New Orleans Pelicans’ Duke Connection: Tommy Amaker and Jeff Capel
Jeff Capel
Jeff Capel fits right into the “undersized guard who got the most of his talent and then became a head coach” mold that Coach K has developed.
Capel started his career as an assistant under his father at Old Dominion and then went on to become an assistant at VCU and eventually the head coach. At the time, Capel was the youngest coach in Division one basketball and set a record for wins at VCU.
He then moved to Oklahoma, a program mired in controversy, which was further penalized during Capel’s time there, though he was not personally implicated in any wrongdoing.
He also did a stint as an assistant under Coach K at Duke before getting another head coaching gig at Pittsburgh.
Capel probably needs more reps, but he is 205-146 overall.
Tommy Amaker
Tommy Amaker is another of Coach K’s former players who has done well as a head coach.
He started as an assistant at Duke (shocker), where he was part of a staff that made it to the Final Four.
He had head coaching jobs at Seton Hall and Michigan before finally taking the head coaching gig at Harvard.
He is 426-277 overall and has consistently taken Harvard to postseason play, which is not an easy feat.
Amaker is extremely smart and will probably get a chance in the NBA at some point if he wants it. Like all college coaches, he’d have to deal with having less power, as well as the egos of NBA players, but Amaker has the X’s and O’s.