Anyone with children knows it’s not easy to walk the line between work and family.

Imagine walking it as Jeff Capel — husband, father of three and Pitt basketball coach.

In the midst of a difficult season, Capel talked extensively about that tricky maneuver earlier this week on 93.7 FM.

Asked an insightful question by “Morning Show” host Colin Dunlap about how he helps his family tune out negativity from outside sources, Capel gave a thoughtful response that opened a window many coaches keep closed.

“This is what I do,” he said. “This is not who I am.

“I’m the basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh. I’m very proud to be the basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh, and we are trying our best to get this thing turned around, felt like that we were making some steps and going in the right direction.”

Capel and his wife, Kanika, have three children: daughters Cameron, 14, and Sydney, 12; and son Elijah, 9. Capel said they are of “the age now that they understand things a little bit more.” He said Elijah “really loves our team, really loves coming to the games, really loves sports.”

“What I tell them is that dad is working his butt off. He’s showing up every day. I’m giving everything.

“I love my job. I love the guys I work with. I love the kids I have the chance to work with. But this is not who I am. Who I am is who I am with you guys every day.”

Capel said he tries to attend his children’s games and events. Most important, work stays at work. He said he tries to be there at bedtime. At that point, he sits down and goes back to work.

He recalled sitting in his office after the one-point loss to Minnesota on Nov. 30.

“I’m heart-broken. I’m gut-punched,” he said. “I’m sitting there just kind of staring, and I get a text from my daughter, my 14-year-old.

“She sends me this TikTok of this guy talking. And all he’s talking about is ‘I want you know how proud I am of you and someone needs to hear this. I know you’re working hard.’ ”

Capel said the TikTok post stirred his emotions.

“I’m just dad to them,” he said. “I’m not coach. I’m just dad, and that’s the greatest title that I have, the most important title that I have and it’s the thing I take the most pride in.”

Now, back to the season. Pitt gets a rematch with Louisville at 4 p.m. Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

1. Deserved recognition

Probably the best bet anyone can make is to bet on himself. That’s what Pitt point guard Onyebuchi Ezeakudo did, and it paid off this week when he was rewarded with a scholarship.

While at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., he was recruited by several Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. But he was lured to Pitt, where he was planning to study bioengineering with an eye toward medical school.

“I had to decide if I wanted to go to a place where I could play for sure and have a role on the team,” he said, “or if I could come to a place like Pitt and possibly make the team (as a walk-on), possibly not. But just take that chance.”

He said one jilted coach actually told Ezeakudo that going to Pitt would be “a big mistake.”

In the end, he decided “to trust in myself, believe everything would work out coming to Pitt and just go for it. Everything worked out, thankfully.”

Initially, he was planning to be a practice player for the women’s team during the 2018-2019 season. But when Capel scheduled a tryout for walk-ons, he jumped in and earned a role as a practice player for the men. While home on holiday break, he got a call to return to campus. He was needed on the active roster.

“Even if I didn’t get on the team my freshman year, I was going to keep trying,” he said. “That was my mindset: Just don’t take no for an answer.”

He said being a walk-on requires mental toughness.

“Especially when you’re working as hard as everybody else and maybe are not getting the same recognition or any recognition,” he said. “A lot of times, I felt like it was really easy to just say, ‘Forget it. Just let me get through my last couple years.’ The hardest thing is to be mentally tough to say, ‘I’m going to keep going.’ ”

That’s what he did, and he has become an integral part of the team, averaging almost 17 minutes per game this season.

Ezeakudo will have one season of eligibility remaining in 2022-2023, but he’s isn’t sure if he’ll use it or go to medical school.

“I’ll put some thought into in the next couple months,” he said.

2. Help wanted

Over the past five games, John Hugley is averaging 16.2 points, followed by Femi Odukale at 14.6. Jamarius Burton has been consistent over the past nine games (15 points). Mouhamadou Gueye is at 13.2 in the past six.

Those four, plus William Jeffress, comprise 41.6% of the roster, but have scored 81.7% of the points (815 of 997).

3. The man knows how to get fouled

The Pitt record for free-throw attempts in a season (304 by Brian Shorter in 1990) is out of reach for John Hugley, but he does lead the nation (124). While averaging 10 per game against five ACC opponents, Hugley has scored 39 of his 81 points from the foul line.

4. Halfway home

Pitt has a losing record (6-10, 1-4) after 16 games for the first time since the 1997-1998 season (7-9 during Ralph Willard’s penultimate year as coach).

Looking back, it was a bit surprising to see that the best 16-game record since Jamie Dixon left is held by Kevin Stalllings’ team (12-4 in 2016-2017). Side note: Pitt lost the next seven in a row.

Pitt’s second-worst 16-game record this century is 8-8, shared by Ben Howland in his first season (1999-2000) and Stallings in his last (2017-2018).

5. Busy stretch upcoming

The ACC has rescheduled the postponed game at VPI (Virginia Tech) for Feb. 7. That’s two days after VPI visits the Pete. It also creates a stretch of five games in 12 days – four on the road — from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9.

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