Jeff Capel said that losing Au’Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson hurts Pitt in terms of depth and experience for what remains of this season.
Still, he is optimistic that his players and coaches can recover in the long run and continue to build the program.
“In the long run, I don’t see any effect, to be honest with you,” he said Thursday night, speaking on the “Jeff Capel Show” on 93.7 FM. “This is not saying anything to diminish them.”
Your point: it’s time to get back to work with those who want to continue the fight.
“We have to recruit. We have to get guys. We have to continue to develop the young people who are in our program, ”he said. “This is what we plan to do. I see how it gives us two more grants to go out and get guys who really want to be here, be part of what we are doing, together with the guys we have ”.
Capel did not specifically speak of why two of his best players left the team with only three games left for the regular season.
Although he noted that Toney would have missed Sunday’s game at NC State and perhaps the rest of the season due to a concussion, he asked strangers not to judge his former players.
“We wish these two the best,” he said. “They are both good boys. This has been an incredibly difficult year with everything that is happening with the pandemic, with mental health, the pressures (on young people), the things they feel.
“I hope people don’t judge these kids, on and off the court, by the decisions they make. There are many factors that influence these decisions. ”
He did not elaborate on these factors. Previously, in a statement, he stated that the players’ withdrawals occurred by mutual agreement.
“For us, we are trying to focus on the guys we have and finish our season as hard as we can,” said Capel.
He said the message for his players who hope to play the rest of the season is this: Sometimes, adversity happens. He hopes the team will do better on the other side with the experience.
“Two of the greatest feelings that a human being can have is, no. 1, a return, ”he said.
“Many people go through difficult times. You find out who you are. You find out who is in your corner. You find out what you’re made of. We talked about fighting. ”
He also made reference to the return of Tiger Woods, who took him to his most recent Masters championship.
“People love a great comeback story,” said Capel.
“The second biggest achievement is when you finish something. We have a chance to end the season with strength. It’s an opportunity for other guys. We have to run to the finish line and go after it. It’s an opportunity for other guys to introduce themselves. ”
He mentioned Nike Sibande senior and freshmen Femi Odukale, William Jeffress and Noah Collier as players who can get more playing time.
“I think we still have good players,” said Capel.
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Jerry by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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