All Things Collection of Pitino/Gophers Articles Thread

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Here's what they're saying down in FIU territory:

FIU’s first one-and-done won’t be a player, but a coach.

After coaching FIU to its first winning record in 13 years and within a basket of the NCAA Tournament, men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino will move on to the University of Minnesota, according to sources close to the FIU basketball program. Minnesota will hire Pitino, 30, after one year of his first head coaching job.

Neither Pitino nor FIU athletic director Pete Garcia responded to repeated calls or text messages. Garcia will speak to the media at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Pitino will replace Tubby Smith, who was fired by Minnesota last week the day after the University of Florida blew out Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Ironically, at Smith’s previous job, the University of Kentucky, he followed Rick Pitino, Richard’s father who is now coaching the University of Louisville in the Final Four for the second consecutive year.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/03/3321738/fiu-basketball-coach-pitino-to.html#storylink=cpy

Son of Hall of Famer and Louisville coach Rick Pitino, Richard took the FIU job against his father’s advice.

This time, Rick likely encouraged Richard, 30, to make the move.

A father wants his son to be successful, and doing so was not guaranteed at FIU. Of course, that's also true about Minnesota, though the school's resources and membership in the Big Ten offer a better starting point than Richard had in Miami...

On Tuesday morning, Pitino repeated what he had said in December about wanting to live in Florida and grow the FIU program.

"The one thing I love about FIU is that I'm very eager to get people to this place," he said. "We've got a beautiful campus. We've got a lot of great things happening. We've got construction everywhere. We're in Miami. So, there are a lot of reasons why we're trying to get the FIU name out there."

In an attempt to help FIU's exposure, Pitino helped design a court surface for next season that shows a full-court visual of a beach.

"The reason why I took this job is, when you say Miami, everybody perks up a little bit," Pitino said. "I'm up here in Louisville and everybody keeps saying, 'Why aren't you down in Miami. Get out of here.' I think that's what excites me about the place."

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/sto...ard-Pitino-to-Minn?blockID=887903&feedID=3722
 


Thank you GL for that interview. He sounds like a kid with his head on straight.
 







EVERYONE RELAX. NT got the go-ahead from Dicky V. Comeback city baby!

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Charley Walters: Billy Donovan connections in Gophers' hire are unmistakable

Critical for Pitino will be hiring a staff especially well-connected to Minnesota high school and AAU programs. No one in Minnesota is better suited for such a position than Dave Thorson, who has coached DeLaSalle to the past two state Class 3A high school championships and three titles since 2006.

Thorson, a former Gophers assistant under Clem Haskins who left three years before Haskins' NCAA scandal, coaches 6-foot-7 post player Reid Travis, who with Apple Valley's Tyus Jones and Robbinsdale Cooper's Rashad Vaughn comprise the state's nationally coveted trio of prep juniors.

Thorson also is connected with many of the country's top high school and major college coaches. It also will be important for Pitino to quickly develop a relationship
with Rene Pulley, who operates the nationally renowned Pulley AAU program.

Travis and Jones will play for the Pulley team that in two weeks will compete in Nike circuit tournaments in Los Angeles and Virginia during NCAA open recruiting periods. Most of the nation's top Division I coaches are expected to attend those tournaments.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22933398/shooter-now-ex-gophers-serve-ray-williams-honorary

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Charley Walters: Billy Donovan connections in Gophers' hire are unmistakable

Critical for Pitino will be hiring a staff especially well-connected to Minnesota high school and AAU programs. No one in Minnesota is better suited for such a position than Dave Thorson, who has coached DeLaSalle to the past two state Class 3A high school championships and three titles since 2006.

Thorson, a former Gophers assistant under Clem Haskins who left three years before Haskins' NCAA scandal, coaches 6-foot-7 post player Reid Travis, who with Apple Valley's Tyus Jones and Robbinsdale Cooper's Rashad Vaughn comprise the state's nationally coveted trio of prep juniors.

Thorson also is connected with many of the country's top high school and major college coaches. It also will be important for Pitino to quickly develop a relationship
with Rene Pulley, who operates the nationally renowned Pulley AAU program.

Travis and Jones will play for the Pulley team that in two weeks will compete in Nike circuit tournaments in Los Angeles and Virginia during NCAA open recruiting periods. Most of the nation's top Division I coaches are expected to attend those tournaments.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22933398/shooter-now-ex-gophers-serve-ray-williams-honorary

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Thorson wouldn't be a bad idea! Good call here
 

Amelia: Pitino inherits Gophers team with holes — but potential

“The program was getting stale,” Mbakwe said. “Things weren’t as sharp as they needed to be to compete in the Big Ten, and hopefully with this young, fresh, new approach and a fresh set of eyes and new things implemented both offensively and defensively, it will be able to re-energize these kids.”

“I think he’s inheriting a pretty good group,” said Spencer Tollackson, a former Gophers player and current analyst for the team’s radio broadcasts. “I think this team with the talent that they have coming back, and hopefully if this guy is as good as people say he is, they could be a pretty good team next year.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/201364641.html

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Charley Walters: Billy Donovan connections in Gophers' hire are unmistakable

Critical for Pitino will be hiring a staff especially well-connected to Minnesota high school and AAU programs. No one in Minnesota is better suited for such a position than Dave Thorson, who has coached DeLaSalle to the past two state Class 3A high school championships and three titles since 2006.

Thorson, a former Gophers assistant under Clem Haskins who left three years before Haskins' NCAA scandal, coaches 6-foot-7 post player Reid Travis, who with Apple Valley's Tyus Jones and Robbinsdale Cooper's Rashad Vaughn comprise the state's nationally coveted trio of prep juniors.

Thorson also is connected with many of the country's top high school and major college coaches. It also will be important for Pitino to quickly develop a relationship
with Rene Pulley, who operates the nationally renowned Pulley AAU program.

Travis and Jones will play for the Pulley team that in two weeks will compete in Nike circuit tournaments in Los Angeles and Virginia during NCAA open recruiting periods. Most of the nation's top Division I coaches are expected to attend those tournaments.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22933398/shooter-now-ex-gophers-serve-ray-williams-honorary

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Dave Thorson sure gets a lot of pub for being a high school coach...is he basketball's version of Mike Grant? I highly doubt Pitino (or Teague/Ellis) will be looking at a current high school coach to be an assistant coach. That's not a knock on Thorson's ability (of which I only know what is written), just a feeling that the Gophers will have guys who have been in the college game recently on the bench next season.
 




EG#9 said:
Dave Thorson sure gets a lot of pub for being a high school coach...is he basketball's version of Mike Grant? I highly doubt Pitino (or Teague/Ellis) will be looking at a current high school coach to be an assistant coach. That's not a knock on Thorson's ability (of which I only know what is written), just a feeling that the Gophers will have guys who have been in the college game recently on the bench next season.
Click to expand...

Thorson could've gone back into college coaching at any time in the past 10 years if he wanted to. He's exactly where he wants to be
 

Reusse: Gophers put their faith in a kid coach

A week ago a lot of the talk was about Flip Saunders. Today we have Richard Pitino.

Tell me a week ago that the choice was Flip Saunders, a passionate Gopher with an outstanding resume, or a 30-year-old former student manager with little more than a famous surname to validate his candidacy, and I would have been standing in front of Williams Arena, acting as goofy as Larry Spooner at a Vikings’ stadium hearing, holding a sign and shouting, “Flip, Flip, Flip.’’

Teague and Ellis started this search as the two smartest guys in any basketball room. They return with a coach much more suspect than what poor old Northwestern managed in Chris Collins, an assistant but fully trained, rather than the nonfiction version of Billy Heywood.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/201367091.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
 

Scoggins: Hiring Pitino the kind of leap Gophers had to take

It’s an intriguing hire, one that carries a high risk-reward. This is the type of hire we should have predicted all along.

Pitino is young and energetic and has good contacts, which should help in recruiting. He’s been a head coach only one season, which produced surprising success as he cleaned up the mess that Isiah Thomas left him at FIU.

But make no mistake, this is a risky hire. Pitino is young and largely unproven as a head coach. The Big Ten is filled with elite coaches and powerhouse programs. This is an enormous leap for him.

It’s impossible to predict how Pitino will handle this challenge, but Teague’s decision to fire Smith was still the right call. That opinion hasn’t changed. The end result was not what we expected nine days ago, though.

Teague couldn’t pull off a splash hire. Instead, he made an intriguing hire with a famous last name.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/201367051.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
 

KARE 11: Proud father says son is 'more than ready' for Gophers job

"I am super excited for him," Rick Pitino said when asked about his son's opportunity in Minnesota. Rick and his Louisville team arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday for the Final Four.

"He's more than ready for it," Rick Pitino said. "From the time he was 15, I groomed him for it."

http://www.kare11.com/sports/articl...r-says-son-is-more-than-ready-for-Gophers-job

Go Gophers!!
 

WCCO: Fans Love New Gophers Coach’s Youth, Resume

And former Gopher, and now radio commentator, Spencer Tollackson says he thinks St. Michel’s analysis is right on the money.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “I’m really excited because he’s a young guy. He’s 30-years-old. He’s three years older than I am.”

Tollackson says he thinks Pitino’s young age will help to attract high school standouts.

“You gotta be able to relate to these guys,” he said. “And I think he’ll be able to do that.”

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/04/03/fans-love-new-gophers-coachs-youth-resume/

Go Gophers!!
 



Ex-Gopher Damian Johnson: 'I hope the fans are patient'

"They thought maybe he would be better than his dad one day," Johnson said. "They said he was good at recruiting and developing your game. They said he was a basketball junkie."

"I hope the fans are patient," Johnson said. "I thought next year would be a rebuilding year no matter who took over because you're losing (seniors) Trevor (Mbakwe) and Rodney (Williams). They'll have more in the backcourt with (starters Andre Hollins, Austin Hollins and Joe Coleman). But they finished ninth in the Big Ten this year. So expectations won't be too high. But in two or three years, I think they should be moving towards the top-tier."

"He's a nice kid; he's energetic; he's got name recognition," Pulley said. "I hope he can get it done. But I would think players of the caliber of (Jones, Vaughn and Travis) would actually play for the dad (Rick Pitino) rather than the son."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22944415/ex-gopher-damian-johnson-i-hope-fans-are

Go Gophers!!
 

Bilas is on board as well

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Yahoo: Minnesota’s gamble on Richard Pitino may look shrewd in a few years

If Minnesota fans are hoping their new coach turns out to be a young version of his father, they're probably only half right.

Those close to Richard Pitino say the 30-year-old rising star in the coaching industry is a blend of his dad and his dad's most well-known protege.

Richard Pitino did indeed inherit Rick Pitino's facial features, quick wit and Long Island accent, but his laid-back nature and ability to relate well with players is more reminiscent of Florida coach Billy Donovan. And Richard's strong work ethic and attention to detail is consistent with both his mentors.

"Richard is not like me at all when I was his age. He's exactly like Billy," Rick Pitino said in March of last year. "His mannerisms are a lot like Billy. He loves offense like Billy loves offense. He's a great scout, a great preparer of game plans, like Billy was. He's very humble, like Billy was. He laughs like Billy. You know, like Billy told my wife, 'I really miss having fun with Richard.' He likes to have a lot of fun. He's very close with the players, like Billy was."

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab...ino-may-look-shrewd-few-053848205--ncaab.html

Go Gophers!!
 


Richard Pitino's resume is equal or better than Shaka Smart's when he became a head coach, and that turned out to be a pretty good deal for VCU. Go Richard and Go Gophers!

Shaka Smart
1999–2001 California (PA) (asst.)
2001–2003 Dayton (dir. of basketball ops.)
2003–2006 Akron (asst.)
2006–2008 Clemson (asst.)
2008–2009 Florida (asst.)
2009–present Virginia Commonwealth (Head Coach)



Richard Pitino
2004-2005 Coll. of Charleston (admin. asst.)
2005-2006 Northeastern (asst.)
2006-2007 Duquesne (asst.)
2007-2009 Louisville (asst.)
2009-2011 Florida (asst.)
2011-2012 Louisville (associate head coach)
2012-2013 Florida International U (Head Coach)
2013-present University of Minnesota (Head Coach)
 

RandBall: Thursday (Five things about Richard Pitino) edition: Wha' Happened?

Can he recruit the Midwest? Tubby Smith did well outside the area, landing Austin/Andre Hollins from Memphis and Ralph Sampson III, a prized recruit at the time, from Georgia. But with a ton of great recruits in Minnesota and nearby western Wisconsin in 2014 and 2015, Pitino will also need to work his way into the local scene quickly. Pretty much every job he has had so far has had an East Coast bent to it. Louisville is the only one that's even borderline. You could call Louisville either North, South, East or Midwest depending on where you live.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/201433451.html

Go Gophers!!
 

AP: Rick Pitino says son is ready for Minnesota job

"I drove him harder than I drove Billy so he's more than ready," Rick Pitino said Thursday in Atlanta, where his Cardinals are preparing to take on Wichita State in the Final Four. "What he did this year at Florida International, I never thought anybody could do. He took walk-ons, eight new players, he turned around a bad academic situation and won 18 games and was a bucket away from going to the NCAA (tournament) his first year. So he is ready to coach. I feel bad that I drove him that hard, now I'm happy I did."

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/colle...s-ready-for-Minnes?blockID=888457&feedID=3590

Go Gophers!!
 

Amelia blog: Thoughts on Richard Pitino from those who know him

Larry Shyatt, current head coach at Wyoming, former assistant with Pitino at Florida:

On Pitino's early success: “For anybody jealous because of his age, I’ll tell you what, he’s way beyond in terms of maturity and intellect of any young coach that I’ve been around except perhaps Shaka.”

On Pitino's strengths and how he related to players: “His get-along-ability was terrific, but I think that comes from not only him understanding relationships but maybe more importantly gaining a level of respect from not just them but his peers, the rest of our staff. I think once you have a level of respect, I think kids are pretty responsive and very observant. I think the one thing that stands out is that he plays and coaches to a high intellect and I think that that’s pretty obvious once you meet him.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/Gold_in_the_Barn.html

Go Gophers!!
 

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