Chip Scoggins: Gophers basketball turnaround began off the court

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
61,159
Reaction score
16,792
Points
113
per Chip:

Pitino heard people calling for his job while noting that his massive buyout made it impossible to fire him.

"I just hated hearing that," he said. "It made my skin so uneasy. But I get it. You win eight games and your guys get in trouble, you should not be praised."

Pitino didn't pretend his mountainous mess was a molehill. He showed self-awareness in realizing that the stain would not go away without substantive change.

"I haven't done a lot in this profession as a head coach because I haven't been a head coach for that long," he said. "I didn't have a lot to stand on. So I couldn't sit there and say, 'This is my track record, leave me alone.' I've got to do something to teach these guys and improve the image of our program."

His brainchild should be copied by every Gophers team. He created a program he calls Gopher PRIDE, which is a series of self-improvement initiatives that he cataloged in a manual. He keeps a copy on a table in his office.

Each player received the spiral manual at the start of summer school. The first two pages outline team rules, followed by class schedules and workout calendars.

One page contained a list of seven names — five boosters, along with Kaler's and Coyle's name. Each player wrote letters to those seven people — the boosters' names were different for each player.

"Not necessarily apologizing," Pitino said, "but just getting those people to understand that we understand the responsibilities on us."

http://www.startribune.com/turnarou...etball-program-began-off-the-court/409989965/

Go Gophers!!
 

"His brainchild should be copied by every Gophers team." Great job by Coach to turn this thing around on and off the court. (Knock on wood) Also nice seeing a positive article. Chip usually doesn't disappoint


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

"His brainchild should be copied by every Gophers team." Great job by Coach to turn this thing around on and off the court. (Knock on wood) Also nice seeing a positive article. Chip usually doesn't disappoint


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That "brainchild" sounds a little "kindergarten'ish." Back when I was in school, I always resented doing something for someone in authority because someone else messed up.
 




Read the comments section.

I did. They are unusually positive. Apparently, the haters and trolls mostly decided to skip commenting on this article.

I did like the comment stating that Pitino's initiatives should be part of a system wide approach in the athletic department. Pitino deserves a great deal of credit for taking these initiatives but we shouldn't expect each coaching staff to create a similar program on their own.

The article also implies that the anger and negativity directed at the program last year did have some positive effect. Pitino used the word "respond" this year to describe how the team should move forward after a loss. Pitino's own actions show that he understands that advice also applies to him. I've been a pretty strong critic of this coach in the past, but I have been pretty impressed by the odds-defying degree of turnaround so far this season. After reading this article, my admiration has moved to a whole new level.
 

Comments are 100% positive. Have to believe not all that commented are passionate Gopher fans.

No, I think the opposite is true. The Star Trib comments section usually attracts a fair number of program haters, including quite a few Badger fans of the obnoxious and jeering variety. Those individuals must have decided to skip this one. Any passionate Gopher fan who wouldn't smile favorably on this article must belong to, in the words of one presidential candidate, "a basket of deplorables."
 


That "brainchild" sounds a little "kindergarten'ish." Back when I was in school, I always resented doing something for someone in authority because someone else messed up.

That isn't the primary intention of this "brainchild." The primary intention is to help prevent future episodes of major screw ups and to help fashion a more positive public image of an athletic program going forward. My guess is that Fleck will take notice of Pitino's initiatives as he moves into the job.
 



It sounds like Pitino is doing the right things to build the right culture.
He's growing and the team is growing.
Happy times.
 




Top Bottom