CityView Magazine

Sports FAMILY matters For three generations, the Capels have dominated basketball By Eddie Dees I tÕ s little wonder that they are known as Fayetteville’s first family of basketball. There is the grandfather Ð Jeff Capel Sr. He is a member of the Fayetteville State University Sports Hall of Fame and namesake for the basketball arena at Fayetteville State University. There is the father Ð Jeff Capel Jr. He attended Fayetteville State University and coached the basketball team there for four years. He also coached at Pinecrest High School, Old Dominion University and North Carolina A&T University. He coached the Fayetteville Patriots in the National Basketball Development Pro League and is now an assistant coach for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA. Then there is the oldest son Ð Jeff Capel III. He led South View High School to the North Carolina High School state basketball championship in 1993 and was a four-year starter at Duke University. He began his head coaching career at Virginia Commonwealth and is now the basketball coach at Oklahoma University where he has led the Sooners to two straight NCAA tournaments. And donÕ t forget youngest son Ð Jason Capel. He was a four-year starter at the University of North Carolina, helping lead the Tar Heels to the NCAA Final Four in 2000. He is now a basketball analyst helping broadcast college games for ESPN and Raycom Sports. Above | Three generations of Capels: Jeff Capel Jr., from left, Mitch Capel, Jason Capel, Jeff Capel III and Felton J. Capel Sr. Basketball has been good for the Capel family, and the Capel family has been good for basketball. But Jeff Capel Jr., says he never saw it coming. ÒI never thought IÕd be a coach,Ó he says. Ò But then one day I had the realization that it was a way to make a living. I have a passion for the game, and in return, the game has helped provide us with a great life. We owe a lot to the sport of basketball Ð it has provided both my sons with a free education Ð and now basketball continues to be a way for all of us to make a living.Ó He has been quoted as saying, Ò WeÕ re truly a blessed family.Ó That family, of course, includes many capable women as well, including CapelÕ s wife, Jerry, who works as an assistant principal at South View High School. She often tells the story of how she worked to keep up with all of the men in her family at the same time. She remembers watching her son Jason play basketball at Indian River High School while listening to her husbandÕ s Old Dominion game on one radio and her other sonÕ s Duke game on another. Jeff Capel Jr., gives his wife much of the credit for keeping the family together and on track. Ò While I was coaching, raising other kids, Jerry was always there for our kids,Ó he says. Ò She kept them grounded. She has raised CityViewNC.com | 51

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