Capel quickly assembles staff
Last week we looked at Pitt鈥檚 hiring of Jeff Capel as the new men鈥檚 basketball coach.
In the last week, he has put together his staff and they are ready to roll.
The university issued a press release Friday saying that Capel has hired his brother, Jason, and Tim O鈥橳oole as assistant coaches. Also hired were Jason Richards, as director of student-athlete development, and Brian Regan, as director of basketball operations.
Richards鈥� role is a newly-created position.
鈥淥ne of the biggest lessons I have learned in coaching is to surround yourself with great people,鈥� said Capel in a statement released by the university. 鈥淚 am excited about the makeup of the staff.鈥�
On Tuesday, it was announced that Capel hired Charleston鈥檚 Milan Brown as an assistant coach. Capel now has to make a decision on the strength and conditioning coaching position while considering creating other roles.
There is no doubt in my mind that Capel will bring on at least one or two more positions as I would be shocked if he didn鈥檛 have it in writing from the university that he can add positions as he sees warranted.
Ed Whited is the Director of Equipment Services at Pitt and he has had a chance to meet Capel and is thoroughly impressed.
鈥淗e is a very nice guy and both his brother Jason and Tim seem really cool, too,鈥� Whited said. 鈥淣aming Brian as the director of operations is huge and he is a great guy, as well.鈥�
The big question now is how many of the current Pitt players who had asked for their releases will stay on board.
Capel and his staff have a sales job to do and while next year may be lean again, look for the talent level to rise quickly as he is one of the top recruiters in the country.
Spring football games
It has not been a solid start to the spring football games for the local 鈥淏ig Three.鈥�
First, West Virginia canceled its game due to weather and then Pitt drew an announced crowd of over 8,000 fans Saturday. Penn State has its Blue-White game Saturday and I will head to Happy Valley for in-person coverage for next week鈥檚 column.
Penn State lost several key players from last year鈥檚 team and several top returning players will sit out. However, Penn State fans are clamoring at seeing the abundance of young depth that has been accumulated over the last few recruiting classes.
Saturday鈥檚 scrimmage will give a brief look at what lies ahead for the Nittany Lions.
Weather causing issues
Mother Nature has caused havoc on the high school spring sports schedules, but that doesn鈥檛 mean that teams at the collegiate level have been exempt, including Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
鈥淵ou never know what to expect with the weather and spring sports in southwestern Pennsylvania,鈥� said Fayette Athletic Director Lou Zadecky. 鈥淲e have been fortunate with our new campus fields, but this year鈥檚 weather has been the most difficult to deal with that I can remember in a long time.
鈥淲e have been a part of nine canceled or postponed games this spring.鈥�
The canceled games are causing scheduling conflicts.
鈥淭he weather has our backs against the wall when it comes to conference games and playoff deadlines,鈥� added Zadecky.
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