| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1953-01-06)January 6, 1953 Southern Pines, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | November 13, 2017(2017-11-13) (aged 64) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Pinecrest (Southern Pines, North Carolina) |
| College | Fayetteville State (1970–1971, 1976–1977) |
| Coaching career | 1980–2013 |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| 1980–1986 | Pinecrest HS |
| 1986–1989 | Wake Forest (assistant) |
| 1989–1993 | Fayetteville State |
| 1993–1994 | North Carolina A&T |
| 1994–2001 | Old Dominion |
| 2001–2004 | Fayetteville Patriots |
| 2004–2011 | Charlotte Bobcats (assistant) |
| 2011–2013 | Philadelphia 76ers (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Felton Jeffrey Capel II[1] (January 6, 1953 – November 13, 2017) was an AmericanNational Basketball Association assistant coach, and, prior to that, acollege basketball head coach. He was head coach of theOld Dominion Monarchs team from 1994 to 2001, of theNorth Carolina A&T Aggies from 1993 to 1994 and of theFayetteville State Broncos from 1989 to 1993. He was the father ofPittsburgh Panthers head coachJeff Capel III and formerAppalachian State Mountaineers head coachJason Capel. He was also an assistant coach with the NBA'sCharlotte Bobcats.[2] On November 15, 2011, it was announced that Capel was hired as an assistant coach for thePhiladelphia 76ers.[3]
Born inSouthern Pines, North Carolina, Capel graduated fromPinecrest High School in 1970. He went toFayetteville State University and played on the basketball team as a freshman, then served in theUnited States Army from 1971 to 1975. Capel says that serving in the Army provided discipline and structure in his life.[1] Capel returned to Fayetteville State and played another season on the basketball team as a senior before graduating in 1977 with a degree in health and physical education.[4][5]
In 1978, Capel returned to his alma mater Pinecrest High School to be a volunteer basketball coach. He also coached wrestling, baseball, and junior varsity football at Pinecrest. He then was the head varsity basketball coach from 1980 to 1986.[1] Capel also was an assistant principal at Pinecrest.[5]
From 1986 to 1989, Capel was an assistant coach atWake Forest University underBob Staak.[4]
Fayetteville State hired Capel as head coach in 1989.[5] In four seasons (1989–1993), Capel had a 63–51 record at Fayetteville State, with berths in the 1991CIAA basketball tournament semi-finals and1992 NCAA tournament.[4] Future NBA playerDarrell Armstrong was among players Capel coached.
In the 1993–94 season, Capel was head coach atNorth Carolina A&T, who finished 16–14 with theMEAC tournament championship and automatic berth in theNCAA tournament.[4] Capel then was head coach atOld Dominion from 1994 to 2001. Under Capel, Old Dominion won twoCAA tournament championships (1995 and1997). Old Dominion made the second round of the1995 NCAA tournament and first round of the1997 NCAA tournament, as well as the second round of the1999 National Invitation Tournament.[4] At Old Dominion, Capel had a 122–98 record.[6]
In 2001, theFayetteville Patriots of the NBA's startup minor leagueNational Basketball Development League (NBDL) hired Capel as head coach. Capel was head coach from 2001 to 2004; the Patriots finished first in the NBDL for the 2002–03 season and were runners-up in the2003 NBDL Finals.[1]
From 2004 to 2011, Capel was an assistant coach for the NBA expansion teamCharlotte Bobcats. He was then an assistant coach for thePhiladelphia 76ers from 2011 to 2013. On January 25, 2017, writing inThe Players' Tribune, his sonJeff Capel III disclosed that Capel had been diagnosed in 2014 withamyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[7] He died on November 13, 2017, from the disease.[8]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville State Broncos(Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1989–1993) | |||||||||
| 1989–90 | Fayetteville State | 7–21 | |||||||
| 1990–91 | Fayetteville State | 14–13 | 10–9[9] | ||||||
| 1991–92 | Fayetteville State | 22–8 | |||||||
| 1992–93 | Fayetteville State | 20–9 | 14–6[10] | 3rd | NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| Fayetteville State: | 63–51 | ||||||||
| North Carolina A&T Aggies(Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)(1993–1994) | |||||||||
| 1993–94 | North Carolina A&T | 16–14 | 10–6 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| North Carolina A&T: | 16–14 | 10–6 | |||||||
| Old Dominion Monarchs(Colonial Athletic Association)(1994–2001) | |||||||||
| 1994–95 | Old Dominion | 21–12 | 12–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Old Dominion | 18–13 | 12–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1996–97 | Old Dominion | 22–11 | 10–6 | T–1st | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Old Dominion | 12–16 | 8–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1998–99 | Old Dominion | 25–9 | 11–5 | 2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1999–00 | Old Dominion | 11–19 | 6–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Old Dominion | 13–18 | 7–9 | T–5th | |||||
| Old Dominion: | 122–98 | 66–44 | |||||||
| Total: | 201–163 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville Patriots | 2001–02 | 34 | 16 | 18 | .471 | 7th | – | – | – | – | Missed playoffs |
| Fayetteville Patriots | 2002–03 | 46 | 29 | 17 | .630 | 1st | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | Lost inNBDL Finals |
| Fayetteville Patriots | 2003–04 | 46 | 21 | 25 | .457 | 4th | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in semifinals |
| Career | 126 | 66 | 60 | .524 | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 |