Pitt HC Jeff Capel's Tough Decision Pays Off

Pitt Panthers head coach Jeff Capel made a difficult choice with his new starting lineup.

PITTSBURGH -- It was plain to see why Jeff Capel had to alter 40% of the starting lineup his Pitt Panthers had featured for the first 11 games of the season. He wasn't getting enough from Federiko Federiko and Zack Austin while Will Jeffress and Guillermo Diaz Graham added a necessary spark.  

But that didn't make the decision any easier. Capel has an emotional connection to his players - particularly someone like Federiko, who chose to join a Pitt program when there was little reason for anyone to - and knowing how delicate the minds of teenagers and 20-somethings can be, he ran the risk of damaging the confidence of players he cares about and needs. 

"[Federiko] puts a lot of pressure on himself. As a player you know when you don’t play well and for guys like [Federiko] - and I could say this because I was like this as a player - you don’t want to disappoint," Capel said. "And sometimes when you feel like you’re disappointing, that can pull you deeper in a shell."

The good thing is that didn't happen. It had the opposite effect, if anything else. Not only did Jeffress and Diaz Graham perform well in their first starting jobs this season, but even Federiko and Austin took their benchings in stride, giving Capel exactly what he was looking for, especially in the second half - intensity when both rebounding and defending and some scoring to boot. 

Capel doesn't deserve any kind of special award for making a move that many in his position would have. He makes millions of dollars and this is part of the job description. 

But it took some guts to trust his instincts and make this move, even when it was hard to do so. It was clear when Capel had to field questions about why he made the decision to change up what had been a steady lineup that he certainly didn't enjoy having to bench these players, particularly a player like Federiko, who was part of the group that helped pull Pitt out of the well-documented depths of the Stallings era and Capel's unsuccessful first four seasons in Pittsburgh. 

Then he got to speak with pride about those same two players he'd been so displeased with through the first 10 games of the 2023-24 season. 

"I’m also really proud of Zack Austin and Federiko," Capel said following the win over South Carolina State. "Because they didn’t play as well in the first half and I tried to challenge them both at halftime and I thought they both played with so much force and the force that’s required to be good players and they’re both really good players and we need them and they were terrific in the second half."

There's a delicate line for a coach to walk between being demanding and crushing and Capel appears to have, at least for now, walked it well. It's a credit to all three actors in this situation - Capel, Federiko and Austin - that the negativity of a benching didn't spill over into their play. Everyone took it well and created something positive out of an uncomfortable moment. 

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