PITTSBURGH — The NBA draft on Wednesday night turned out to be a very nice infomercial for Jeff Capel and the Pitt basketball program after Bub Carrington was drafted 14th overall.

Carrington was not only Capel's first legitimate one-and-done player; he ended up in the top half of the first round, and his pick and subsequent trade generated plenty of buzz. The fact that it was pointed out that Carrington brought all of his teammates (and, of course, Capel) to the draft was also a tremendous display of Pitt's culture.

"They have been incredibly grateful to be at the University of Pittsburgh," Capel said on 93.7 The Fan's morning show. "In all my years in basketball, I've never had one where a player invites his teammates. When his name was called, you heard them. Hopefully, that's an example of the culture we created.

"They're appreciative of the University of Pittsburgh, the city of Pittsburgh, and our program."

It was a tremendous night for Capel and, obviously, for Carrington and the Pitt program.

I am sure Capel will be able to get plenty of mileage out of the whole scene, and the fact that he produced a one-and-done in recruiting should open doors to an even higher level of player.

I'll preface the rest of this by saying I really think Capel is the right guy for this job. He has built a solid program that appears to be on the verge of taking off. He has recruited well, rebuilt the brand and breathed life into the Petersen Events Center.

I think he is an incredible role model for his players. He has built a great culture and has been a great ambassador for the program, university and city. He really does check every single box, and that includes the fact that he has deep ACC roots and understands and is well respected within the conference.

Capel inherited a mess and quickly straightened it out through some tough early years. It is all trending in the right direction, for sure, but now comes the hard part — the Panthers must win more games.

And that is the toughest part of rebuilding a program, quite frankly. But it's where Pitt is at this point in time.

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