Jeff Capel never coached Kobe Bryant. He never played with him, either.
But right now, Capel, just like his players and his fellow coaches — both at Pitt and all across the world at all levels — is feeling the effects of Bryant's sudden, tragic death on Sunday.
"I know him. Or I knew him," Capel was saying of his relationship with Bryant Monday during a press conference at Petersen Events Center. "He was obviously an amazing basketball player — one of the best that we've ever seen. Everyone knows about his work ethic, all of those things."
For Capel, though, Bryant's work on the court is just part of the story. Bryant, who retired after 20 years and five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, was the ultimate competitor, even creating the "Mamba Mentality" book, slogan and brand to define his intense commitment to the game of basketball and to excelling in all forms of competition.
In that context, it was almost impossible to imagine Bryant away from the game of basketball. He emerged onto the professional scene straight out of Lower Merion High School in 1996. His entire career — as well as his transition to adulthood — played out in front of a national, intensely tuned-in audience. For a player like that, moving on from the game can be a struggle.
But not Bryant.
"The thing that was really amazing to me is to watch him post-basketball and to watch him with his family and his daughters and seeing kind of the softer side," Capel continued. "Seeing him fall in love with the game of basketball again. To see him — you know, a lot of guys have a hard time when they retire. Especially someone that loves the game so much. And it was interesting, because it seemed like a seamless transition. He poured himself into other stuff. He had other passions. For goodness sake, the guy won an Oscar.
"Then the passion of his family. For me, I think that's where it hit home the most, just the human side of it. I loved him as a player. I loved watching him. But as a guy that has daughters or has kids, has young kids — my oldest is 12 and my kids travel with me to recruit sometimes. So it hits close to home when you think about it that way."
Bryant's death also hits close to home for Capel when dealing with its effects on his current players. Ryan Murphy, who wears No. 24 in honor of Bryant and who finished his high-school career at Calabasas High School in California, posted the following to Twitter:
Thank you ❤️ 8.10.24.. my idol. The reason for the 24. May God rest your soul.. hurt& heartbroken isn’t the word. pic.twitter.com/LU21aEpEbL
— Murph dawg (@Ryanmurphhoop) January 26, 2020
"It's been tough for them," Capel said. "These guys, these young guys, they admired him so much, looked up to him so much as a player and what he's meant for the game of basketball. It's like a superhero dying. Kobe was one of these guys that seemed invincible. You saw him get hurt with an Achilles [injury] and shoot free throws and walk off the court and come back from that. It's almost like, 'Well, he can do that' and he willed himself so many times during his basketball career, playing through injuries, that it's just kind of hard to believe that this has happened. It's been a really tough 24, little bit more than 24 hours."
For Murphy specifically, Capel acknowledged the grief his guard is feeling but added that he is certainly not alone.
"I wouldn't say harder than anyone else. He's taking it hard," Capel said. "I have talked to him and listened and just talked. But, you know, we have several guys that are taking it pretty hard."
And while Capel never played with Bryant, he did come close. Bryant's gone on the record to say he'd have gone to Duke if he elected college over the pro ranks, and that means his career would have overlapped with Capel's, who played for the Blue Devils from 1993 to 1997.
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) November 20, 2017
It's a thought that's crossed Capel's mind long before Sunday's tragedy.
"It's crossed my mind before," Capel said. "When I had heard that, I know when I was in school at Duke, our coaching staff was recruiting him very hard. One guy in particular — Tommy Amaker, who's the head coach at Harvard now, he was our top assistant — he would talk about him all the time because he was the one that would go see him. And he would say he's the best high-school player he's ever seen and how talented he was and so, you know, it's crossed my mind before about what that would've been like if he would've gone to college, if it would've been Duke, to have a chance to play with one of the best guys to ever lace them up."
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