Jeff Capel said losing Au’Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson hurts Pitt in terms of depth and experience for what’s left of this season.

Yet he is optimistic his players and coaches can recover in the long term and continue to build the program.

“The long term, I don’t see any effects, to be honest with you,” he said Thursday night, speaking on the “Jeff Capel Show” on 93.7 FM. “That’s not saying anything to diminish them.”

His point: It’s time to get back to work with those who want to stay in the fight.

“We have to recruit. We have to get guys. We have to continue to develop the young men who are in our program,” he said. “That’s what we plan to do. I look at it as it gives us two more scholarships to go out and get guys who really want to be here, be a part of what we’re doing, along with the guys we have.”

Capel did not speak specifically about why two of his best players left the team with only three games left in the regular season.

While noting that Toney would have missed Sunday’s game at N.C. State and perhaps the rest of the season with a concussion, he did ask outsiders not to judge his former players.

“We wish those two well,” he said. “They’re both good kids. This has been an incredibly difficult year with everything that’s going on with the pandemic, with mental health, the pressures (on young people), the things that they feel.

“I hope people don’t judge these kids, both on and off the court, for decisions they make. There are a lot of factors that go into these decisions.”

He did not elaborate on those factors. Previously, in a statement, he said the players’ departures occurred under a mutual agreement.

“For us, we’re trying to focus on the guys we have and finish our season as strongly as we possibly can,” Capel said.

He said the message to his players waiting to play the rest of the season is this: Sometimes adversity happens. He’s hoping the team can come out on the other side better for the experience.

“Two of the greatest feelings a human being can have is, No. 1, a comeback,” he said.

“A lot of people go through difficult times. You find out who you are. You find out who’s in your corner. You find out what you’re made of. We talked about fighting.”

He also referenced Tiger Woods’ comeback that led to his most recent Masters championship.

“People love a great comeback story,” Capel said.

“The second greatest accomplishment is when you finish something. We have a chance to finish the season strong. It’s an opportunity for other guys. We have to race to the finish line, and we have to get after it. It’s an opportunity for other guys to step up.”

He mentioned senior Nike Sibande and freshmen Femi Odukale, William Jeffress and Noah Collier as players who may receive more playing time.

“I feel like we still have good players,” Capel said.

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