Pitino post game: Didn't like energy going into the game, like the D on last play...

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GopherLady

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Here are my Pitino notes, working on transcribing player notes that I'll post shortly:

Pitino:
• Tough one, they made plays. We tried a bunch of different things, and none of it worked. I didn't like our energy coming into the game, I thought we played with better energy at the beginning of the 2nd half. A little fitting that we lost our last game on a 25 ft game winning shot. Had a lot of close ones, lost them, gotta give PSU credit.
• It was very good defense. I didn’t think about taking a timeout at the end, to ice Joey King. I didn't think icing him was the best play.
• It's technically 11am, I don't think anyone had any energy, I'm not surprised by it. We try to get them going.
• New bill is one of the best scorers in the Big 10
Andre totally lost his confidence in the 2nd half. I tried to calm him down, like "relax."
• I think they're playing hard. I really do. I feel bad for the seniors that they go out for a loss like that, but they're giving everything they can.
• They weren't switching ball screens, so that's where Joey is really good.
• They're down now, but it's our jobs to get them going by Weds.
• On NIT - I think they're looking towards playing in the conference tournament, and hopefully winning it. They're not an entitled group. We're focused on that right now.
• Elliott hasn't started the whole year, I started Kendal, Mo started all year. I told Mo, I didn't want to play you two together because we're trying to win the game.
• On Kendal Shell - Great attitude, great kid, everyday he's brought it emotionally, he's a special kid. When he graduates he's going to be a great employee for someone one day.
 



I showed up late for the game too!
 

GopherLady said:
Here are my Pitino notes, working on transcribing player notes that I'll post shortly:

Pitino:
• It's technically 11am, I don't think anyone had any energy, I'm not surprised by it. We try to get them going.
• Elliott hasn't started the whole year, I started Kendal, Mo started all year. I told Mo, I didn't want to play you two together because we're trying to win the game.
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The time excuse is awful.

I don't believe the EE reason. Pitino not playing EE more this year cost the team's performance.

If you want to win games, why is Diedhiou playing?
 


Gopher Warrior said:
The time excuse is awful.

I don't believe the EE reason. Pitino not playing EE more this year cost the team's performance.

If you want to win games, why is Diedhiou playing?
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Its just further proof that the guy is a little over his head....He has a couple of years to prove himself, otherwise we start yet another rebuilding process.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
The time excuse is awful.

I don't believe the EE reason. Pitino not playing EE more this year cost the team's performance.

If you want to win games, why is Diedhiou playing?
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This. I'm not sure why the guy who always hustles the most is the guy in the doghouse. His aggressiveness and fire was often a spark for the Gophers over the years; it's a real shame how his career is ending.

Was Diedhiou's redshirt burned because of his (very little) playtime late in the season?
 

Here are the player's comments:
Mo Walker*
We fought hard, gotta give credit to Newbill, he had a big shot, he's leading the league in scoring, that's what he's capable of.
Any solace in having a career day on senior day? I don't even know. It was just disappointing to lose, especially like that, on a buzzer beater on senior night. I don't even know my numbers, all I can think about is that shot he hit.
I thought the energy was ok, we weren't as engaged as we should have been early in the game. We should have been mentally prepared for that for senior night. I thought it picked up a lot more in the 2nd half. Coach pulled me off to the side and he said Elliott would be starting because you started every game this year, I said that was fine. I thought he'd get some more minutes out there.
I was fighting, I pulled Andre to the side and told him this team is only going to go as far as we go, we have to carry these guys.
I think all the guys in this locker room are fighters, we're going to leave it all on the floor. I think we can surprise a lot of people, because a lot of people are overlooking us.
I was trying to motivate the guys and pick everybody up, trying to win. We wanted to go out with a bang, but we kind of went out with a bang the wrong way.*

Elliott Eliason
The last couple have been pretty hard, so I don't know, it's pretty difficult, but the sun will rise tomorrow. It's tough.
How much tougher is it to play on Weds. In the BTT? It's basically 10 times different. Everyday it wears your body out more. You can maybe win 1 or 2, but then you keep going it's tough. Uconn did it in the Big East.


Andre Hollins
Pitino said you lost some confidence in the 2nd half - I don't think I lost my confidence, the ball just didn't go in.
Mo player a really big game, he was a force inside and imposed his will.
Is there any way you could have imagined all these close losses? No.*
We have to bounce back and band together. We've been tested before, it's how we respond.
Playing on Weds: That's a blow. It's an extra game, but it happens, we have to take what's given to us.*
Could this group get excited for the NIT? It would be different for us seniors, it would be very disappointing. If we go there? We'll have to make the most of it, we're still playing basketball which is awesome. You don't want to leave our careers with a sour taste in our mouths, so it's good to get some extra games. We're not thinking about the NIT, we're thinking about the Big 10 tournament.

Deandre Mathieu
Pitino said the way you lost was almost fitting - I said that too, so many close losses at home, that one, definitely, hurt the most out of all of them.
I was frustrated, we all were, couldn't get it going early. They got up to a big lead. It really just resembles how the season went.*
A loss is a loss, I really hate losing, but when you know that 1-2 plays could make the difference.
Definitely didn't imagine my last home game ending like that. My senior day memory is a loss.*
We'll be there and ready to play, the Big 10 is so wide open. Anybody can beat anybody. It's not over. We're going to go out there and fight Weds. and try to make a run.
On the NIT - We'll talk about that if it happens.
We were just talking about the draw we could get, we could make a run, all of our games have been pretty close, minus WI and Maryland. We were confident, we're going to talk to the young guys and get to work.
We'd rather play 4 than 5, but we all played AAU, we all, I think we all love the game, I'm sure we do - you can wake up to play a basketball game, it doesn't matter.
 




cncmin said:
This. I'm not sure why the guy who always hustles the most is the guy in the doghouse. His aggressiveness and fire was often a spark for the Gophers over the years; it's a real shame how his career is ending.

Was Diedhiou's redshirt burned because of his (very little) playtime late in the season?
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A redshirt means you don't play at all. Zero. Not a second. So, yes. No redshirt for Diedhiou. But not sure he makes sense longer term anyway.
 

GopherLady said:
Yes, which really puzzles me. We didn't NEED him this year.
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[Diedhiou's burned redshirt] I don't get it at all. EE lost almost all of his playing time, and he was a valuable contributor throughout his career. Konate, who already lost his redshirt, could have been backup #3 as-needed. This is terrible move, IMO.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
A redshirt means you don't play at all. Zero. Not a second. So, yes. No redshirt for Diedhiou. But not sure he makes sense longer term anyway.
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Maybe not, and yet, I exasperatingly saw more flashes of fundamental defense and rebounding out of GD in the few minutes he played than I saw out of Mo Walker in an entire 4-year career...
 

Gopher Warrior said:
The time excuse is awful.

I don't believe the EE reason. Pitino not playing EE more this year cost the team's performance.

If you want to win games, why is Diedhiou playing?
Click to expand...

Are you still sticking to the idea that EE was a better player than Mo? EE played behind Mo because Mo is a better player- by a lot. EE then started to play less because his attitude sunk and Pitino started to see Konate as just as good of an option and as building toward the future. This is not that hard. My guess is that Diedhou may not have played much at all had the team not lost so many games early. It's way, way to early to say he won't be any good though.
 



Dan Cole from KFAN is going to love the Daylight Savings Time excuse. That's priceless.
 

cncmin said:
[Diedhiou's burned redshirt] I don't get it at all. EE lost almost all of his playing time, and he was a valuable contributor throughout his career. Konate, who already lost his redshirt, could have been backup #3 as-needed. This is terrible move, IMO.
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He's 21 years old. It makes all the sense in the world to make sure a guy that age sees some time and is ready for next year when the team will desperately need a physical power forward that can play some defense. By playing this year Gaston is able to see first hand what he has to do in the offseason to be ready. He has ability and size.
 


bga1 said:
He's 21 years old. It makes all the sense in the world to make sure a guy that age sees some time and is ready for next year when the team will desperately need a physical power forward that can play some defense. By playing this year Gaston is able to see first hand what he has to do in the offseason to be ready. He has ability and size.
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So, Diedhiou was able to use his several dozen minutes of playing time this year to significantly progress forward in his development; development significantly beyond that what he would have obtained by getting his first game action next season and not blowing his redshirt. That's your argument?
 

bga1 said:
Are you still sticking to the idea that EE was a better player than Mo? EE played behind Mo because Mo is a better player- by a lot. EE then started to play less because his attitude sunk and Pitino started to see Konate as just as good of an option and as building toward the future. This is not that hard. My guess is that Diedhou may not have played much at all had the team not lost so many games early. It's way, way to early to say he won't be any good though.
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I'm fine with Mo playing "ahead" of EE - it's not an outrageous decision. My stance has been Eliason should be playing center whenever Walker is not in there and that the staff should consider trying both together.

Eliason's defensive presence and quite frankly his numbers were very good - last year AND this year. They blew it not playing Eliason more. I am NOT saying EE should have eaten up Mo's minutes. I am ABSOLUTELY saying he should have gotten a lot more run.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
I'm fine with Mo playing "ahead" of EE - it's not an outrageous decision. My stance has been Eliason should be playing center whenever Walker is not in there and that the staff should consider trying both together.

Eliason's defensive presence and quite frankly his numbers were very good - last year AND this year. They blew it not playing Eliason more. I am NOT saying EE should have eaten up Mo's minutes. I am ABSOLUTELY saying he should have gotten a lot more run.
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+ many
 

Gopher Warrior said:
I'm fine with Mo playing "ahead" of EE - it's not an outrageous decision. My stance has been Eliason should be playing center whenever Walker is not in there and that the staff should consider trying both together.

Eliason's defensive presence and quite frankly his numbers were very good - last year AND this year. They blew it not playing Eliason more. I am NOT saying EE should have eaten up Mo's minutes. I am ABSOLUTELY saying he should have gotten a lot more run.
Click to expand...

Actually, that's quite a revision of your stance. You have said often that EE is the better player. I will agree with one thing you said there- I have thought that he should have tried playing them together to see how it worked. My guess is that he wants to stick with the system and there's now way those two together fit what he wants to do. If his system doesn't work by year 4 with his own players - then we will have a serious problem. It's year two.
 

cncmin said:
So, Diedhiou was able to use his several dozen minutes of playing time this year to significantly progress forward in his development; development significantly beyond that what he would have obtained by getting his first game action next season and not blowing his redshirt. That's your argument?
Click to expand...

Two part argument- 1. He is 21 and perhaps he doesn't want to be playing college ball at 26-27 years old. 2. Getting on the court in actual games to see what it feels like and what his gap in development is definitely will help in the off season and for next year. Combine those two and it's a good move in my view. If he was 18 - no doubt he would have gotten the RS.
 

Coach is still learning big time basketball

my biggest issue is that the guys play very stupid basketball. besides being bad shooters they play weak defense and the decision making is something they should have learned in 9th grade BB. it is not only sad but embarrassing that a big ten coach has his players coming off a NIT championship play as horrible as they have all season.

questionable rotation for his players; lack of running an offense; lack of any type of defense, and his poor in game management will put Coach Pitino on a hot seat quicker than most will think. If this continues he will start to feel the heat next season.

there is very little doubt in my mind that EE was not in the plans by Pitino yet was at least 2nd best big man on the team and given more PT this team could have won 2-3 more games(But obviously coach didn't see it that way and rather try to build for next season).
 

I am very surprised Pitino did not double team Penn State's best player at the end of the game and force someone else to make a shot. Add that to a long list of disappointments this season.
 

DoubleB said:
Coach is still learning big time basketball
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Obviously, guy is 32 and on year 2 of his career in the b1g and 3 as a head coach.


DoubleB said:
my biggest issue is that the guys play very stupid basketball. besides being bad shooters they play weak defense and the decision making is something they should have learned in 9th grade BB. it is not only sad but embarrassing that a big ten coach has his players coming off a NIT championship play as horrible as they have all season.
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Really? Cite some significant examples of continued "Stupid" basketball to which you claim has lead to horrible basketball "all season long"

DoubleB said:
questionable rotation for his players; lack of running an offense; lack of any type of defense, and his poor in game management will put Coach Pitino on a hot seat quicker than most will think. If this continues he will start to feel the heat next season.
Click to expand...
Other than EE minutes what rotation should he have used?
What poor game management can you cite?

DoubleB said:
there is very little doubt in my mind that EE was not in the plans by Pitino yet was at least 2nd best big man on the team and given more PT this team could have won 2-3 more games(But obviously coach didn't see it that way and rather try to build for next season).
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so a horribly stupid team with poor coaching is 10 minutes of EE short of being 8-8 in the B1G 10?

Oh.... Makes a lot of sense.
 

bga1 said:
Actually, that's quite a revision of your stance. You have said often that EE is the better player. I will agree with one thing you said there- I have thought that he should have tried playing them together to see how it worked. My guess is that he wants to stick with the system and there's now way those two together fit what he wants to do. If his system doesn't work by year 4 with his own players - then we will have a serious problem. It's year two.
Click to expand...

What is the big revision? There is no revision.
 

bga1 said:
Actually, that's quite a revision of your stance. You have said often that EE is the better player. I will agree with one thing you said there- I have thought that he should have tried playing them together to see how it worked. My guess is that he wants to stick with the system and there's now way those two together fit what he wants to do. If his system doesn't work by year 4 with his own players - then we will have a serious problem. It's year two.
Click to expand...

This is something I just don't understand. I remember when Tubby would never play RS3 and Iverson together...when he did, it worked. You've got 2 big men in there, that can work against the right opponent. The fact that he wouldn't even play them together for a minute tonight, on senior night...and you say it's because he wanted to give us the best chance of winning...yet you start Kendal Shell. Don't get me wrong, I love Shell, but I hardly doubt that playing Mo and EE at the same time, even for a minute or two, would be detrimental to the game.

CDH27 said:
I am very surprised Pitino did not double team Penn State's best player at the end of the game and force someone else to make a shot. Add that to a long list of disappointments this season.
Click to expand...

Even Mrs. Walker agrees with you:
 

I disagree with a double on newbill. Maybe if he got a layup it a wide open 3 that complaint resonates, but he hit a deep 3 with a hand right in his face. Hat tip.

If he doubles and newbill makes the right pass for a layup or open jumper, you all are burning him for that.

If he misses, good defense by Mason?
 

bga1 said:
By playing this year Gaston is able to see first hand what he has to do in the offseason to be ready. He has ability and size.
Click to expand...

Well, we know he has size anyway.
 


Okay I can see how not playing EE over Konate may frustrate people throughout this season, but to say it's the wrong decision is purely speculative in which I assume many of your viewpoints on the team is limited.

Multiple times throughout the year Pitino has emphasized that players earn their playing time through their energy in practice.

-- Mo lost a crap ton of weight in order to find playing time last season and this season.
-- Buggs must have turned water into wine as he earned significant time playing with the team half way through this season.
-- Mason earned starts over Little Dre.
-- Little Dre earned his spot back.
-- Bakary has certainly earned his opportunity and has produced more so than EE.

What has EE done to prove it to Pitino he should play over Bakary? I would assume he didn't do enough. If you ask me that's on EE more so than Pitino as I believe it's the players responsibility to show up and compete for their minutes.

His game time stats is evidence that Bakary was playing at the same level if not better from a production standpoint. EE has had 2x the amount of minutes played (against easier opponents) and has produced far less than Bakary over this season.

EE:
Minutes Played: 333 (140 more)
FG: 36 (21 more)
FTM: 18 (Equal)
ORB: 42 (25 more)
DRB: 48 (16 more)
TRB: 90 (41 more)
AST: 15 (9 more)
STL: 9 (1 less)
BLK: 15 (5 more)

Bakary:
Minutes Played: 193 (140 Less)
FG: 15 (21 less)
FTM: 18 (Equal)
ORB: 17 (25 less)
DRB: 32 (16 less)
TRB: 49 (41 less)
AST: 6 (9 less)
STL: 10 (1 more)
BLK: 10 (5 less)

Am I missing something? Bakary looks like he has adequately put together a resumé that says he should have played above EE. He atleast has played on level with EE against much tougher competition then EE's majority of minutes in our preseason.

I don't think we can stick coaching issues to this losing season on decisions like this. It's a more safe bet to say that many of our core players failed to show up at critical times in these games. I said to my dad walking out of the barn: Man Penn State sure have a nice go-to player for clutch performances at the end of games. Why don't we have that?
 

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