After Jeff Capel was introduced as Virginia Commonwealth's new basketball coach at a press conference in the spring of 2002, university president Eugene Trani got up to make a few remarks about the 27-year-old coach.
"He says, 'I want everybody to know that this was totally Dr. Sander's decision,' " recalled Richard Sander, who was VCU's long-time athletics director. "Some of the donors and boosters came up to me afterwards and said, 'Wow, you went out on a limb.'
"I said, 'No, I didn't go out on a limb.' "
Sander was confident in his choice because he had watched Capel work as an assistant at VCU and also because of an afternoon Sander and Capel had spent in Durham with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski during the search process. Sander, Capel and Krzyzewski talked basketball for a number of hours, with Krzyzewski giving Capel volumes of coaching advice. Sander left knowing he had found his man.
Nine years later, Capel is back in Durham playing an important role on Duke's staff as an assistant coach.
Capel will spend tonight's game between the No. 4 Blue Devils (15-2, 3-0) and Wake Forest (10-7, 1-2) seated a couple spots down from the other coaches, sandwiched among the Duke players. When a Blue Devils player comes off the court, Capel will offer immediate feedback and positive reinforcement.
It's something of a luxury for Duke that the coach delivering the message is not only a former Blue Devils guard, but also one who has won 175 collegiate games as a head coach.
"When he stopped playing, I pretty much thought I'd try to get him on my staff here," Krzyzewski said. "That didn't happen for him. ... Now he comes on my staff not as a young guy trying to learn the game or how to coach, I get him as a guy that's been a head coach and has won 61 percent of his games and coached the No. 1 pick in the draft and had a 30-win season.
"He brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm."
A fast rise
Three years ago, few would have imagined Capel would not still be a head coach.
After four successful seasons at VCU (79-41, including a 2004 trip to the NCAA tournament), Capel shrugged off the NCAA sanctions that followed Kelvin Sampson's tenure at Oklahoma. In his third year with the Big 12 program, Capel coached forward Blake Griffin and the Sooners to the regional semifinals of the 2009 NCAA tournament.
With a highly touted recruiting class coming in, Capel seemed poised to establish Oklahoma as a force.
But after Griffin left to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, turmoil overtook the program. Players left unexpectedly, and assistant coach Oronde Taliaferro was charged with recruiting violations that led to the NCAA putting the Sooners on probation again.
Capel was not implicated in any of the NCAA violations, but he was fired after Oklahoma went 27-36 in the two seasons after Griffin's departure, including 9-23 in the Big 12.
"I said after everything happened and after I got myself together a little bit that it was like a tornado hit," Capel said. "Ultimately, you think that maybe you have a little bit more time, and you've built up some good will for what we did the first three years. I felt like we were in the process of changing and getting it back to where it was in year two or year three, but then time ran out."
Capel stressed that he holds no grudges and is not bitter about the end of his stint at Oklahoma. Through a spokesman, Oklahoma athletics director Joe Castiglione declined to comment for this story.
Back at Duke
Back on Duke's bench, Capel sits amid a group of expressive assistant coaches. From Chris Collins' occasional flails to Steve Wojciechowski's tendency to grab the back of his head when something goes wrong, placidity doesn't seem to be something Krzyzewski demands from his staff. However, Capel said he had to fight the urge to be too aggressive, especially during Duke's preseason trip to China.
"You get used to being the guy in charge and doing all the talking and things like that," Capel said. "I've had to catch myself a few times and remind myself. I've gotten used to it now, but earlier it was a little more difficult."
By hiring Capel, Krzyzewski seems to be making an implicit statement to any future employers: Capel is a good coach.
"I think Coach K sees a lot in him. He obviously felt he could help their program. Any time Coach K puts his stamp on something, people take notice," said Jason Capel, Jeff's younger brother, who is the head coach at Appalachian State.
Before Krzyzewski broke Bobby Knight's career record for wins in November, Capel said Krzyzewski spent time talking to his staff about his first three seasons at Duke. Krzyzewski went 38-47 during those years, yet he still had administration support.
Capel didn't survive a similar stretch at Oklahoma, but he's analyzed what he did well and what he did not.
If his confidence needed rehabilitation - "When you go through something like I did that last year, it knocks you back a little bit" - maybe the most important thing about his second stint at Duke has been comparing notes with one of his mentors.
"I know even more that I was a good head coach," Capel said. "Just some things didn't work out. That happens some times. It happens to some of the best guys. Each coach in their career will go through some down points. The coaches that are able to survive are the coaches that have support."
