University of North Carolina Athletics
Jason Capel Quotes
October 16, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Jason Capel
On the freshmen:
"I'm just going to try and be a leader this year. We have three young guys who are going to be asked to do a lot, play a lot of minutes contribute from day one. So I think myself, Kris, Brian and Orlando are just going to have to encourage them, bring them along, because we need them a lot this year.
"The freshmen are going to contribute a lot. It's not a matter of 'Do they have to?' Yeah. Are they going to? Absolutely. All three of them are very good. All three of them are going to get plenty of playing time. I think all three of them are going to have very good years."
On his summer:
"I worked on being better. I worked on my offense - you all say I can't beat people off the dribble...I can't do this...so I'm sure you'll see that this year. I'll get the opportunity to do that this year and it's something I know I can do, and it's something I will do. I worked on shooting, I worked on everything."
On having something to prove:
"A lot of people are doubting this team. A lot of people have written us off already, saying all the tradition, all the wins, all the things that stand along with Carolina basketball are going to end this year. Well, it's my senior year, I don't want it to end on my note, on my name. I think this team has a lot to prove, a lot of pride, a lot of tradition and a lot of great alumni who have built this program to what it is, and we're going to make sure it continues."
On Coach Doherty:
"He's an intense guy -- very intense, very demanding. He wants nothing less than your best. I think this year will be different. I think last year was tough for him, coaching two different teams in two years. And it was tough for us, to transition to his personality from coach Guthridge's personality. But all of us have a year under our belts together and I think this year will be a lot smoother and we'll have a lot better relationship with him, he'll have a better one with us. We'll have confidence in him and I'm sure he'll have confidence in us, so we'll look forward to a good year."
On his role this season:
"I'm going to do everything. Am I going to score more? Absolutely. I'm not going to just jack up shots. I'm still going to play within the team concept. I'm just in a bigger role now. "
On Kris Lang: "I think Kris is going to have a big year. He has fought through illness and injuries his whole career but he's healthy, confident and he has worked really hard over the summer to improve every facet of his game. We'll have a good year and we need him to have a good year."
On people who doubt his ability:
"I don't really care what people think. I think I've shown throughout my career that I can compete and I can play and do anything that anybody else can do. Its just that I'm the type of player that will fill the void. If you need me to do any particular thing I can do it. I can do it all."
