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Gopher Men's Basketball Coach Richard Pitino was on "The Sports Huddle" on WCCO radio on Sunday, May 20th.
Dave Mona: talk about the transfers and what they add to the team?
RP: excited. added 2 really good pieces in Carr and Willis, who will sit out next year. they're both players who have performed at a high level. we need to find a way to not get young. next year, lose some important pieces (Murphy, McBrayer). need to make sure we don't get young. Marcus played a lot of minutes in ACC. Willis played a lot of minutes. they'll step in next year and be ready. Brock Stull added some versatility. he's performed well the last couple years.
Max: can Carr become eligible this year?
RP: I don't know. we're going to try to put the waiver in. there isn't a precedent. the transfer rules are changing over and over agin. Carr had his coach get fired. we're in uncharted territory.
Mona: Future of MN HS BB. looks like a run coming on good big players.
RP: It's important for us to recruit the state. We're the Only D1 BB program - got to close down borders. Twin Cities so important. If there's a player who makes sense for us, we're going to recruit them hard.
Sid: will the Injured players be healthy for next season?
RP: don't want to make excuses, but I can't remember a time where we got hit so hard by injuries. Dupree probably shouldn't have played, but they said he wasn't going to hurt it any worse by playing. the spring has been interesting, Amir, Dupree, Eric, did not practice. Oturu is out till fall. Dupree and Eric will be able to go after summer school. Amir and Oturu, we'll ease in in the fall.
Mona: depth at Point Guard?
RP: IW is the only pure point, and he did play some 2 for us as well. I think we can slide Dupree, Brock, Amir over there (point). I want guards to play multiple positions. It was important to add a player like Brock. IW will take a little bit of time.
Sid: why are you Losing coaches? Was it money?
RP: not money. Kimani - sometimes it's good to have change. Ben to Xavier- they were offering a raise. It was great to have both of those guys here for 5 years. Kimani is moving closer to home, back to his roots. It's been good for us -we added 2 really quality coaches. our staff with Rob, Kyle is in terrific spot. sometimes it's good to get fresh ideas.
Mona: the OK State game - is it a neutral site game?
RP: neutral site game for us from NCAA qualifying perspective. we will not lose a home game.
Sid: will you play any future games there at US Bank?
RP: open to doing different things. Look at it from a Regional standpoint (played in SD). If you can get a game close, that's beneficial. I'd be open to playing in Target Center or St. Paul. But it's tough to convince Gopher fans to step away from the Barn.
Sid: Murray's certificate.
Dave Mona: talk about the transfers and what they add to the team?
RP: excited. added 2 really good pieces in Carr and Willis, who will sit out next year. they're both players who have performed at a high level. we need to find a way to not get young. next year, lose some important pieces (Murphy, McBrayer). need to make sure we don't get young. Marcus played a lot of minutes in ACC. Willis played a lot of minutes. they'll step in next year and be ready. Brock Stull added some versatility. he's performed well the last couple years.
Max: can Carr become eligible this year?
RP: I don't know. we're going to try to put the waiver in. there isn't a precedent. the transfer rules are changing over and over agin. Carr had his coach get fired. we're in uncharted territory.
Mona: Future of MN HS BB. looks like a run coming on good big players.
RP: It's important for us to recruit the state. We're the Only D1 BB program - got to close down borders. Twin Cities so important. If there's a player who makes sense for us, we're going to recruit them hard.
Sid: will the Injured players be healthy for next season?
RP: don't want to make excuses, but I can't remember a time where we got hit so hard by injuries. Dupree probably shouldn't have played, but they said he wasn't going to hurt it any worse by playing. the spring has been interesting, Amir, Dupree, Eric, did not practice. Oturu is out till fall. Dupree and Eric will be able to go after summer school. Amir and Oturu, we'll ease in in the fall.
Mona: depth at Point Guard?
RP: IW is the only pure point, and he did play some 2 for us as well. I think we can slide Dupree, Brock, Amir over there (point). I want guards to play multiple positions. It was important to add a player like Brock. IW will take a little bit of time.
Sid: why are you Losing coaches? Was it money?
RP: not money. Kimani - sometimes it's good to have change. Ben to Xavier- they were offering a raise. It was great to have both of those guys here for 5 years. Kimani is moving closer to home, back to his roots. It's been good for us -we added 2 really quality coaches. our staff with Rob, Kyle is in terrific spot. sometimes it's good to get fresh ideas.
Mona: the OK State game - is it a neutral site game?
RP: neutral site game for us from NCAA qualifying perspective. we will not lose a home game.
Sid: will you play any future games there at US Bank?
RP: open to doing different things. Look at it from a Regional standpoint (played in SD). If you can get a game close, that's beneficial. I'd be open to playing in Target Center or St. Paul. But it's tough to convince Gopher fans to step away from the Barn.
Sid: Murray's certificate.
