Duke Basketball: 5 Biggest Things New Assistant Jeff Capel Brings to the Table

Jeff Capel has joined Coach K's staff at Duke.

Because he didn't have a current opening, Mike Krzyzewski reorganized to make room for the former four-year starter and captain.

Nate James, another former Blue Devils player, was moved into the role of "a special assistant."

James has been an assistant with the program for the past three seasons

Someone like Krzyzewski doesn't make these kind of adjustments and changes for just anyone.

Let's take a quick look at what Capel brings to the table as he comes to Durham

Head Coaching Experience

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NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 28: Blake Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners talks with head coach Jeff Capel against the Purdue Boilermakers during the Championship game of the Pre-Season NIT tournament on November 28, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York Cit

Before joining the Blue Devils coaching staff, Jeff Capel was a D-I head coach for nine years—four years at Virginia Commonwealth and five years at Oklahoma.

In those years, Capel posted a 175-110 record that included three NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2008 with Oklahoma.

At the time that he was hired as VCU's head coach, he was the youngest head coach in Division I men's college basketball (27 years old).

No matter how long that someone has been an assistant coach, it is not the same thing as having the full responsibility that comes from being a head coach.

As competent as Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski (both associate head coaches on Coach K's staff) are, they have never known what it was like to be The Man.

International Coaching Experience

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OKLAHOMA CITY - MARCH 08: Head coach Jeff Capel of the Oklahoma Sooners instructs his team from the bench during a first round game against the Iowa State Cyclones in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship on March 8, 2007 at the Ford Cent

Capel also has international coaching experience with USA Basketball.

He was an assistant coach on a gold-medal-winning USA Men’s World University Games Team that featured Duke’s Shelden Williams and went 8-0 in Turkey in 2005.

In the summer of 2010, he led a USA team featuring Kyrie Irving and Austin Rivers to a 5-0 record and the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in San Antonio, Texas.

None of the rest of the current Blue Devils staff have assisted or led teams that competed on an international level. 

Exceptional Recruiter

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 09: Head coach Jeff Capel of the Oklahoma Sooners speaks to his team during their game against the Baylor Bears in the first round of the 2011 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 9, 2011 in Kan

One of Jeff Capel's strengths is his ability to successfully recruit elite level players.

Upon arriving on campus in Norman, Capel signed Blake Griffin in his first full recruiting class.

While at Oklahoma, he brought four different McDonald's All-Americans to campus in five years.

Part of the success of any program is its ability to consistently bring in talent.

Even though Coach K has had as much recruiting success as any coach in the country, Capel will help him do that at Duke.

Defensive-Minded

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Oklahoma Sooners yells at his players during their second round game against the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Ka

Jeff Capel's teams, while they have not lacked when it comes to the offensive end of the court, have always been very defensive-minded.

Capel's VCU teams had the reputation of being stoppers. The Rams success was very much related to their ability to effectively shut down their opponents.

The same is true for Capel's OU teams.

Just because you have good athletes on the floor, doesn't mean that they will exert the ongoing effort to be good defensive players...without a coach making it happen.

A Fresh Set of Eyes

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BIRMINGHAM, AL - MARCH 23: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Oklahoma Sooners watches his team as they play the Louisville Cardinals during the second round of the East Regional as part of the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Birmingham-Jefferson

Even though Jeff Capel played for Coach K and Duke, he has been away from Durham for 14 years.

In that time, he has played professionally, both here in the states and abroad.

He has been an assistant coach and a head coach.

Because of these varied experiences, he will bring some fresh perspective to the Duke program.

I like the idea of growing from and promoting from within, but if you do too much of that, you can have some blind spots.

You can be unaware of some of the issues that you are dealing with because you haven't experienced coaching (or life) elsewhere.

Capel has had lots of success and he has dealt with his share of struggles.

Both have no doubt shaped his coaching philosophy and outlook.

Both will be a benefit to Coach K and the Duke staff if he is allowed to draw from and share those experiences.