GopherLady
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
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Here you go:
Richard Pitino:
• Obviously, you saw the release, I had to make some difficult decisions, after a few days talking things over with my staff and Beth we had to do this. I believe we had to do what was best for the situation. There are student privacy laws, so I can't answer a lot of things. Tomorrow night is Joey King's senior night, he deserves a big send off. I was extremely proud of the way these guys played at Illinois.
• We made the decision today to suspend them, that's all we're going with now. We're not going to speculate anymore
• Truthfully what changed - I shouldn't of answered it that way, I wasn't prepared, I answered it the wrong way. Nothing really had changed, more time had passed. A lot of hard thinking.
• It was my decision in the end. We met with our staff over and over, I spoke with Beth numerous times, it's something that we felt was best for our program and best for our culture.
• How did they take the news? I think when you make tough decisions, in the end, you've got to get them to understand that it's the best thing for the team and the best thing for you, hoping, moving forward this makes it better for the program
• Should you recruit better? Always looking to get better, always trying like heck to not make mistakes, more than anything, we made a decision that would benefit our program.
• Any changes to recruiting? We're always trying to do our homework and make the best decisions for the University of Minnesota.
• They will be practicing, they just won't play.
• Reflecting on him as a Coach - at the end of the day, you've got to make decisions that are the best thing for your bball program and university. It may not always be that popular.
• They understand that playing her is a privilege. If you don't live up to those things, there are consequences.
• You'd be lying to say "I don't care what people think," I believe in our culture, from a men's basketball standpoint. When it comes to our program, we're going to stay true to that. It's important to us to make sure everyone is acting the right way.
• When you talk recruiting, we thought we were starting over a little bit. We're going to hold your kids accountable, you talk about that in recruiting. This is a great opportunity, when we're entrusted with your son, we're going to do everything possible to make sure these guys leave better people.
• Do you feel disrespected? It's always difficult when you make these decisions. I'm responsible for everyone that's been brought here except Buggs, and when there's bumps in the road, we go through those together. I want them to become better people. It's not always smooth sailing.
• We'll have 8 players in uniform tomorrow night.
• They do have training for players at the beginning of the season, you're constantly trying to teach them.
• Can you beat WI with 8 players? We did not prepare for Stephon Sharp playing the 1, and Gilbert playing the 2, and the heart that they showed going into the game gave me a lot of excitement. We didn't win, so people won't talk about it, but the effort they gave…Sharp played 39 minutes, he had scored 4 points, and he scored 19.
• Any criminal investigation? I'm not aware of any criminal investigation.
• Thought about adding walk-ons, but we don't have a lot of time right now. We thought about a manager or 2.
• I wouldn't know how to speculate that.
• Did they address the team? Yeah. That was a difficult situation, but at the end of the day, you've got to do what's best for the team.
Richard Pitino:
• Obviously, you saw the release, I had to make some difficult decisions, after a few days talking things over with my staff and Beth we had to do this. I believe we had to do what was best for the situation. There are student privacy laws, so I can't answer a lot of things. Tomorrow night is Joey King's senior night, he deserves a big send off. I was extremely proud of the way these guys played at Illinois.
• We made the decision today to suspend them, that's all we're going with now. We're not going to speculate anymore
• Truthfully what changed - I shouldn't of answered it that way, I wasn't prepared, I answered it the wrong way. Nothing really had changed, more time had passed. A lot of hard thinking.
• It was my decision in the end. We met with our staff over and over, I spoke with Beth numerous times, it's something that we felt was best for our program and best for our culture.
• How did they take the news? I think when you make tough decisions, in the end, you've got to get them to understand that it's the best thing for the team and the best thing for you, hoping, moving forward this makes it better for the program
• Should you recruit better? Always looking to get better, always trying like heck to not make mistakes, more than anything, we made a decision that would benefit our program.
• Any changes to recruiting? We're always trying to do our homework and make the best decisions for the University of Minnesota.
• They will be practicing, they just won't play.
• Reflecting on him as a Coach - at the end of the day, you've got to make decisions that are the best thing for your bball program and university. It may not always be that popular.
• They understand that playing her is a privilege. If you don't live up to those things, there are consequences.
• You'd be lying to say "I don't care what people think," I believe in our culture, from a men's basketball standpoint. When it comes to our program, we're going to stay true to that. It's important to us to make sure everyone is acting the right way.
• When you talk recruiting, we thought we were starting over a little bit. We're going to hold your kids accountable, you talk about that in recruiting. This is a great opportunity, when we're entrusted with your son, we're going to do everything possible to make sure these guys leave better people.
• Do you feel disrespected? It's always difficult when you make these decisions. I'm responsible for everyone that's been brought here except Buggs, and when there's bumps in the road, we go through those together. I want them to become better people. It's not always smooth sailing.
• We'll have 8 players in uniform tomorrow night.
• They do have training for players at the beginning of the season, you're constantly trying to teach them.
• Can you beat WI with 8 players? We did not prepare for Stephon Sharp playing the 1, and Gilbert playing the 2, and the heart that they showed going into the game gave me a lot of excitement. We didn't win, so people won't talk about it, but the effort they gave…Sharp played 39 minutes, he had scored 4 points, and he scored 19.
• Any criminal investigation? I'm not aware of any criminal investigation.
• Thought about adding walk-ons, but we don't have a lot of time right now. We thought about a manager or 2.
• I wouldn't know how to speculate that.
• Did they address the team? Yeah. That was a difficult situation, but at the end of the day, you've got to do what's best for the team.
