Capel's influence still felt
Jeff Capel Jr. left a lasting impression on the Cape Fear region and beyond before losing his battle last November with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
But he is still making an important impact through the Jeff Capel Jr. ALS Research Fund, which was established by sons Jeff III and Jason in cooperation with the Duke University ALS Clinic and the United States Basketball Association. As part of fundraising efforts for the fund, the USBA will conduct for the second straight year a day of basketball instruction for boys and girls from third grade to high school Saturday at Fayetteville State University's Capel Arena, which was named after Jeff Jr.'s father.
The Capel Camp will run from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., and featured guests will include: former North Carolina All-American and NBA player Phil Ford; ESPN basketball analyst and former Army player Chris Spatola; Ryan Goodson, the skills coach for NBA superstar Seth Curry; and USBA founder Mark Thompson. Capel's sons, Jeff III and Jason, won't be able to attend because of duties with the basketball program at the University of Pittsburgh. Jeff III is the Panthers' head coach and Jason is one of his assistants.
“We want to teach and have a great day of basketball, but at the end of the day we hope to raise a little money to donate to a great cause, which is the Jeff Capel ALS Research Fund,'' Thompson said earlier this week.
Campers pay $25 to participate, but donations will also be accepted on site or may be made through the USBA website at www.usbahoops.com. About $5,000 was raised during the inaugural camp last year, according to Thompson.
“Last year we raised like $5,100 and we hope to do the same this year, of not a little more,'' he said. “Anybody can go online and make a donation from $10 to $500. We'll take whatever you feel like you want to donate.
“Last year we had great support and not just from the Fayetteville community. We had people all across the country who knew Jeff and sent in donations.''
Capel Jr. grew up in Southern Pines and starred in basketball at Pinecrest High School. He later became the school's head basketball coach before moving on to serve as head coach at Fayetteville State, N.C. A&T and Old Dominion. Capel also worked in the professional ranks as head coach of the NBA Development League Fayetteville Patriots and as an assistant with the Charlotte Bobcats and Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA.
Diagnosed with ALS in March 2016, Capel finally succumbed to the disease at age 64.
“I traveled a lot with Jeff and no matter where we went all over the country to basketball events, it was amazing to see the respect he had as a basketball coach and as a person,'' Thompson said.
That respect includes Capel's alma mater, Fayetteville State, which Thompson said has donated the use of Capel Arena and Lilly Gymnasium on campus for the camp.
A total of 115 participated in the camp last year and Thompson is expecting as similar number Saturday.
“We want to make this an annual event in October,'' Thompson said. “It works well because that's when everyone is getting ready for basketball season.''
Staff writer Sammy Batten can be reached at sbatten@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3534.