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Oklahoma caught most college basketball insiders -- if not all of them -- by surprise when it named then-31-year-old Jeff Capel its 13th men's basketball head coach on April 11, 2006. In three short seasons, Capel has made the OU decision makers who selected him look like geniuses.
After serving four years as head coach at Virginia Commonwealth, Capel arrived in Norman ready to launch the Oklahoma program back into the national limelight, and he has done just that. In fact, Capel's swift rebuilding project has netted him the most wins (69) and best winning percentage (.676) of any coach in OU history after three years at the helm.
The Sooners' last two campaigns have been particularly impressive, with seven-win improvements occurring both seasons. Oklahoma posted a 23-12 record in 2007-08 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It followed with a 30-6 mark in 2008-09 and made the program's first Elite Eight showing since 2003.
Last year's 30-win season was just the sixth ever for the school. Capel watched his squad bolt to a 25-1 start and reach the No. 2 spot in the national rankings -- the program's highest perch in 19 seasons.
The Sooners' on-court exploits have been buoyed by Capel's remarkable achievement on the recruiting trail. The energetic mentor with Tobacco Road lineage has signed four McDonald's All-Americans in the last three years. OU had signed five such players in its history prior to his arrival.
Capel's success at Oklahoma should come as no surprise based on his performance at VCU, where he recorded a 79-41 (.658) overall record and a 50-22 (.694) mark in Colonial Athletic Association play. His Rams boasted a 47-11 overall home record for a staunch .811 winning percentage.
In 2003-04, VCU's CAA Tournament championship game victory over George Mason catapulted the Rams to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. VCU lost in the first round to Wake Forest, but not before putting a major scare into the fourth-seeded Demon Deacons, 79-78. Capel's 2004-05 squad, which finished 19-13, competed in the National Invitation Tournament, marking just the third time in VCU history that it made consecutive postseason appearances.
The Rams won at least 18 games each of Capel's four seasons at VCU with the 2003-04 squad registering a Capel-era-best 23-8 record. His first team finished 18-10 in 2002-03 as Capel tied a school record for wins by a first-year head coach. In 2005-06, VCU finished 19-10 overall and 11-7 in league play.
In August 2005, Capel served as an assistant coach on the gold-medal-winning USA Men's World University Games Team that finished 8-0 in Turkey. Villanova's Jay Wright was the head coach while Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez served as the other assistant. The squad featured, among others, Midwest City (Okla.) High School and Duke University standout Shelden Williams.
Capel began his coaching career as an assistant at Old Dominion University in 2000 before moving to VCU as an assistant for the 2001-02 season. In 2002, he became the youngest NCAA Division I head coach at age 27.
A four-year starter for Hall-of-Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from the 1993-94 through 1996-97 campaigns, Capel earned Atlantic Coast Conference honors each of his seasons in Durham. The guard, who wore No. 5, averaged 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 3-pointers during his career. He ranks 22nd in career scoring at Duke (1,601 points), 16th in minutes played (3,774), sixth in 3-pointers (220), seventh in 3-point attempts (553), seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.398) and 10th in assists (433).
Capel started 28 games as a freshman for a Duke squad that lost to Arkansas in the 1994 national championship game, 76-72. He led the Blue Devils in scoring as a junior (16.6 ppg) and helped Duke to a No. 8 final AP ranking as a senior. He averaged 26.5 points over Duke's two NCAA Tournament games his final year, the same season he was named an Academic All-ACC selection.
Responsible for one of the most memorable shots in college basketball history, Capel nailed a running, buzzer-beating 30-footer to force double-overtime against rival North Carolina in a 1995 home game. The contest ranked No. 1 on the list of 25 Greatest Moments in ESPN Basketball History and the play was nominated for an ESPY award.
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| The Capel File |
| Birthdate |
February 12, 1975 |
| Hometown |
Fayetteville, N.C. |
| High School |
South View, 1993 |
| College |
Duke, 1997 |
| Family |
wife, Kanika
daughters, Cameron and Sydney |
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| Coaching History |
| 2006-present, Oklahoma Head Coach |
| 2002-06, Virginia Commonwealth Head Coach |
| 2001-02, Virginia Commonwealth Assistant Coach |
| 2000-01, Old Dominion Assistant Coach |
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| Coaching Accomplishments |
| 3 NCAA Tournaments (2004, '08, '09) |
| 1 NIT Appearance (2005) |
| 1 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Title (2004) |
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| Playing Experience |
| 1994-97, Duke University |
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| Playing Accomplishments |
| Four-year starter at Duke |
| Played in 1994 national championship game |
| Two-year professional career in CBA and France |
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| Personality Profile |
| Interests/Hobbies: music, movies, playing with my daughters, hanging with my family |
| Favorite Food: macaroni and cheese |
| Favorite Place to Eat: my mom's house |
| Favorite TV Channels: ESPN, VH1 and Cartoon Network |
Best Advice My Parents Gave Me:
"What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." |
| Favorite Movie: Goodfellas, Training Day and The Five Heartbeats |
| Favorite Sports Movie: Remember the Titans |
| Favorite NBA Team: Lakers |
| Player I Pretended to Be as a Kid: Magic Johnson |
| Nobody Knows How Much I... want to host Saturday Night Live |
| Favorite TV Show: The Boondocks |
| Favorite College Class: American History with Dean Wilson |
| Most Impressive Person I've Met: my grandfather, Felton Capel, Sr. |
| Best Non-Athletic Talent: memorizing things |
People Wouldn't Believe Me if I Told Them I...
could still play |
| I Wish I Was Better at... fixing things |
| Favorite Music Artist: Jay-Z |
| Number of Songs on My iPod: 3,900 |
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| The Word on
Capel |
"Jeff Capel has been called one of the best young coaches in the country. We need to drop the adjective `young,' because Jeff is one of the best coaches in the country, period. He took over during a difficult transition at Oklahoma and built things back up his way, and his way has proven to be a winning way. His players believe in him, and the results have been positive. The scary thing is, as good as Jeff is now, he's getting better. I would love to play for a coach like Jeff Capel."
- Jay Bilas, ESPN Basketball Analyst
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Following graduation in 1997, Capel played professionally for two years. He spent the 1997-98 season playing for the Continental Basketball Association's Grand Rapids Hoops. In 1999-00, he played in France before returning to Grand Rapids.
A standout prep performer, Capel was named the 1993 North Carolina High School Player of the Year after averaging 23.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists for 31-1 state champion Fayetteville South View. He set school career records for points (2,066), rebounds (668) and assists (663).
Capel boasts a strong basketball pedigree. His father, Jeff Capel Jr., was an eight-year Division I head coach at Old Dominion (seven years) and North Carolina A&T (one year), and currently serves as an assistant coach for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats franchise.
Capel's younger brother, Jason, was a four-year starter at North Carolina who averaged 12.1 points during the 1998-99 through 2001-02 seasons. Jason Capel helped the Tar Heels to the 2000 Final Four.
Capel, who graduated from Duke with a bachelor of arts degree in history, and his wife, Kanika, wed in 2003 and are the parents of two daughters.
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