Braeden Carrington: "Before Ben came I never would have went to the Gophers."

[BarnBurner]

Highs were not high for me. Coach of the tear was coming off a historically bad year he was responsible for. Those get validated by winning multiples or winning national coach of the year. There are worse coaches. It IS NOT PERSONAL. Just nothing special about his body of work or how he goes about his business.

For u, Badger, it is personal.

 

[builtbadgers]

I don’t think your argument is with me?

I do not even see a argument and every poster has their own opinions.

 

[Some guy]

My biggest struggle with Pitino is we never seemed to have an offensive identity, we often looked lost in the half court game and many times it was just guys taking bad 3 after bad 3 and then Pitino saying after the game that he wished they wouldn't take so many 3s (at least this was how it was at the end of his run).

Even with the injuries and roster issues you could see what Johnson was trying to do on offense last season.

With Pitino it often felt like a collection of solid players that didn't really gel together for one reason or another. To early to say what Ben's teams will look like long term but I am hopeful he can assemble a roster that works well together.

Hard to have an identity when your roster is a revolving door

If you’re going to be a program with half the team new bodies every year you have to have a lot of talent to overcome the lack of continuity

 

[Gopherfan84]

Knowing Xs and Os and designing a game is one thing. Getting your team to implement that plan is another. That's where Pitino struggled the most. There would be brief stretches they would look good, and then it would just all fall apart. He couldn't get the team to really implement the plan, and did little to hold them to it - on both ends of the floor. Further, he rarely made effective adjustments. That's where Ben and staff have demonstrated a great level of superiority to Pitino. They adjusted well during games, and when playing a team a second time.

Well said. I’m all for an anti Pitino convo, but the idea he doesn’t know hoops is wrong as some project here. His ability to create relationships and get guys to work hard for him was his downfall.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

this may be simplistic, but

if you are NOT one of the blue bloods that can refill its roster every year with 4* and 5* players, then it comes down to this:

if you want to have a winning program, you need the right coaching staff, right roster, right chemistry, avoid injuries and have a little luck.

if all of those things fall into place, you can have a good season. the real trick is putting 2 or 3 good seasons together in a row.

But, if you miss on a couple of recruits, have a couple of injuries, or the chemistry isn't right, then it's easy to yo-yo from good season to down season. that is what really separates the upper echelon from the average programs.

and like it or not, the Gopher men's basketball program has been an average or slightly below-average program for quite a while.

So, it's not a question of "Pitino was a bad coach." As I see it, it's more of a question of "Pitino wasn't a good enough coach to overcome all of the issues he encountered." You can get mad at Pitino, or feel sorry for him, but it comes down to the same thing: he wasn't a great coach, and the Gophers needed him to be a great coach.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Peter principle.

 

[Fleckoff]

You may be right about Jefferson and his ranking, but overall Prep Hoops is a pretty terrible site. Many of their rankings don't make a lot of sense.

California is a good example where Dior Johnson, Vincent Iwuchukwu, Zion Cruz, and Jaxon Kohler are ranked in their national top 50 overall, but are nowhere to be found in the Southern California top 5, even though that's where they are from. They also have Henley ranked 3rd in the Southern California top 5, but nowhere in their overall top 250. That doesn't make any sense.

They also still have Lee ranked ahead of Carrington who's going to St. Thomas.

Carrington's ahead of Lee in the National rankings. The national rankings have Heide a little higher in the 120's, JOJ a little lower in the 160's, but Carrington, King, Watson and Lee are all between 140-150, which I think is pretty accurate, Lee should probably be a little lower, but overall because it's more local guys that have seen the kids play compared to 247, I think they're more accurate

 

[Spottedmuskie]

I wonder where Pitino will be an assistant coach

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Carrington's ahead of Lee in the National rankings. The national rankings have Heide a little higher in the 120's, JOJ a little lower in the 160's, but Carrington, King, Watson and Lee are all between 140-150, which I think is pretty accurate, Lee should probably be a little lower, but overall because it's more local guys that have seen the kids play compared to 247, I think they're more accurate

I already mentioned how the national rankings don't align with the state rankings in many cases. That's the first reason to disregard this site.

Their national rankings also include 12 Minnesota players in the top 250, including players like Antwaun Massey, who you really can't find any new information on, and BJ Omot, who is uncommitted on their site even though he committed to UND over 3 months ago. They also have DJ Jefferson still committed to Tulsa. According to them, all of these players are better than Henley, who is not in the top 250.

I get that you want to believe in Prep Hoops because it has Payne and Carrington rated more highly, but overall it is a garbage site.

 

[Fleckoff]

I already mentioned how the national rankings don't align with the state rankings in many cases. That's the first reason to disregard this site.

Their national rankings also include 12 Minnesota players in the top 250, including players like Antwaun Massey, who you really can't find any new information on, and BJ Omot, who is uncommitted on their site even though he committed to UND over 3 months ago. They also have DJ Jefferson still committed to Tulsa. According to them, all of these players are better than Henley, who is not in the top 250.

I get that you want to believe in Prep Hoops because it has Payne and Carrington rated more highly, but overall it is a garbage site.

Sure buddy, I'll trust the site that has DJ Jefferson as a four star (eyeroll) Carrington just won Mr Basketball I'll trust the site that doesn't have him 100 spots lower than the peers he just out performed

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Sure buddy, I'll trust the site that has DJ Jefferson as a four star (eyeroll) Carrington just won Mr Basketball I'll trust the site that doesn't have him 100 spots lower than the peers he just out performed

Ok buddy, trust the site that still has Jefferson committed to Tulsa and can't simply align their state rankings to their national rankings. The two basic functions of a recruiting site.

 

[Tucker32]

Well said. I’m all for an anti Pitino convo, but the idea he doesn’t know hoops is wrong as some project here. His ability to create relationships and get guys to work hard for him was his downfall.

Agreed. I really hope for Pitino that he learns from his experience here as he seems to be a great guy. No matter the leadership position, coaching or business, it is a big difference moving from asst to the head seat, and balancing providing support with holding people accountable to their roles is difficult for any leader.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Well said. I’m all for an anti Pitino convo, but the idea he doesn’t know hoops is wrong as some project here. His ability to create relationships and get guys to work hard for him was his downfall.

I think he knows a lot about basketball compared to the average basketball fan but I do not think he knows much about basketball compared to other basketball coaches. Either that or he is unable to implement his vision.

As annoying as Pitino's recruiting as at times, I thought our talent was better than our results on the court.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I think he knows a lot about basketball compared to the average basketball fan but I do not think he knows much about basketball compared to other basketball coaches. Either that or he is unable to implement his vision.

As annoying as Pitino's recruiting as at times, I thought our talent was better than our results on the court.

I’m in the camp that believes it the part in bold. I think his inability to build relationships hurt him in getting the most out of his talent.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

I’m in the camp that believes it the part in bold. I think his inability to build relationships hurt him in getting the most out of his talent.

No, those kids left the U cuz their buddy RP got canned. Many players really liked him.

 

[Some guy]

I think he knows a lot about basketball compared to the average basketball fan but I do not think he knows much about basketball compared to other basketball coaches. Either that or he is unable to implement his vision.

As annoying as Pitino's recruiting as at times, I thought our talent was better than our results on the court.

I’m the total opposite. I’m not saying he was a great coach but I think we out performed our lack of talent

 

[Halsey Hall]

You should have went to a grammar class.

 

[Bobek]

No, those kids left the U cuz their buddy RP got canned. Many players really liked him.

Who is RP?

 

[Johnnyboy18]

Pour one out for SpauldingNo!

 

[Bobek]

RP = Richard Pitino. Duh!