The world lost a legend when John Chaney died Friday at the age of 89.
Pitt did its part in acknowledging Chaney's legacy with a moment of silence before Saturday's game at the Petersen Events Center against Notre Dame.
After the game, Jeff Capel spoke passionately about the impact Chaney had on the world, and in his own life.
Chaney was a pioneer in college basketball history, becoming the first Black coach to go from being head coach at an Historically Black College/University (HBCU) to coaching a predominantly white Division I basketball program.
Chaney's beginnings were as Bethune-Cookman's head basketball coach from 1951-1955. But Chaney would make his mark at the country's oldest HBCU, Cheyney State (now Cheyney University), being head coach there from 1972-1982 and winning a Division II National Championship in 1978.
He went on to become head coach at Temple in 1982, where he would win eight Atlantic-10 regular season championships, six Atlantic-10 Tournament championships, and AP Coach of the Year in 1988 before retiring in 2006. He finished with a career record of 741 wins and 312 losses.
But if you ask Capel, his impact went far beyond the court.
"First, he had a profound impact on this country and what he meant for Black people," Capel said. "And specifically, young Black men. He was a sign of strength, positivity, and power. He was at a place where he became synonymous because when you thought of Temple, you thought of coach Chaney."
While Chaney was head coach at Temple, the Owls would make the NCAA Tournament 17 times -- one more than all of their other coaches combined. His success inspired other Black coaches looking to break into college basketball.
"One person who he really inspired, and I know he thought the world of him, was my father," Capel said. "My father had a similar plight at a historically Black Division II university, then going to a Division I predominantly white university. Coach Chaney was the first, then my father got that opportunity because of what coach Chaney did."
Capel's father, Jeff Capel II, got his start coaching college basketball at an HBCU, as head coach at Fayetteville State from 1989-1993, and then another HBCU in North Carolina A&T between 1993-1994. He then became head coach at Old Dominion, a predominantly white university with a Division I basketball program. He would coach there from 1994-2001, coaching them to NCAA Tournament appearances, two regular season Colonial Athletic Association championships and two CAA Tournament championships.
Chaney's inspirational influence grew into friendship with Capel and his father, as Chaney would wind up advising them both.
"I got to know him because of my dad's relationship with him," Capel said of Chaney. "I thought the world of him. He was so good to me when I became a head coach at 27. He would mentor me, give me advice and mention things to watch out for. He was always there, always entertaining, and a great man. It's a big loss for us."
Capel's insight into the legacy of Chaney gives light to how many people he helped over 55 years of coaching basketball. During Chaney's time coaching at HBCUs, college basketball would transform as Black coaches like John McLendon at Cleveland State would become the first Black coach at a major college basketball program in 1967, and Will Robinson would soon follow in 1970 at Illinois State. In 1984, two years after Chaney became head coach at Temple, John Thompson Jr. became the first Black coach to win an NCAA Division I National Championship.
The fact that Chaney remains an inspiration, and has been an active mentor to Black head coaches even in 2021, shows how far reaching his efforts went to opening doors.