National Basketball Association

Duke Interim Head Coach Reveals Personal Off-Court Struggle

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:35 p.m. ET

Fansided, Chris Brown/FanSided via Ball Durham

Duke Basketball interim head coach Jeff Capel III reveals that his father is very sick and opens up on his shock from the news of the diagnosis.

It’s no secret that Duke Basketball has not lived up to expectations and struggled lately in ACC play. However, in an article for the Player’s Tribune interim head coach Jeff Capel recently revealed that he has been struggling with some serious off-court issues after learning his father was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a sickness that progressively destroys nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord in the human body. The cause grew in popularity from the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness, which Capel and Coach K both participated in, but currently there is still no cure. Capel writes that unfortunately his father has approximately 2-4 years to live and that news devastated him and his family in the hospital.

Duke’s Jeff Capel opened up in the article about his relationship with his father, Jeff Capel, Jr., and the impact he’s had on his life. Capel, Jr. spent four years in the Army and was also a basketball coach. He started out as a volunteer high school JV coach in Southern Pines, NC and worked his way become a head coach in the NCAA at Fayetteville State, North Carolina A&T, and Old Dominion. He also spent time as an assistant in the NBA for the Charlotte Bobcats and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jeff Capel hasn’t been perfect as the acting head coach for Duke Men’s Basketball, but right now he’s dealing with much bigger issues. Check out the full article from the former Duke guard and current interim head coach here. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Capel family during this time.