Former Pinecrest Basketball Coach Jeff Capel touched the lives of countless students, parents, coaches, and staff while he was at Pinecrest High School. Coach Capel passed away November 13th of last year but he will not soon be forgotten.
The first annual Coach Capel Alumni Basketball Game was originally scheduled at Pinecrest on May 18th; however, there was a conflict with the date, and the game is currently being rescheduled. The new date of the game will be announced as soon as possible.
The game is the result of hard work and planning by Pinecrest Basketball Coach Ben Snyder and Pinecrest alumni Becky Cameron. They had heard many alumni that wanted to honor Coach Capel and decided a game for alumni players would be the perfect idea.
“Although I did not have the honor of coaching with him, you cannot coach at Pinecrest without hearing stories of Coach Capel. He remains a legend at Pinecrest,” said Coach Snyder.
Since the announcement of the game, the former players have been stepping up to help.
Coaching the teams will be Pinecrest alumni and basketball standouts, Bobby Collins and Ken Spencer. For Collins and Spencer, both successful basketball head coaches, this is not the first time they have come home to their alma mater to give back.
Collins comes back each year to host a basketball camp, and this past year, he was joined by fellow teammate Spencer. Collins is the head coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Spencer is the head coach at Fayetteville State University. Both played for Coach Capel while at Pinecrest.
Coach Capel went on to coach at the college level and later the NBA after leaving Pinecrest. He coached at Fayetteville State, NC A&T State University, and Old Dominion. He then coached the Charlotte Bobcats (Hornets) and later the Philadelphia 76ers.
Any alumni that would like to play in the game are asked to contact Coach Ben Snyder at [email protected].
Tickets are $10.00 and the proceeds will be used to fund a scholarship in Coach Capel’s honor. The game will be held at 7 pm in the James H. Moore gymnasium at Pinecrest High School.
Feature photo of Coach Capel courtesy of Chalotte Hornets.