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Here are Pitino's comments from Big 10 Media day:
THE MODERATOR: Next up is Minnesota
head coach Richard Pitino.
COACH PITINO: Thank you guys very
much. Appreciate you guys coming. It's been --
since I took the job -- certainly a whirlwind, as
everybody can imagine. But it all starts with just
getting these guys to understand the culture that
we're trying to play with and just start it from there
with recruiting every single day and getting these
guys to understand what we're all about.
Questions?
Q. I'm sure you haven't heard this
question yet. Any advice from Dad about what
the transition is like to -- what the transition is
like to a power six conference and how you've
adjusted to that?
COACH PITINO: I haven't spoken to him
since I took the job, so...
(Laughter).
No, people ask me that a lot, just about is
there one piece of advice. There's not one piece
of advice. There's so many things on a daily basis,
so many little things just that as a coach you don't
deal with when you're at a smaller school, smaller
basketball program to where you're at now.
So I talked to him several times a day
about the little things. So I'm lucky to have him.
Very fortunate.
Q. Can you just talk about this
experience just coming to meet a lot of your
peers here and just kind of get a feel of what
it's like to be in the Big Ten as a head coach?
COACH PITINO: Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Normally growing up I was always the guy kind of
off to the corner and made to come to these things
with my dad or whatever it may be.
So it's exciting, and it just shows you how
great this league is when you walk down the hall
and you see a Tom Izzo or you see a Thad Matta,
or you see a Tom Crean or a Coach Beilein or
whoever it may be.
Then you see all these other guys who are
great coaches as well. It just shows how strong
this league is, how established all these programs
are, and just the traditions are unbelievable.
Q. Most of your background, Big East
and SEC. Watching a lot of tape during the
summer of the Big Ten, anything make it look
different to you than other leagues you've
seen?
COACH PITINO: Yeah, I mean, I think the
one misconception I think is everybody thinks it's a
grind-it-out league. But I watched Indiana's
exhibition game yesterday while I was working out
and they want to run.
I've watched Michigan State. They want to
get out and run. Ohio State. All these teams really
want to get out and run. I think people think it's a
grind-'em-out, physical league, but when I was in
the Big East the first time around it's probably as
physical as it gets.
So, no, I think they're all great styles --
they're pretty similar to a lot of the programs I'm
used to. I think what happens is as you get into
conference, the game slows down a lot. I think
that's just the way it works, especially with
officiating and so on.
So it's not as different, I think, as people
may think.
Q. Just wanted to know what kind of an
identity are you looking to establish with your
team?
COACH PITINO: Well, I would hope when
you watch our team play that it's a team that plays
extremely hard, plays together. Certainly would
like to create offense from our defense. We don't
really want to slow up, run a lot of sets. That would
not be ideal for us. Like to create a lot of
turnovers. That's something that's really important,
October 31, 2013
visit our archives at asapsports.com
2
create a lot of possessions is important, trying to
get a lot of steals.
Last year at FIU we were eighth in the
country in steals. That was something we tried to
hang our hat on and try to generate as much
offense from our defense and hopefully be one of
the best conditioned teams in the country.
Q. Along those lines, from a
conditioning standpoint, how has the team
taken to that, and are you as assiduous about
body fat percentages as your dad is?
COACH PITINO: It runs in the family. We
had a kid, Mo Walker, who was 310 pounds when
we got the job. He's now 260 pounds, a little bit
less than that.
Extremely important. I believe in it. I hired
the strength coach who was at Kentucky who was
with my dad and with the Celtics. That's very
much a part of what we want to do.
I believe more than anything certainly
conditioning is huge, but it provides confidence for
these guys. Mo Walker now feels great when he
walks on the court because he's in the best shape
of his life. That's very much -- we try to hang our
hat on that as much as possible. And the way we
want to play, you can't get tired.
Q. Who are some of the coaches that
you maybe know the best and maybe you've
talked to since you've been here already?
COACH PITINO: I've known Tom Crean
for a couple of years. He was at Marquette when
we were at Louisville and I know him a little bit.
He's been great. Coach Izzo, we played them
when I was at Florida and we played them when I
was up at Florida, and he's always been real kind
to me. And I've known all the guys. John Groce,
when he was an assistant, I was an assistant. Pat
Chambers was an assistant at Villanova when I
was an assistant.
They've all been great. I'm the young guy
in the league, one of the youngest coaches out
there. They've been very receptive to me. They've
given me great advice, been guys that I can lean
on, which is nice to see.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.
THE MODERATOR: Next up is Minnesota
head coach Richard Pitino.
COACH PITINO: Thank you guys very
much. Appreciate you guys coming. It's been --
since I took the job -- certainly a whirlwind, as
everybody can imagine. But it all starts with just
getting these guys to understand the culture that
we're trying to play with and just start it from there
with recruiting every single day and getting these
guys to understand what we're all about.
Questions?
Q. I'm sure you haven't heard this
question yet. Any advice from Dad about what
the transition is like to -- what the transition is
like to a power six conference and how you've
adjusted to that?
COACH PITINO: I haven't spoken to him
since I took the job, so...
(Laughter).
No, people ask me that a lot, just about is
there one piece of advice. There's not one piece
of advice. There's so many things on a daily basis,
so many little things just that as a coach you don't
deal with when you're at a smaller school, smaller
basketball program to where you're at now.
So I talked to him several times a day
about the little things. So I'm lucky to have him.
Very fortunate.
Q. Can you just talk about this
experience just coming to meet a lot of your
peers here and just kind of get a feel of what
it's like to be in the Big Ten as a head coach?
COACH PITINO: Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Normally growing up I was always the guy kind of
off to the corner and made to come to these things
with my dad or whatever it may be.
So it's exciting, and it just shows you how
great this league is when you walk down the hall
and you see a Tom Izzo or you see a Thad Matta,
or you see a Tom Crean or a Coach Beilein or
whoever it may be.
Then you see all these other guys who are
great coaches as well. It just shows how strong
this league is, how established all these programs
are, and just the traditions are unbelievable.
Q. Most of your background, Big East
and SEC. Watching a lot of tape during the
summer of the Big Ten, anything make it look
different to you than other leagues you've
seen?
COACH PITINO: Yeah, I mean, I think the
one misconception I think is everybody thinks it's a
grind-it-out league. But I watched Indiana's
exhibition game yesterday while I was working out
and they want to run.
I've watched Michigan State. They want to
get out and run. Ohio State. All these teams really
want to get out and run. I think people think it's a
grind-'em-out, physical league, but when I was in
the Big East the first time around it's probably as
physical as it gets.
So, no, I think they're all great styles --
they're pretty similar to a lot of the programs I'm
used to. I think what happens is as you get into
conference, the game slows down a lot. I think
that's just the way it works, especially with
officiating and so on.
So it's not as different, I think, as people
may think.
Q. Just wanted to know what kind of an
identity are you looking to establish with your
team?
COACH PITINO: Well, I would hope when
you watch our team play that it's a team that plays
extremely hard, plays together. Certainly would
like to create offense from our defense. We don't
really want to slow up, run a lot of sets. That would
not be ideal for us. Like to create a lot of
turnovers. That's something that's really important,
October 31, 2013
visit our archives at asapsports.com
2
create a lot of possessions is important, trying to
get a lot of steals.
Last year at FIU we were eighth in the
country in steals. That was something we tried to
hang our hat on and try to generate as much
offense from our defense and hopefully be one of
the best conditioned teams in the country.
Q. Along those lines, from a
conditioning standpoint, how has the team
taken to that, and are you as assiduous about
body fat percentages as your dad is?
COACH PITINO: It runs in the family. We
had a kid, Mo Walker, who was 310 pounds when
we got the job. He's now 260 pounds, a little bit
less than that.
Extremely important. I believe in it. I hired
the strength coach who was at Kentucky who was
with my dad and with the Celtics. That's very
much a part of what we want to do.
I believe more than anything certainly
conditioning is huge, but it provides confidence for
these guys. Mo Walker now feels great when he
walks on the court because he's in the best shape
of his life. That's very much -- we try to hang our
hat on that as much as possible. And the way we
want to play, you can't get tired.
Q. Who are some of the coaches that
you maybe know the best and maybe you've
talked to since you've been here already?
COACH PITINO: I've known Tom Crean
for a couple of years. He was at Marquette when
we were at Louisville and I know him a little bit.
He's been great. Coach Izzo, we played them
when I was at Florida and we played them when I
was up at Florida, and he's always been real kind
to me. And I've known all the guys. John Groce,
when he was an assistant, I was an assistant. Pat
Chambers was an assistant at Villanova when I
was an assistant.
They've all been great. I'm the young guy
in the league, one of the youngest coaches out
there. They've been very receptive to me. They've
given me great advice, been guys that I can lean
on, which is nice to see.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.