Thunderchigs

@theFortMcKenry Why? Are we saying a few game spring training sample size means more than his last two full seasons? He didn’t all of a sudden get better in his late 30s. No one does that naturally

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@stevemagness @XCJOYX You’re basically the Al Bundy of my feed. I’m sure you had an amazing high school sports career

@XCJOYX My kids are toddlers. I don’t care if they’re good or not at sports. Though I can say that my wife and I are more accomplished athletes than anyone commenting. Which is partially why I can say youth travel sports is absurd.

Can someone explain why some 10 year old needs to travel hundreds of miles for competition that they almost certainly could have found locally? Travel leagues for youth sports should be banned.

@937theFan @DomDiTommaso He doesn’t know the thing about sports, so he’s latched on to just delivering hot takes. Will get him airtime now, but no one is going to want to keep listening to him

Intern Dom is launching hot takes left and right... No one cares about the WBC and the Steelers missed out on their next franchise QB in Kyler Murray! @DomDiTommaso

@Dueycbb Lol, no

Jay Kuntz is about to put together a program changing portal class, putting it here now

@CBBmm1h2p @Hennyyyyyy4 @ZackAust11 @SoakingSlov We don’t have that money. Donors raised that money to buy out Capel. Pitt isn’t getting that money from them to support him. It was raised for one purpose, and Pitt said thanks but not thanks. Good luck getting them to pony up again in the future

@Hennyyyyyy4 @ZackAust11 @SoakingSlov Best recruiting class in school history coming in and we have the money we didn’t use to buyout capel. That’s all I’m going to say

😜😜😜😜

@Deesh1028 @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey Enjoyment, winning. Presumably if they are willing to pay for Capel to go away, they don’t think he’s capable of winning

@thunderchigs @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey So what ROI are these investors (aka boosters) getting from Pitt being good at basketball? Pitt isn’t giving them any profits they make. Most are boosters cause they are alumni and/or love the university. But you also start seeing fans return to the Pete by piquing their interest

Pitt basketball's incoming freshmen class is ranked No. 12 in the country by 247 and No. 15 by Rivals. I'd imagine that, along with the eight-figure buyout, has a lot to do with Jeff Capel being retained.

@Agentzero1881 @DonChed54 @RetroPitt Also, a lot of the money donors raised for the buyout, was specifically for that. They aren’t giving that money to Pitt to support a guy they tried to buy out.

@DonChed54 @RetroPitt Those first two people calling in are delusional. He’s a terrible coach. So they don’t pay his buyout and they keep him to use that money in the NIL. Meanwhile those players are still being led by an incompetent coach in and empty arena

Something I didn't anticipate today: Pitt fans calling in to defend Jeff Capel and the decision to bring him back

@DonChed54 I promise those “fans” aren’t the true supporters. All of the season ticket holders I know are close to canceling their tickets, if they haven’t already. Casual fans who don’t understand college basketball, see a top 10 class and think that means something. But it doesn’t anymore

@kslater18 @JMurray_4 2000 total, all of the homes game combined

@JMurray_4 I think it DOES break The relationship with the fans There will be 2,000 people at games next year... Fans are pissed and they are tired

Really no way to spin this one other than this athletic department is in serious trouble. There’s a bit of optimism for next year’s roster but this has the chance to break the relationship between the basketball program and the small passionate fanbase that remains for good.

@Deesh1028 @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey That’s not how people think. People with money look for return on investment. If they think the company (or Capel) is not capable of providing that, then they won’t invest. They aren’t going to do it because they feel obligated to cover up Pitts bad decision

@thunderchigs @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey I get you already assume next year will be another bad year but assuming the worst already and doing nothing does what for the future of the program? More financial issues and maybe even hurts possible coaching hires cause they won’t come to a school that won’t invest in the team

@Jason_Shetler Good luck getting NIL donations with Capel at the helm. Can’t imagine too many Pitt fans out there enjoy lighting their money on fire

Now that Jeff Capel is returning for another season, there needs to be major changes involved. First off, a shakeup with the coaching staff, especially with an emphasis put on defense. Secondly, pushing more NIL deals. Allen Greene was brought in for that specific reason.

@PittGuru How much luck do you think he’s going to have fund raising for Capel?

The decision has been made: Jeff Capel is returning. He has one goal for next year: an NCAA appearance. Allen Greene has one goal: MORE NIL MONEY 💰for a cooperative roster. It’s that simple. The choice is clear: either strive for excellence or settle for mediocrity. #H2P 🔵🏀🟡🏀

@Deesh1028 @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey It goes down slightly. But they are willing to support a new, competent coach. They aren’t going to set their money on fire getting a roster for Capel to underachieve with. They were willing to buy him out and invest in a new coach. I promise it’s not there for Jeff

@thunderchigs @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey Cause his buyout goes down next year and if Pitt ever wants to have a successful Bball program in this era they have to spend. They have one of the lowest NILs in the ACC, won’t matter whose the coach is if they aren’t willing to spend cause the players wont come even if they win

@Deesh1028 @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey I know for a fact a lot of that money was specifically for Capel’s buyout. Why would someone who put together money to fire a guy, now let him spend it? Most of that money isn’t available to Capel, it was specifically to fire him

@thunderchigs @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey Well apparently if reports are true the boosters found a way to get $14 mil together that they were gonna use to buyout Capel so they hopefully can put that to good use for some excellent portal players. The new GM is known also for finding guys in the portal too

@Deesh1028 @victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey That team is extremely bad unless the transfers are high level ACC talent

@victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey I agree it won’t save them but with an improved Roman, Nojus, Witherspoon, Moore, maybe Jackson (if cleared), plus the three freshman and incoming transfers could be an interesting team

@victorthigpen24 @AmandaFGodsey And year 3 won’t be with Pitt

@AmandaFGodsey A bunch of freshmen aren’t saving this dumpster fire. They’ll probably be very good in 3 years, but Capel and all of them will be long gone by then.

@TuschakJordan @AmandaFGodsey Exactly. HS recruiting classes mean nothing. The only reason these kids are available to Pitt is other school decided they weren’t spending on HS recruits and were spending on the portal. These guys will be gone by the time they are ready to contribute to winning

@AmandaFGodsey Do you think the 12th ranked recruiting class will have any success against 24 year olds in the acc ?

@CarterCritiques @IfTheShoeFITTS He had 2 NBA guys on the same team, along with several other good players and couldn’t make the tournament so…

Capel has *made* NBA guys. Hinson had a hard time on the last two teams he was on before Pitt and Champagnie was a 3 star recruit. He’s not getting top of the line 5 star guys and flopping. Heck even the ones he got close on he lost because Pitt never had the money to compete for them. The “doing more with less” programs are mostly still doing with more than Pitt.

The decision to keep Jeff Capel made the most sense for the same reason it did after the 2021-2022 season. Buyout is a big number and #Pitt athletics is already trying to solve financial issues from previous admin. Adding two buyouts when you’re already bottom of the conference in NIL spending — which is the biggest reason Pitt was terrible this year — would only make you much worse. Giving Capel another year keeps his strong recruiting class together, saves you money, and gives you time. Either he turns the next team into a winner or you roll. And if anything, the financial situation is even worse than it was before within the department. Actually invest in this next team and try to win. Then go from there.

@CarterCritiques It’s not the biggest reason. Capel is a chronic under achiever, and blew a large chunk of the NIL on a 20 minute a game center with a heart condition. Regardless, no ACC team should lose 3 buy games in the same season no matter the budget

@Dueycbb Lol, yeah Cape! Do something that you’ve proven you’re not able to do, let’s win this year! And not make excuses! Year 9 is finally our year!

LETS GO! LETS PROVE ALL THESE HATERS WRONG CAPE