Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel is the frontrunner to replace the fired Herb Sendek at Arizona State.
Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com cited a source saying that the job is “Jeff Capel’s, if he wants it.”
Capel, 40, coached Oklahoma for five years and VCU for four before that. His career record is 175-110 with three NCAA Tournament appearances. His 2007-08 Oklahoma team featured Blake Griffin and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke has recently lost several assistant coaches to head coaching jobs, including Chris Collins (Northwestern) and Steve Wojciechowski (Marquette).
Sendek went 155-133 in nine years at Arizona State.
Arizona State AD Ray Anderson announced the firing of Sendek on the school’s website:
“I have informed Herb Sendek that he will not be retained as the head men’s basketball coach at Arizona State University,” he said. “This has not been an easy decision for me. Herb has been a tremendous asset to this university and a pillar of our community, and his tenure over the past nine years has helped shift the direction of this program.
“We have a four-prong approach when it comes to evaluating all of our head coaches: integrity, academics, performance, and fan affinity advancement. Herb has been a true leader in the first two categories and his dedication to ensuring our student-athletes become successful young men has been unrivaled.
“However, our athletics department, university and community expect our men’s basketball program to compete consistently for Pac-12 titles, make regular trips to the NCAA Tournament, keep the best in-state talent, and energize our fans and donors. Unfortunately, we have fallen short of these expectations.
“We are committed to turning Sun Devil men’s basketball into an elite program and creating an unmatched atmosphere within Wells Fargo Arena.”
Photo: Duke Athletics
