Capel Named Finalist for Ben Jobe Award
3/7/2023 2:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – Head coach Jeff Capel has been selected as a finalist for the 2022-23 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year award as announced Monday evening by CollegeInsider.com. The Ben Jobe Award, which is presented annually to the top Division I minority coach, is named in honor of one of the finest men to ever coach college basketball.
Capel has led Pitt to a 21-10 record overall, including a 14-6 mark in the conference play, and a tie for third finish in the ACC. The 10-win improvement from a year ago is tied for the fourth best in program history, while the eight-game improvement in conference play is the best all-time at Pitt.
Capel helped engineer the turnaround by adding three veteran transfers (Blake Hinson, Nelly Cummings, and Greg Elliott) to a core of returnees that included Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande. The revamped Panther roster has already set school records for ACC wins, three-point field goals and three-point attempts, and is also on pace to set a single-season free throw percentage record.
Capel was named ACC Coach of the Year as voted upon by the league's media and coaches as well as AP ACC Coach of the Year. Pitt reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2015-16 season and became just the third program in ACC history to post a .700 or better win percentage in conference play after four consecutive sub-.500 seasons in league play.
Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of the Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee and South Carolina State. His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event. The recipient of the 2023 award will be announced in March, in Houston site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
2022-23 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS
Capel has led Pitt to a 21-10 record overall, including a 14-6 mark in the conference play, and a tie for third finish in the ACC. The 10-win improvement from a year ago is tied for the fourth best in program history, while the eight-game improvement in conference play is the best all-time at Pitt.
Capel helped engineer the turnaround by adding three veteran transfers (Blake Hinson, Nelly Cummings, and Greg Elliott) to a core of returnees that included Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande. The revamped Panther roster has already set school records for ACC wins, three-point field goals and three-point attempts, and is also on pace to set a single-season free throw percentage record.
Capel was named ACC Coach of the Year as voted upon by the league's media and coaches as well as AP ACC Coach of the Year. Pitt reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2015-16 season and became just the third program in ACC history to post a .700 or better win percentage in conference play after four consecutive sub-.500 seasons in league play.
Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of the Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee and South Carolina State. His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event. The recipient of the 2023 award will be announced in March, in Houston site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
2022-23 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS
| Amir Abdur-Rahim | Kennesaw State |
| Kevin Baggett | Rider |
| Kenneth Blakeney | Howard |
| Landon Bussie, | Alcorn State |
| Jeff Capel | Pitt |
| Speedy Claxton | Hofstra |
| Ed Cooley | Providence |
| Jason Crafton | UMES |
| Dennis Gates | Missouri |
| Corey Gipson | Northwestern State |
| Anfernee Hardaway | Memphis |
| Donte' Jackson | Grambling |
| James Jones | Yale |
| Mike Jones | UNCG |
| Robert Jones | Norfolk State |
| Ritchie McKay | Liberty |
| LeVelle Moton | North Carolina Central |
| Daniyal Robinson | Cleveland State |
| Kelvin Sampson | Houston |
| Takayo Siddle | UNCW |
| Shaka Smart | Marquette |
| Jerry Stackhouse | Vanderbilt |
| Jerome Tang | Kansas State |
| Rodney Terry | Texas |
| Mike Woodson | Indiana |
Players Mentioned
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