Jason Capel, ASU’s new coach
Donald Sims remembers Jason Capel coming up to him after Appalachian State’s stunning double-figure loss to Division II King College last season.
Sims, who had established himself as the Southern Conference’s premier scorer just three weeks before with a 44-point performance in a win at Davidson, didn’t know what to make of the way things were going for him or his team.
“Coach Capel came up to me personally and said, ‘I see the look on your face and I never want to see it again,’” Sims said. “He sat me down and popped in a DVD of the Davidson game. He said, ‘That’s the Sims that I know and that I want to see.’
“We went down to Western, got a big win and went on after that to a good season.”
Suffice it to say, Sims is fine with Capel, an assistant last season, now being his head coach.
“He’s a player’s coach,” Sims said. “You can go to him about anything. He won’t sugar coat anything, he’s going to tell you like it is, but he’ll find the best way to help you out.”
Capel was named Appalachian State’s coach today, replacing Buzz Peterson, who moved on to UNC Wilmington, and other players seemed pleased with the choice.
“I’m good with it,” Ike Butt said. “He teaches a lot. He’s a post coach, he worked a lot with us this year and I’m excited about this.”
So are Anthony Breeze and Omar Carter, two transfers brought in by Peterson who had to sit out last season.
“I’m great with the decision,” Breeze said. “Coach Capel worked a lot with me this past season. I have a great bond with him and, to be honest, I kind of look at him as a father figure. So I’m extremely happy.”
Carter: “I’m very comfortable with this. We have a great relationship. I can’t wait to play for him.”
Capel said that he has spent the last few days talking to his team and sympathizing with them. Many of them will play for a third different coach in a three-year span.
“Those guys have been through a lot,” Capel said. “My heart goes out to the whole team but those two guys (Breeze and Carter) especially…. I think a lot of those two, and those two young men have believed in what we were doing since the moment they set foot on this campus. I’m proud to be their leader. They trust me. And we’re going to continue that trust and build, as I tell them, we’re going to continue to take steps – in the right direction. That’s basketball, in the classroom and in life. That’s everybody on the team.”
MORE FROM CAPEL
“Those young men this year grew so much as individuals,” Capel said. “They believed in us as a staff. They believed in me…. I’m so proud to be the leader of those men. We’re going to work hard, and we’re going to do it together…. I’m very humbled and very excited about this opportunity.
“We’re going to work hard and we’re going to be one of the toughest teams that you will see next season, I can guarantee you that. These young men know the kind of coach I am, they know what I expect from them and it’s something that will be expected every day and that’s in the classroom, in the dorms and on the basketball court. We’re going to work hard and we’re going to have a lot of fun in the process of doing that. I believe in them, and more importantly they believe in me.
“I’m ready to work. I’m ready to instill in these young men values, character and integrity, much more that will expand further than the basketball court. To me, it’s much more than wins and losses – although we’re going to win a lot – but it’s about developing young men and the relationship that you share with those young men and those relationships that will carry over to them being great people in society.”
THE HIRING PROCESS
Peterson informed Charlie Cobb, ASU’s athletics director, last Friday that he would be leaving.
Cobb said that he had considered the possibility he might be hiring a new coach when Peterson, seeking a financial boost, had expressed interest in the Marshall job a couple of weeks before.
“I had just gone through the mental exercise…so I felt like I was a little bit ahead of the process, but certainly I was shocked and surprised to be going through it,” Cobb said.
Cobb said that he had two options – to hire within or go outside – and that the returning players were at the forefront of his thoughts.
“I needed to feel like I was giving them the best opportunity to be successful, because there were a lot of guys (players) who were hurt, a lot of guys going through a lot of emotions, and frankly, the thought of playing for a third coach in three years for a lot on these guys. It was a task…”
Cobb said that he talked and consulted with players over the weekend.
“Probably the best conversation of all was talking with Donald Sims for about an hour in my office,” Cobb said. “He and I shared a lot of comments, a lot of thoughts one on one. I bounced a bunch of ideas off him. I’m guessing that he probably didn’t understand half of where they were coming from…. I had a pretty good indication from Donald what I needed to do, and in my heart of hearts what I needed to do, which led me to Sunday.
“I spoke to both Jason and (fellow assistant coach) Matt McMahon at length…. The most important thing for me for everybody to understand that there are no finer people in this community than Matt and Mary McMahon. Matt’s commitment to our program, to this university, to the (players) is uncompromised…. It was a difficult decision.”
Cobb decided on Capel.
“At the end of the day, just like anybody else, you’ve got to go with gut instinct,” Cobb said. “And basically what it told me was that Jason was the best fit for what I’m looking for to grow this program, to grow with our campus, to grow with this community and to grow with our fan base.”
Of the things Cobb likes about Capel:
“Obviously, he’s very comfortable in front of the microphone,” Cobb said. “He’s been in front of the mic before (playing at North Carolina). He understands the big picture.
And, Cobb said, “If I didn’t think he was ready for it, I wouldn’t have made that phone call. I wouldn’t have reached out to him. At the end of the day, I think he’s ready for the responsibility and I think (the players) will respond. I have a lot of faith in him.”
CAPEL’S REACTION
Capel knew Sunday night that he was the choice.
“I was a bit surprised,” he said. “But quickly after that came the excitement…. I talked to those that I trust, those that I lean on, and quickly I knew that this was something that I wanted to do and something that life experiences has prepared me to do.
“My second thought went to those young men and how much I wanted to be part of their life and how much I wanted to continue in the journey that we began (last season).”
And, he said, “I’ve always been taught that you don’t know when opportunity is going to come, that you have to prepare each day like it’s going to knock the very next day…”
CONTRACT
Capel has a four-year deal with a base salary of $150,000 annually. Incentives and bonuses could bring the total to about $170,000. There is a buyout clause in the contract, similar to the $150,000 buyout in Peterson’s contract, and Cobb said that he didn’t want a buyout clause so preclusive that it keeps a coach where he doesn’t want to be.
“One of the questions I got (in regard to the situation with) Buzz was that the buyout should have been higher,” Cobb said. “But I don’t want to make someone be here that doesn’t want to be here. The buyout is basically based on one-year salary (and it decreases annually). It’s very consistent with what Buzz’s was.”
RECRUITS
Capel said that he is in contact with the four incoming recruits – three freshmen and one transfer – and hopes that none of them will request a release.
“We’re in the process of that right now,” Capel said. “Obviously it’s been a bit of a whirlwind for everyone…. My first objective in this process was (the returning players), to make sure they were OK, that they were comfortable and healing some of the wounds that they had.
“My process now, my next main objective, is our recruits. I reached out to them and there will be a dialogue that goes along with that and it will continue. A lot of those kids I have a relationship with and I am very comfortable and confident that they will remain. But we’ll see.”
NEW STAFF
Capel said that he’s in the process of putting a staff together.
“I’m reaching out to people that I trust, people that I know, people with a lot experience and people that will have the same goal, the same passion and that will bring the same energy every day,” Capel said. “That’s what I’m looking for.”
CAPEL ON WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT SEASON
“Offensively, we can score the basketball,” Capel said. “That’s not going to change. Now we have some pieces to add to it. We add some depth, we add a lot of athleticism and we add some guys who can be matchup problems and I’m excited about exploring that.
“I want to play fast. I want to get the ball down the court. I want to use our strengths, whether that’s pounding the ball inside to Ike Butt or Andre Williamson continuing to work on his 15-foot jump shot, Donald Sims coming off ball screens, Jeremi Booth, everybody. We have so many weapons offensively it’s going to be fun. Not much is going to change on that part.
“Defensively, you add guys to the team like Omar Carter and Anthony Breeze, that’s exciting. We’ll be very athletic. I like to pressure. I really like to get after people. We’re going to be tough. We’re going to be tough to score against, we’re going to be tough to get offensive rebounds against. We’re going to be a team that when the ball is on the floor we’re going to be on the floor.
“Those guys know what I expect. They know. Now it’s time to put it to work.”