Suggs craps on Pitino in strib article

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builtbadgers said:
Read carefully. The extraordinary player part is in the pipeline and about making them even better. Besides not being a fan of how Suggs announced he thinks he picked a better program and a better coach by a mile.
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Actually - consider if Suggs bailed on the U of M as many sugg-ested he may. That would be a PR disaster. If he bails on Gonzaga to pursue pro - no problem. Y'all are over thinking this.
 

I love how built responded to plenty of others, but NOT ME??? Because my post contained all the FACTS and stats that supported my argument.

Took Few SIXTEEN YEARS to match what Monson did in his last year at Gonzaga.


After using up the mojo Monson left behind, getting to the sweet 16 the 2 years after Monson left, he only got to TWO more sweet sixteens in THIRTEEN YEARS!!!

2 in 13.

and a .333 winning percentage vs Top 25 ranked teams those 15 years? 3 of those wins coming vs St Mary's who got their ranking from playing NO ONE.


Nothing Gonzaga has done has really impressed me. They almost NEVER exceed expectations, not even close. But they often come up short.


That is not a sign of a great coach to me. That seems to be to be just an opportunist who has taken advantage of the opportunity afforded to him.
 

KillmeNow said:
I love how built responded to plenty of others, but NOT ME??? Because my post contained all the FACTS and stats that supported my argument.

Took Few SIXTEEN YEARS to match what Monson did in his last year at Gonzaga.


After using up the mojo Monson left behind, getting to the sweet 16 the 2 years after Monson left, he only got to TWO more sweet sixteens in THIRTEEN YEARS!!!

2 in 13.

and a .333 winning percentage vs Top 25 ranked teams those 15 years? 3 of those wins coming vs St Mary's who got their ranking from playing NO ONE.


Nothing Gonzaga has done has really impressed me. They almost NEVER exceed expectations, not even close. But they often come up short.


That is not a sign of a great coach to me. That seems to be to be just an opportunist who has taken advantage of the opportunity afforded to him.
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Eh to be fair Built has been busy responding to half of this thread calling him out in one way or another.

Getting my 10 cents in... Few is good but not great. I would certainly take Bennett, Wright, Izzo, Beard and a few others over him. Hell I'd take Coach Cal over him too. Say what you will about what Cal did at Memphis he's done a great job at Kentucky and gets his kids to buy in and play pretty f'ing hard.
 

KillmeNow said:
I love how built responded to plenty of others, but NOT ME??? Because my post contained all the FACTS and stats that supported my argument.

Took Few SIXTEEN YEARS to match what Monson did in his last year at Gonzaga.


After using up the mojo Monson left behind, getting to the sweet 16 the 2 years after Monson left, he only got to TWO more sweet sixteens in THIRTEEN YEARS!!!

2 in 13.

and a .333 winning percentage vs Top 25 ranked teams those 15 years? 3 of those wins coming vs St Mary's who got their ranking from playing NO ONE.


Nothing Gonzaga has done has really impressed me. They almost NEVER exceed expectations, not even close. But they often come up short.


That is not a sign of a great coach to me. That seems to be to be just an opportunist who has taken advantage of the opportunity afforded to him.
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My response about his accomplishments were meant for you but it is all tied in to the fact that Suggs thinks Few is a far better coach than our guy and that he thinks Gonzaga is a far better program. Nationally that is also the case.
 



KillmeNow said:
I love how built responded to plenty of others, but NOT ME??? Because my post contained all the FACTS and stats that supported my argument.

Took Few SIXTEEN YEARS to match what Monson did in his last year at Gonzaga.


After using up the mojo Monson left behind, getting to the sweet 16 the 2 years after Monson left, he only got to TWO more sweet sixteens in THIRTEEN YEARS!!!

2 in 13.

and a .333 winning percentage vs Top 25 ranked teams those 15 years? 3 of those wins coming vs St Mary's who got their ranking from playing NO ONE.


Nothing Gonzaga has done has really impressed me. They almost NEVER exceed expectations, not even close. But they often come up short.


That is not a sign of a great coach to me. That seems to be to be just an opportunist who has taken advantage of the opportunity afforded to him.
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Gonzaga is one of four programs that has made every NCAA Tournament since 2000, joining Duke, Kansas, and Michigan State. Does that say anything about their coach & program?
 

St. Izzo and his transgressions, er cheating, avoided at all costs.
 

If Suggs thinks Gonzaga better team, better coach, best fit for him, then he picked the right place. No need to bash Minnesota. A simple I'm going to Gonzaga because it's the best fit for me. I want to thank all the other teams for the interest, etc not even sure he will end up there. If he goes there, will he ever graduate from there?
 

SelectionSunday said:
Gonzaga is one of four programs that has made every NCAA Tournament since 2000, joining Duke, Kansas, and Michigan State. Does that say anything about their coach & program?
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I am certainly not one that would minimize the accomplishments of Few. He has kept a program relevant for twenty years in a bad conference with no whispers of cheating, etc. Gonzaga could have gone the route of Loyola Maramount or many other small schools and been a blip on the overall college basketball landscape but it clearly has not done so. I'd take him at my school.
 



Regarding the Suggs comments.....I think we read too much into many of the things that high school kids say. We are all guilty of propping these kids up way more than they should be with the ESPN match-ups and all the media attention they get. Then we set up special announcements for the elite kids to find out where they are "taking their talents". It's no wonder they have such bid heads and do the idiotic flexing for the camera after a block or dunk. But at the end of the day, he's still a high school kid with little to no media coaching. I have a hard time believing his comments were a pre-meditated, calculated, agenda-driven shot at Pitino. He's just a high school kid that made a regrettable comment.
 

gophereric30 said:
If Suggs thinks Gonzaga better team, better coach, best fit for him, then he picked the right place. No need to bash Minnesota. A simple I'm going to Gonzaga because it's the best fit for me. I want to thank all the other teams for the interest, etc not even sure he will end up there. If he goes there, will he ever graduate from there?
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Everyone is going to ask about the home state school and why he didn't pick them, he gave an answer. Do we really need to resort to talking about if he will graduate from there? Really is irrelevant and really is hypocritical to bring up something unrelated while you are criticizing him for bringing up the unrelated home state school to his decision.
 

Gonzaga 20 years in tourney and only 31 wins.. and obviously 20 losses since they have never won it. 1.5 wins per visit that is not exceptional especially with the fluffed up seed they get by playing in a junk conference.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Gonzaga is one of four programs that has made every NCAA Tournament since 2000, joining Duke, Kansas, and Michigan State. Does that say anything about their coach & program?
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It exaggerates the significance because the weak conference has an automatic bid. You can beat up on all the weak teams in your conference, but lose all the non-conference “marquee“ games and make it every year. They are like the NDSU of college basketball, but then they have to compete with the big boys later in the tournament.
 



Holy Man said:
Coaching three star players to all-conference or near all-conference shows some ability to develop players. Mason and Murphy come to mind. The only player in my memory during his tenure that did not play up to his rating coming out of high school is IW. Recruiting has been his problem, not player development.
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100% true, if he goes down the cause will be recruiting.
 
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Yall really acting like the kid wasn't asked this question. He didn't just offer that comment without the question. He was probably asked about playing both sports and how close he was to choosing the U
 

MinnGopher said:
Everyone is going to ask about the home state school and why he didn't pick them, he gave an answer. Do we really need to resort to talking about if he will graduate from there? Really is irrelevant and really is hypocritical to bring up something unrelated while you are criticizing him for bringing up the unrelated home state school to his decision.
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Of course people will bring up homestate school. Just needed to say he thought Gonzaga was a better fit that's all. Yes, he is a teenager, but 99% of everyone else signing places seem to say the right things and not bash the school they dont choose.
 

The back page of the Strib sports section today: I noticed it on the table before I left for work. Unless we get some kind of (post-) Christmas miracle, we're not going to get even one of the players pictured in that spread, and I'm just sick thinking about it. Now, you don't have to tell me that we should be happy with whoever wants to play here, and it doesn't matter where they come from, and I don't disagree with that in principle. BUT, this is becoming a cultural norm in Minnesota: top-rated basketball players leaving--and doing well wherever they go. Thank goodness for Amir and Daniel, but this is a continuing opportunity to mine some elite talent that otherwise wouldn't consider Minnesota, and we're blowing it.
 

GopherPlaya said:
Yall really acting like the kid wasn't asked this question. He didn't just offer that comment without the question. He was probably asked about playing both sports and how close he was to choosing the U
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You may be correct, who knows. Personally, very difficult for me to believe that a savvy 18 yr. old would say such a thing with no malice aforethought.
 

MinnGopher said:
Everyone is going to ask about the home state school and why he didn't pick them, he gave an answer. Do we really need to resort to talking about if he will graduate from there? Really is irrelevant and really is hypocritical to bring up something unrelated while you are criticizing him for bringing up the unrelated home state school to his decision.
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He brought it on himself when he wanted National TV time for his announcement. I don't feel bad at all for any ridicule he gets. He wants to be the man, accept that the man is gonna get hated on a little.
 

Go Gophs said:
He brought it on himself when he wanted National TV time for his announcement. I don't feel bad at all for any ridicule he gets. He wants to be the man, accept that the man is gonna get hated on a little.
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Herein lies the problem. We granted an 18 year old national TV time to announce where he may or may not attend college.
 

Bad Gopher said:
The back page of the Strib sports section today: I noticed it on the table before I left for work. Unless we get some kind of (post-) Christmas miracle, we're not going to get even one of the players pictured in that spread, and I'm just sick thinking about it. Now, you don't have to tell me that we should be happy with whoever wants to play here, and it doesn't matter where they come from, and I don't disagree with that in principle. BUT, this is becoming a cultural norm in Minnesota: top-rated basketball players leaving--and doing well wherever they go. Thank goodness for Amir and Daniel, but this is a continuing opportunity to mine some elite talent that otherwise wouldn't consider Minnesota, and we're blowing it.
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I agree. This program has to keep at least one stud per year home. There are too many good ones coming out of Minnesota that keeping some of them shouldn't be expected. It is mainly on the travel ball programs and coaches that they aren't coming here. Don't think for one minute these guys aren't the ones leading this mass exodus out of state.

Pitino and staff should also be working their butts off to build bridges with these programs. In fact, getting some of their former players into some of these programs as coaches, etc would go a long way IMO. Basically, we need our excellent travel basketball programs to be more apt to steer kids to the U or it will never happen.
 

golfing18now said:
Herein lies the problem. We granted an 18 year old national TV time to announce where he may or may not attend college.
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Most kids would just sit at their school with their friends, teams, coaches and take a few pictures to put on their school's website or facebook page.
Minnehaha is a different beast though. A total joke in the interest of fair play throughout the MSHSL.
 

Go Gophs said:
Most kids would just sit at their school with their friends, teams, coaches and take a few pictures to put on their school's website or facebook page.
Minnehaha is a different beast though. A total joke in the interest of fair play throughout the MSHSL.
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Is the problem Minnehaha or ESPN? I think ESPN put him on the tube, not the school.
 

Go Gophs said:
I agree. This program has to keep at least one stud per year home. There are too many good ones coming out of Minnesota that keeping some of them shouldn't be expected. It is mainly on the travel ball programs and coaches that they aren't coming here. Don't think for one minute these guys aren't the ones leading this mass exodus out of state.

Pitino and staff should also be working their butts off to build bridges with these programs. In fact, getting some of their former players into some of these programs as coaches, etc would go a long way IMO. Basically, we need our excellent travel basketball programs to be more apt to steer kids to the U or it will never happen.
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Do you truly believe this staff hasn't been trying to build relationships with D1 and GR Sizzle? There is a fine line when associating yourself with a program and it's where it can get a little dirty. I think this staff has done a decent job (significantly better now with Jeter and Lindsted) and recruiting high character kids who want to be here. We win more and develop guys then we will get better players plain and simple.
 

Holy Man said:
Is the problem Minnehaha or ESPN? I think ESPN put him on the tube, not the school.
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Just Minnehaha shouldn't be allowed in the MSHSL that's all. It's a sports school, period. Let them play the rest of the prep teams around the nation.
 

Bad Gopher said:
The back page of the Strib sports section today: I noticed it on the table before I left for work. Unless we get some kind of (post-) Christmas miracle, we're not going to get even one of the players pictured in that spread, and I'm just sick thinking about it. Now, you don't have to tell me that we should be happy with whoever wants to play here, and it doesn't matter where they come from, and I don't disagree with that in principle. BUT, this is becoming a cultural norm in Minnesota: top-rated basketball players leaving--and doing well wherever they go. Thank goodness for Amir and Daniel, but this is a continuing opportunity to mine some elite talent that otherwise wouldn't consider Minnesota, and we're blowing it.
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Same concern. The narrative is that guys want to get away from home, which is understandable. Would be interesting if there is some data out there that shows what percent of recruits leave their home state.
Is our situation truly the norm?
 

Bad Gopher said:
The back page of the Strib sports section today: I noticed it on the table before I left for work. Unless we get some kind of (post-) Christmas miracle, we're not going to get even one of the players pictured in that spread, and I'm just sick thinking about it. Now, you don't have to tell me that we should be happy with whoever wants to play here, and it doesn't matter where they come from, and I don't disagree with that in principle. BUT, this is becoming a cultural norm in Minnesota: top-rated basketball players leaving--and doing well wherever they go. Thank goodness for Amir and Daniel, but this is a continuing opportunity to mine some elite talent that otherwise wouldn't consider Minnesota, and we're blowing it.
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It's about optics. Why doesn't the top 5 star instate talent want to play for their home school? Suggs gave his reason why.
 

scools12 said:
It's about optics. Why doesn't the top 5 star instate talent want to play for their home school? Suggs gave his reason why.
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I actually don't have a big problem with Suggs for choosing a different team. I don't even have a problem with his choice. My only issue is that he felt compelled to leave the U in the top 5 to keep the local media attention and then after using the U, decided to throw some shade on his way out the door.

This entire spectacle was done and it's probably, what, a 35% chance he ever even plays college basketball?

This was not a good look for Suggs. He didn't have to pick the U or Gonzaga, but the entire episode wreaks of needing attention.

Like you, I wish we had a coach and program that Suggs wanted to play for. However, the kid showed zero class with this entire ordeal. Plenty of other people have done exactly what he did (Dawson Garcia just did and that one actually hurt because I thought we had a chance!) and they didn't feel the need to be petty.
 

gophereric30 said:
If Suggs thinks Gonzaga better team, better coach, best fit for him, then he picked the right place. No need to bash Minnesota. A simple I'm going to Gonzaga because it's the best fit for me. I want to thank all the other teams for the interest, etc not even sure he will end up there. If he goes there, will he ever graduate from there?
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Agree with every word of that.
 


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