THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 27, 1996 TAG: 9602270405
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
Indian River's Jason Capel isn't the best high school basketball player in South Hampton Roads because his father is the coach at Old Dominion University or because his brother is a starting guard at Duke or because he's 6-foot-8 and weighs 220 pounds or because his head is screwed on so straight you couldn't twist it with a wrench.
That's not to underestimate the importance of genetics or family values in raising a great athlete. But to be the best - at anything - it has to come from inside.
``My dad says when I'm not working on my game someone else is and when we meet he'll be better,'' Capel said. ``I don't want anyone to be better than me in anything.''
Being the best is nothing new for Capel.
Two years ago a recruiting newsletter tabbed Capel the best eighth-grader in the nation.
Bob Gibbons, who runs a recruiting service out of North Carolina and nominated Capel for the prestigious Nike camp last summer, says he'll rank Capel among the Top 10 sophomores in the country this year.
``Whether it's No. 1 or No. 9 or No. 10 it's impossible to say right now,'' Gibbons said. ``But if he were a senior he'd be a major college prospect.''
That's heady stuff for a 16-year-old kid who's still waiting to get his driver's license.
``I'd be lying if I said I didn't read that stuff,'' Capel said. ``I do. But I put it in perspective. Accolades don't mean anything now.''
Winning does and that's where Capel's impact has been the greatest.
Indian River is 21-3 entering tonight's Eastern Region quarterfinal game against Phoebus and 41-11 over the past two years. The Braves won the Eastern Region championship last year and added the Southeastern District regular-season and tournament championships this season.
Capel played a complementary role most of last season, concentrating on rebounding and defense. He averaged 9.9 points, outstanding for a freshman, but also had 10 games in which he scored six points or less.
``Last year I just tried to fit in,'' he said. ``I was new at the school and tried to be a regular student, not stand out in the crowd.''
That's not easy when you're 6-8 and have a celebrity name.
``People always joke to me that I'm famous because my dad's a coach and they see my brother play on TV,'' he said. ``To me I'm just an ordinary person. I go to school. I do my work. It so happens that God gave me a gift to play basketball.''
Capel leads the Braves in scoring at 21 points per game, in rebounding at 12.9 and is second in assists at 4.4. ``Last summer I worked on my ballhandling and my 3-point shot,'' he said.
Every kid probably did the same. What separated Capel was his blind devotion to the task at hand.
When other kids were at the beach or hanging out at the mall Capel was borrowing the keys to Indian River from principal James Frye so he could practice free throws alone in the gym.
He was 11 of 11 at the line in one game and 15 of 18 in another this season.
That extra work has molded Capel into a talent unique from Hampton Roads' other basketball prodigies such as J. R. Reid, Alonzo Mourning, Michael Evans, Joe Smith and Allen Iverson.
``Most of those guys were exceptionally gifted athletes,'' Gibbons said. ``Jason is an exceptionally intelligent basketball player. He plays far beyond his years.''
Much of that credit belongs to his father, Jeff. Jason has grown up associating with the players in his father's college programs at Fayetteville State, North Carolina A&T and ODU.
He attends most ODU home games and worked out with the Monarchs before the high school season began. Likewise Jeff attends Indian River games when his schedule allows and regularly critiques Jason's performance.
``He can be hard,'' Jason said. ``But it's positive criticism. He basically tells me I should get every rebound and play defense. Defense is what I need to work on.''
Jeff Capel spoke only reluctantly about Jason when the family moved here from Greensboro in 1994, hoping to deflect the attention his choice of school districts would bring and ease the pressure that would follow.
But now almost two seasons later he's peeled back the protective layer and speaks with a father's pride.
``He's earned the attention now,'' Jeff Capel said. ``I think he's the best player in the area. I've always stressed to him to be a complete player, to do everything with your left hand that you can with your right.
``But his success has nothing to do with me, except maybe for pointing things out.''
Capel's grasp of the game and attention to detail allow him to play any position on the floor. Indian River coach Freddie Spellman has no qualms about moving Capel to the perimeter if opponents sag inside - he's shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc - or letting him lead the fastbreak.
``My idol is Anfernee Hardaway,'' Capel said. ``He's a 6-8 guard. I can play the point if needed and I can go inside and bang with anybody.''
Churchland's Mac Carroll, who coached former All-Tidewater players of the year Petey Sessoms and D. J. Dunbar, compares Capel to another big guard.
``If he keeps his strength up with his frame there is no telling what he can be,'' Carroll said. ``He could end up being another Magic Johnson.''
Those awkward comparisons seem far removed from the everyday person. Capel has few indulgences save Timberland boots, steaks well done and CDs.
``If it's new I have it,'' he said.
Capel is an outstanding student as befits the son of an educator - his mother Jeri teaches at Western Branch Middle School - and a coach. He received 3 Bs and 2 As in the last reporting period.
Home for him Capel homework.
``Basically life is simple,'' he said. ``I go to school, go to practice, come home, do my homework and eat dinner. Sometimes I'm up all night with homework if I'm preparing for a test.
``I don't want to be a statistic coming out of high school. I want to pass the (standardized) test. No problem. It's just something I have to do.''
That's the attitude he took in last year's playoffs. Capel scored 21 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the Braves' 66-51 upset of Kecoughtan in the region final and had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the state semifinals, a near-miss against nationally-ranked Potomac.
``There was never a doubt in my mind I could it every night,'' he said.
Only the best can say that. ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
Jason Capel, right, who leads Indian River in scoring at 21 points
per game, in rebounding at 12.9 and is second in assisits at 4.4,
blocks a shot attempt by Churchland's Dion Langley. At left is
Indian River's Edward Seward.
L. TODD SPENCER
``To me I'm just an ordinary person. I go to school. I do my work.
It so happens that God gave me a gift to play basketball,'' Jason
Capel says.
EASTERN REGION BOYS
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB