'Nobody is going to feel sorry': The unraveling of Gopher basketball's year

[BleedGopher]

per Chad:

Warm-ups were far from complete on the court below them, and yet each row of the student section was filled, some fans stuck behind poles, all wearing gold shirts for a matchup between two of the country’s top-12 college basketball teams.

ESPN was in town, too, ready to showcase Williams Arena and the Gophers to the nation on this November night with the University of Miami in town.

The Gophers were deserving of the attention, everyone figured, a likable bunch, it seemed, with two locals in a starting lineup that rivaled any in the country.

It was just six days after Thanksgiving, but for the first time under Richard Pitino, a nonconference game in Dinkytown had captivated the Twin Cities and garnered attention from college basketball fans around the nation. No. 10 Miami was the first ranked nonconference team to visit Williams Arena in 16 years. Teddy Bridgewater, a Miami native, was among those in attendance.

Easily the biggest student section in...

https://theathletic.com/254166/2018...lynch-dupree-mcbrayer-amir-coffey-nate-mason/

Go Gophers!!

 

[MinnesotaNice]

which player's family was unhappy with the way their kids injury was handled? Can I assume Richard Coffey?

Per Twitter:
"A year after earning a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, the #Gophers men’s basketball team ended the regular season 15-16. A look at what all went wrong, including expulsion of a starter and a player’s camp unhappy at the handling of an injury. Story:"

 

[SelectionSunday]

If it's Coffey's family, I'd certainly understand. That situation never made sense. First they announce he's done until early February, when they'll re-evaluate the injury, then all of a sudden he's playing again before then? Never understood the hurry to bring Amir back, the season was going nowhere.

 

[Bad Gopher]

If it's Coffey's family, I'd certainly understand. That situation never made sense. First they announce he's done until early February, when they'll re-evaluate the injury, then all of a sudden he's playing again before then? Never understood the hurry to bring Amir back, the season was going nowhere.

I've always wondered how much of that was Amir pushing the coaches hard to let him play. If so, was there a disconnect between Amir and his family? I don't want to judge anyone without knowing more.

 

[Winona Gopher]

If it's Coffey's family, I'd certainly understand. That situation never made sense. First they announce he's done until early February, when they'll re-evaluate the injury, then all of a sudden he's playing again before then? Never understood the hurry to bring Amir back, the season was going nowhere.

I am guessing Richard just wants his son to be 100% healthy when he's playing, but I am sure Amir doesn't want to simply sit out games if he's feeling good enough to play. This is where I don't envy the position Pitino is in because you have to balance what you think is best for the kid, what the kids parents think is best and what Pitino thinks is best for the program. it's also incumbent on Amir to let the coaches know if he's in pain even if he wants to play so it's not an easy situation.

I would agree that I wouldn't have brought Amir back for the one game. However, if he indicated to Pitino that he was feeling good enough to play then I can't fault Pitino for playing him because it's probably worse if he indicated he was healthy and Pitino opted not to play him. It would give the impression that he simply gave up on the season.

To summarize, it's a tricky situation.

 

[60's Guy]

It’s not 1960. Trainers/doctors tell a coach when a kid is healthy enough to play. The player has veto power if he doesn’t feel ready. The coach is not the person capable of getting a player back in action without medical clearance from the medical staff.

So, if anybody is mad at Pitino, it’s misdirected. Pretty hard to get clearance for someone too soon. Errors on the side of caution would seem far more the typical criticism directed at a coach in 2018.

 

[EG#9]

The Coffey thing was really strange in that there was a lot of information coming out that he was going to be out a long time, and then he all of a sudden was just back on the court playing against Ohio State. I thought it was odd because it was in the middle of a road trip and he didn't play just a couple days earlier against Maryland in a game where his presence might have made a difference (Huerter was the difference in that game and Coffey is by leaps and bounds are best option to defend him).

 

[Ope3]

If it's Coffey's family, I'd certainly understand. That situation never made sense. First they announce he's done until early February, when they'll re-evaluate the injury, then all of a sudden he's playing again before then? Never understood the hurry to bring Amir back, the season was going nowhere.

When Amir suited up for the Ohio St game they were 3-5, the season was still salvageable at that point. After losing the 2 games he played, it was then evident a lost cause.

 

[SelectionSunday]

When Amir suited up for the Ohio St game they were 3-5, the season was still salvageable at that point. After losing the 2 games he played, it was then evident a lost cause.

Fair point.

I would argue at that point it was clear the best Gophers were going to be was a NIT squad. Penn State win was fool's gold.

 

[Ope3]

Fair point.

I would argue at that point it was clear the best Gophers were going to be was a NIT squad. Penn State win was fool's gold.

No doubt, the odds were stacked against them. With more than half the Big 10 season left it was worth a shot is all I am saying (assuming Amir was not risking further damage or putting in jeopardy being ready for 2018-19).

As weak as the conference was, I thought if he was anywhere near healthy they could have competed with anyone other than Mich St or Purdue.