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

[BleedGopher]

per Chip:

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!!

 

[UofMdad]

Thanks Bleed as always for keeping us informed. I have to throw this hire (which I like) into the known unknowns category.