Jeff Capel Jr.'s basketball legacy lives on — and so does the fight against ALS
Jason Capel isn’t letting his father’s legacy fade.
The late Jeff Capel Jr., who died in 2017 after a battle with ALS, placed an emphasis on doing more than coaching basketball.
“When I was a kid, I always noticed my dad signed autographs with the words ‘help others’ beside his name,” Jason Capel said.
For the last five years, Jason has teamed up with the United States Basketball Association to host basketball camps that raise awareness and donations for the Jeff Capel Jr. Fund at Duke University.
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the USBA Capel Camp returns to Fayetteville State University on Sept. 17 in the gymnasium named for the family patriarch, Felton J. Capel. The camp is open to boys and girls grades 3 to 12 and will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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“That’s what this (camp) is about: helping others who are fighting this disease or those who may be impacted by it directly or indirectly in the future,” Jason said.
“We want to find a cure. That was my dad’s objective once diagnosed with ALS, and that became my family’s mission since his passing. And it’s pretty special to be able to do it in an arena which is named in honor of my grandfather … with both my grandfather’s and dad’s pictures hanging on the walls at the place that my family calls home.”
A four-year player at North Carolina, Jason is now vice president of development with the USBA and an assistant coach at Pitt under his older brother, Jeff Capel III.
But it all started in Fayetteville at Seabrook Park, across the street from Capel Arena. It was a no-brainer for Jason to bring back the camp to “the community that helped shape me, while hopefully raising money to help defeat ALS.”
“Fayetteville will always be home. It’s where the journey all started for my family,” Jason said. “. … It’s always good to be able to give to the community."
The late Jeff Capel Jr. coached and served as athletics director at Fayetteville State before making the jump to the NBA as an assistant. He was diagnosed in March 2016 with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The disease attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and has no known cure. He died Nov. 13, 2017.
After the diagnosis, the USBA partnered with the Duke ALS Clinic in Durham to start the Jeff Capel Jr. ALS Research Fund to support efforts to find a cure.
“To date, with all the different events and generous donations over the years, yes we have been able to raise a substantial amount of funds toward research,” Jason said.
“My family is immensely grateful for that. The goal is to be an impact for positive breakthroughs in research each year until we find a cure.”
Jason’s camp aids that mission. His former UNC teammates, Ed Cota and Kris Lang, along with ESPN analyst Chris Spatola and USBA president Mark Thompson, will be among the camp directors next weekend.
Registration for the camp is being conducted online at USBAHoops.com. For information, call 704-649-6812 or email info@usbahoops.com.
“It’s truly five hours of fun, hard work and excitement that, hopefully, will last a lifetime for the kids,” Capel said.
“. … Any donation is appreciated no matter how big or small. It all goes directly to a great cause – which is to help to one day raise enough money to assist in research being made to cure this deadly disease.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jeff Capel Jr.'s basketball legacy lives on in the fight against ALS
