1st year coach Dennis Gates has MIZZOU flying

I have no idea. I have been married to one wife for decades and have enjoyed contentment even when storms have risen. We complement each other quite well even if we don't own the biggest and best of anything.
Contentment is an amazing grace.
It's a common saying buddy
 


"The administration" has been a boogeyman under the bed for as long as I can remember. Sid Hartman would write about it back in the 80s and maybe earlier, blaming "the administration" for our sucky sports. It's a sturdy crutch.

I'm not going to say it's not the problem, but I want specifics. What exactly is the administration doing or not doing to somehow make seemingly capable men like Monson, Smith and Pitino--people who have been successful elsewhere--unable to sustain success here? Is blaming "the administration" an attempt to get to the bottom of our seeming systemic problems, or is it just a crutch to mollify fans into hopelessness?
The last "administration" issue I'd blame for directly impacting the basketball program was the Royce White/Mbakwe fiasco. I felt Maturi played that one scared and let the UMPD let Royce twist in the wind for months over the dumb laptop thing. A more aggressive AD would have let Royce and Trevor play that year.

Nothing in the Pitino era (Reggie Lynch, the video scandal) were even close to the line and any school would have handled them more or less the same.

Outside of the Barn, which is debatable, there's nothing external hampering this program. It's on Ben and his staff.
 

They are 12-1 and just crushed Kentucky (89-75).

A little more about the roster turnover Here.

- only 3 returning players from last years team

We’ll on their way to an NCAA bid this year.

* also just recently bet Illinois by 22 and Wichita State (still a solid program)
I love the fact that they got throttled at home, no less, by the Jayhawks 95-67.
 

And it may have been one of the best Final Fours ever, at that. Phi Slamma Jamma vs Louisville in a high-flying semi with a crazy amount of talent, followed by the legendary Houston-NC State final with the last second Lorenzo Charles dunk of Dereck Whittenburg’s airball, and JImmy V’s wild search for someone to hug (I still cannot believe a college team with Olajuwon and Drexler—two of the top 50 players of all time—couldn’t win a championship).
Imagine the meltdown on this site had that been the Gophers with Lewis as the HC.
 


I just think you need to be an elite coach to succeed in the B1G. Pitino was just unable to do any one thing at an elite level to have sustained success. As others have stated before, he couldn't recruit well enough to make up for his lack of coaching, and he couldn't coach well enough to make up for his lack of recruiting. At least we got Jordan Murphy, Amir Coffey, and Dan Oturu. Easily my 3 favorite Gophers this century.
Pitino had us in or at the edge of the Top 25 most every year with the Gophers, just as he has at New Mexico. It wasn't on court coaching that unraveled each season. Somebody gets hurt or suspended and there is no depth.
If his team stays intact at New Mexico it'll be the first time in his career. It it doesn't, he will spiral again. Luck has not been his friend. He's not a system guy...he needs talent...he never has a safety net for injuries. Hopefully, they stay healthy.
 

Lot of new coaches doing well. One thing to remember is half the SEC switched coaches last year so inevitably a couple of them will stumble. Believe Ben was 11-1 before his collapse began and the lack of depth wore out. Truly a new year to year era of college basketball love it or hate it but being good in year one doesn't promise you anything in year two or three and being bad in year two isn't necessary a death sentence for year three either. The one thing you can't do if you want a job long term you can't be bad three years in a row
Not all 11-1s are equal, of course.
 

"The administration" has been a boogeyman under the bed for as long as I can remember. Sid Hartman would write about it back in the 80s and maybe earlier, blaming "the administration" for our sucky sports. It's a sturdy crutch.

I'm not going to say it's not the problem, but I want specifics. What exactly is the administration doing or not doing to somehow make seemingly capable men like Monson, Smith and Pitino--people who have been successful elsewhere--unable to sustain success here? Is blaming "the administration" an attempt to get to the bottom of our seeming systemic problems, or is it just a crutch to mollify fans into hopelessness?
Our administration has sabotaged our 3 best basketball teams of the last 25 years.

Well they let us make a Final Four...but they blew it up and vowed it would never happen again. We know what they did to that team. The NCAA wasn't on us. It was all done from within.

Suspending Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe off of our NCAA team that returned its top 9 players cost us a likely Final Four. We would have been the National Championship favorite. That team would have been devastating at every position. And very deep.

And they kicked out our only big man, returning Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Year Reggie Lynch...off of Pitino's best team. We were Top-15...and national announcers were saying we looked like a Final Four contender.
 

Pitinio's success at New Mexico makes me wonder if the U's lack of success in basketball is more due to the administration and athletic department and less about the coaching staff. If other schools can have early success with new coaches, why not the U? as for me, i consider this year's team an indictment of an administration, athletic department and a coaching staff.
Why specifically Sid?
 



Our administration has sabotaged our 3 best basketball teams of the last 25 years.

Well they let us make a Final Four...but they blew it up and vowed it would never happen again. We know what they did to that team. The NCAA wasn't on us. It was all done from within.

Suspending Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe off of our NCAA team that returned its top 9 players cost us a likely Final Four. We would have been the National Championship favorite. That team would have been devastating at every position. And very deep.

And they kicked out our only big man, returning Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Year Reggie Lynch...off of Pitino's best team. We were Top-15...and national announcers were saying we looked like a Final Four contender.
Your defending Reggie Lynch?

Do you have any women in your life?

Some things, like young women’s safety at a school, are more important than ANY player.

Good Grief bro.
 

Our administration has sabotaged our 3 best basketball teams of the last 25 years.

Well they let us make a Final Four...but they blew it up and vowed it would never happen again. We know what they did to that team. The NCAA wasn't on us. It was all done from within.

Suspending Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe off of our NCAA team that returned its top 9 players cost us a likely Final Four. We would have been the National Championship favorite. That team would have been devastating at every position. And very deep.

And they kicked out our only big man, returning Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Year Reggie Lynch...off of Pitino's best team. We were Top-15...and national announcers were saying we looked like a Final Four contender.

Your delusional homerism is next level
 


Our administration has sabotaged our 3 best basketball teams of the last 25 years.

Well they let us make a Final Four...but they blew it up and vowed it would never happen again. We know what they did to that team. The NCAA wasn't on us. It was all done from within.

Suspending Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe off of our NCAA team that returned its top 9 players cost us a likely Final Four. We would have been the National Championship favorite. That team would have been devastating at every position. And very deep.

And they kicked out our only big man, returning Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Year Reggie Lynch...off of Pitino's best team. We were Top-15...and national announcers were saying we looked like a Final Four contender.
Mbakwe played 31 games the year White would have been here. Not sure what suspension I’m missing. He played every game.
 





Suspending Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe off of our NCAA team that returned its top 9 players cost us a likely Final Four. We would have been the National Championship favorite. That team would have been devastating at every position. And very deep.
If you keep saying things like this, how will we know when you've gone crazy?
 

Why specifically Sid?
if the question is why do i consider this year's team an indictment? investment return

the Gopher's budget for basketball is $6.3M. kenpom has the gophers at 199, sagarin 171. The U is getting similar results to schools that spend much less on basketball. For example, San Jose State's (ranked 170 on sagarin) basketball budget is $2.3M. UNLV's is $4.8M

with their big budgets, my general attitude is that any big ten basketball program not in the top 100 is either incompetent or uncaring
 

if the question is why do i consider this year's team an indictment? investment return

the Gopher's budget for basketball is $6.3M. kenpom has the gophers at 199, sagarin 171. The U is getting similar results to schools that spend much less on basketball. For example, San Jose State's (ranked 170 on sagarin) basketball budget is $2.3M. UNLV's is $4.8M

with their big budgets, my general attitude is that any big ten basketball program not in the top 100 is either incompetent or uncaring
On the subject of uncaring...Did any of you see the StarTribune article about Hugh McCutcheon and his retirement from coaching? The headline was striking: something about getting beyond wins and losses. In the article, McCutcheon decries the emphasis on winning at the major college level and wants his new ministry in the athletic department to be focused on other things and other aspects of the well being of coaches and staff.

Not that employers shouldn't be concerned and invested in the whole beings of their coaches, but to me this is another puzzling and off-putting case of people making a handsome living from big-time sports but wondering why there needs to be such strings (pressure) attached to the big-time compensation and notoriety. The answer to that question is clear, of course, and the phenomenon of people wanting to have their cake and eat it too isn't new, but...really?

Leave it to the U to institutionalize the concept of "it's only a game" but still charge us four figures of money for a season ticket.
 

Cool. You should post on their message board.
 

if the question is why do i consider this year's team an indictment? investment return

the Gopher's budget for basketball is $6.3M. kenpom has the gophers at 199, sagarin 171. The U is getting similar results to schools that spend much less on basketball. For example, San Jose State's (ranked 170 on sagarin) basketball budget is $2.3M. UNLV's is $4.8M

with their big budgets, my general attitude is that any big ten basketball program not in the top 100 is either incompetent or uncaring
No, it was regarding that the school and administration are the issue with the basketball program not being successful; this was Sid’s mantra for why the U always sucked, more or less, in all sports.

I asked for specific examples of the issues and why is this malfeasance not slowing down Peter John & company?

I’m hear to learn- please educate us.
 

I asked for specific examples of the issues and why is this malfeasance not slowing down Peter John & company?
is that true? Fleck had WMU 15th in 2016 with fewer resources and less budget than his 2019 10th ranking at the U. getting your team ranked 15th or 10th seems like a huge accomplishment to me so i view Fleck as an outstanding coach. perhaps by hiring a coach that already demonstrated some level of success was about as good as a hiring decision as the U could make

like most everyone else on this board, i can only view the results and I have no insight into the decision making at the U. I think dpol is the only one I've ever suspected as having some insight into the process at the U
 


Gates was the coach I was hoping would coach the Gophers after Pitino. Once CBJ was hired I'm rolling with him for now.
This is a good head space to be in. I am out until after the badger game besides I now know how annoying my sht posts are due to mnjay
 

This is a good head space to be in. I am out until after the badger game besides I now know how annoying my sht posts are due to mnjay
I prefer your recruiting prognostication. You’re more accurate than the GI guys!
 

"The administration" has been a boogeyman under the bed for as long as I can remember. Sid Hartman would write about it back in the 80s and maybe earlier, blaming "the administration" for our sucky sports. It's a sturdy crutch.

I'm not going to say it's not the problem, but I want specifics. What exactly is the administration doing or not doing to somehow make seemingly capable men like Monson, Smith and Pitino--people who have been successful elsewhere--unable to sustain success here? Is blaming "the administration" an attempt to get to the bottom of our seeming systemic problems, or is it just a crutch to mollify fans into hopelessness?
When your volleyball team gets more time on BTN than your basketball programs, there is a problem. I understand volleyball is big and all, but it shouldn't be ahead of your basketball programs.

I like Pitino, but I don't think his name was going to sell in B1G without backing it up with X's and O's and wins. He can win big at New Mexico. He knows how to find talented players and maybe a 2nd time around at a P5 school he will be better.

He also isn't going to kill himself in the recruiting world. He's a family guy who doesn't seem like someone that was going to kiss a$$ to MN kids to get them in the program. Either you want in with him or you don't.

Seeing these other guys winning big though has me concerned with Johnson's trajectory.
 
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Seeing these other guys willing big though has me concerned with Johnson's trajectory.

Nonsense. Ben knows what none of the other 349 D1 NCAA basketball HC's know; you have to look long, LONG term, forget winning in your first 2-3 years. That's not how you get it done.
 

Nonsense. Ben knows what none of the other 349 D1 NCAA basketball HC's know; you have to look long, LONG term, forget winning in your first 2-3 years. That's not how you get it done.
Yawn. 🥱
 

When your volleyball team gets more time on BTN than your basketball programs, there is a problem. I understand volleyball is big and all, but it shouldn't be ahead of your basketball programs.

I like Pitino, but I don't think his name was going to sell in B1G without backing it up with X's and O's and wins. He can win big at New Mexico. He knows how to find talented players and maybe a 2nd time around at a P5 school he will be better.

He also isn't going to kill himself in the recruiting world. He's a family guy who doesn't seem like someone that was going to kiss a$$ to MN kids to get them in the program. Either you want in with him or you don't.

Seeing these other guys winning big though has me concerned with Johnson's trajectory.
Volleyball gets far less time on BTN than men’s basketball. They had 12 matches on BTN. Out of 31.

Men’s basketball had 20 games on BTN (one was cancelled), many that aren’t on BTN are FS1 or ESPN (which isn’t the choice of the gophers/conference necessarily). And one of these two teams is competitive.

Also—it isn’t the choice of the schools as to what gets broadcast. They don’t get allotted hours to pick and choose. BTN would rather show Friday night gopher VB than Saturday gopher womens hoops because VB is up against nothing. Womens hoops is up against men’s basketball. Why would they show that over a men’s game?
 

Volleyball gets far less time on BTN than men’s basketball. They had 12 matches on BTN. Out of 31.

Men’s basketball had 20 games on BTN (one was cancelled), many that aren’t on BTN are FS1 or ESPN (which isn’t the choice of the gophers/conference necessarily). And one of these two teams is competitive.

Also—it isn’t the choice of the schools as to what gets broadcast. They don’t get allotted hours to pick and choose. BTN would rather show Friday night gopher VB than Saturday gopher womens hoops because VB is up against nothing. Womens hoops is up against men’s basketball. Why would they show that over a men’s game?
I get it and know that the school has no say in the matter. Men's sports rule BTN and nearly all Men's basketball games are on TV. However, Gophers are way down the pecking order for teams chosen to be on TV in the non-conference.
 

I get it and know that the school has no say in the matter. Men's sports rule BTN and nearly all Men's basketball games are on TV. However, Gophers are way down the pecking order for teams chosen to be on TV in the non-conference.
As a general fan--are you more likely to tune in to watch a pair of ranked teams or Minnesota vs. Chicago St? The pecking order is in part determined by the quality of the team. The gophers are a very low quality team.
 




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