of Pittsburgh

On March 27, 2018, the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

announced the hiring of Capel to be the 16th head coach of their men's basketball program. Capel replaced 2 year former head coach

Kevin Stallings Kevin E. Stallings (born October 1, 1960) is a former American basketball coach, who formerly served as the head coach at Illinois State University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh. He was an assistant coach at Purdue Univ ...

, who led the Panthers to an 0–18 Atlantic Coast Conference record in 2017–18.

Broadcasting

During the 2019 NCAA tournament, Capel signed on with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

as a guest TV studio analyst for the first round of the tournament.

Personal life

Capel is married to Duke alumna Kanika Réale Blue, daughter of Daniel T. Blue, Jr. They were married in 2003 and have three children.

Head coaching record

*Oklahoma vacated 13 regular season wins (and 4 conference wins) due to use of an ineligible player during the 2009–10 season.

References

External links

Pittsburgh profile

Duke coach profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capel, Jeff, Iii 1975 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from North Carolina College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Duke Blue Devils men's basketball coaches Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Grand Rapids Hoops players Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball coaches Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball coaches Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball coaches Point guards Sportspeople from Fayetteville, North Carolina VCU Rams men's basketball coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople