Define the "Pitino Style of Play" for me...

[BarnBoy]

Lots of talk about a new "style of play". Talk that certain personnel will or won't "fit the system". I would like to know what this really means. I am not a huge Xs and Os guy, but I played high school basketball. (think Dos Equis guy). I understand the difference between pressing and not pressing. I understand the difference between 1/2 court and full court. I understand the difference between being in-shape and out-of-shape. I understand the difference between long, athletic players and Mo Walker. But is there more? Is there a second magical layer to this that I don't know about? I am honestly intrigued.

This is not a thread of "will it work" in the BigTen. This is a thread of "what the hell is it?".

Your mission, if you choose to accept:

Define Pitino's style of play like you're writing the Wikipedia article. What personnel is needed for this syle of play and what are the physical and mental characteristics of these players?

 

[stroms7]

see Daddy Pitino teams at louisville and kentucky:

nothing magical - but this is how i would define the 'lil pitino way'

Gophers will need a bunch well conditioned, long, lean players with high motors. "We" will press after every make and try to create the most posessions possible for 'our' team. IF we ever need to run an offesense we will be running endless pick and roll and have shooters spotting up all over the floor as options off of the pick and roll. Willing defenders who work harder on D than on O and are able to turn TO's into transition baskets; the key to the 'pitino way'.

needs:
- heady pg to facilitate the pick and roll and be the QB on our press (see tyus jones)
- versitile SG/SF who can handle the ball, shoot the three, slash to the basket and defend 4 positions and be the guy to create 40 min of havoc on D (see Rashad Vaughn)
- high motor guy to play the 4/5 spot and is willing/able to defend 3-5 & rebound the heck out of the ball and protect the basket if the press breaks down (see Reid Travis)
- 1-2 great shooters to space the floor on the pick and roll
- atheletes with a discernible skills x 4 that are willing to do anything you ask them to do and defend like crazy.

*Oto - doesn't fit
*mav - doesn't fit
*mo - doesn't fit

go gophers

 

[SDGopherFan]

youtube Louisville defense and Florida offense. That will give you the best of idea of young Coach Rich Pitino's style of play.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

see Daddy Pitino teams at louisville and kentucky:

nothing magical - but this is how i would define the 'lil pitino way'

Gophers will need a bunch well conditioned, long, lean players with high motors. "We" will press after every make and try to create the most posessions possible for 'our' team. IF we ever need to run an offesense we will be running endless pick and roll and have shooters spotting up all over the floor as options off of the pick and roll. Willing defenders who work harder on D than on O and are able to turn TO's into transition baskets; the key to the 'pitino way'.

needs:
- heady pg to facilitate the pick and roll and be the QB on our press (see tyus jones)
- versitile SG/SF who can handle the ball, shoot the three, slash to the basket and defend 4 positions and be the guy to create 40 min of havoc on D (see Rashad Vaughn)
- high motor guy to play the 4/5 spot and is willing/able to defend 3-5 & rebound the heck out of the ball and protect the basket if the press breaks down (see Reid Travis)
- 1-2 great shooters to space the floor on the pick and roll
- atheletes with a discernible skills x 4 that are willing to do anything you ask them to do and defend like crazy.

*Oto - doesn't fit
*mav - doesn't fit
*mo - doesn't fit

go gophers

I love the style but I am not sure how it would work against Purdue, MSU and UW since they have a way to dictate their defense on the other team. It will be hard but with right players Richard can do it.

Go Gophers

 

[GoodasGold]

Lots of talk about a new "style of play". Talk that certain personnel will or won't "fit the system". I would like to know what this really means. I am not a huge Xs and Os guy, but I played high school basketball. (think Dos Equis guy). I understand the difference between pressing and not pressing. I understand the difference between 1/2 court and full court. I understand the difference between being in-shape and out-of-shape. I understand the difference between long, athletic players and Mo Walker. But is there more? Is there a second magical layer to this that I don't know about? I am honestly intrigued.

This is not a thread of "will it work" in the BigTen. This is a thread of "what the hell is it?".

Your mission, if you choose to accept:

Define Pitino's style of play like you're writing the Wikipedia article. What personnel is needed for this syle of play and what are the physical and mental characteristics of these players?

You're THAT interesting?

 

[BarnBoy]

You're THAT interesting?

I didn't always make my left-handed layups, but when I did, it was usually in the 4th quarter when the game was well in-hand.

 

[Saber]

youtube Louisville defense and Florida offense. That will give you the best of idea of young Coach Rich Pitino's style of play.

Rich has used that description a lot, but let me decode it for the OP and others who may not quite understand the nuances of those.

Louisville's defense is predicated on forcing the opposing ball handler to make choices and react. Papa Pitino tracks a lot of stats, but more important than points, rebounds or turnovers, is deflections. He wants his whole team to be disrupting passes and wants to essentially do to opposing ball handlers what Tubby did to his own players last year. And that is, be too tentative. He wants to wear them down, making them think that there are no safe passes, and they need to play very carefully. That combined with pressing after every make to essentially FORCE them to make passes and give you a chance at a steal/deflection, and also to make the other team play fast (if they break the press, or are pushing in a broken court). The theory is that his players focus more heavily on their conditioning, so that even if the other team breaks the press and gets some easy baskets, the pace of the game favors the Louisville players with their better conditioning.

On the offensive end, the Florida offense basically involved tons of pick and roll with a well-spaced floor. They like a stretch 4-man for that reason. On the offensive end, it is a great system for a high level PG, because they get to push the ball in an open court a lot (the defense forces more turnovers than most teams), and also lets them run a lot of pick and roll with the ball in the hands of the guards most of the time. It's good for any 3-point shooting guard or wing because the offense is designed to either get them a look at a 3, or create a seem for the ball handler to drive the lane. It is essentially the offense that most NBA teams run.

Basically on offense, Tyus and Rashad would both put up absurd numbers on the off chance that they both came here, as the offense is designed for players like them.

 

[Saber]

And just to be sure I'm clear when I say "players like them" ... a PG who can handle the ball, run a break, shoot when open, or get the ball to the open man. Rashad is a good shooter to capitalize on those open looks and has the size/handling/finishing ability to also capitalize on the roll of the pick and roll. And he could initiate some of the PnR too, with other wings/guards

 

[RoyalGopher]

*Oto - doesn't fit BETTER FIT
*mav - doesn't fit BETTER FIT
*mo - doesn't fit

go gophers

IMO

Oto will be able to spot up and shoot more. I think he will be more successful in Pitino's offense - Rich said it himself.
Mav should fit better in Pitino's offense, too.
Mo does not fit in an up-tempo offense at all.

 

[Saber]

Mav isn't a great fit, but he can play. Needs to improve his conditioning and hope that in dropping some weight he can get a little quicker. Oto from this past season is a bad fit, but if he gets his groove back over the summer and under a new coach, and can actually knock down an open 3, he would be a decent fit. A stretch 4 can be very effective in that offense, or as the weak-side spot-up SF

Neither are ideal, but they aren't terrible fits

 

[KyGopherfan]

Pitino's system only works if you get big time players, otherwise it's a complete dud. And remember Tubby has had Rick Pitino's number. I think Tubby is the only former Pitino disciple that has a winning record against him, and that's with lesser talent most of the time. Any coach that plays the same system with no changes is usually very easy to prepare against. The trick is to have such overwhelming talent and athleticism that it doesn't matter.

 

[beavergopher]

Pitino's system only works if you get big time players, otherwise it's a complete dud. And remember Tubby has had Rick Pitino's number. I think Tubby is the only former Pitino disciple that has a winning record against him, and that's with lesser talent most of the time. Any coach that plays the same system with no changes is usually very easy to prepare against. The trick is to have such overwhelming talent and athleticism that it doesn't matter.

Too bad Pitino Sr. didn't coach in the B1G, Teletubby would have been two wins closer to .500 in conference.

 

[Saber]

I'm not quite sure where you think Tubby fits into this since I can't remember the last time we played Texas Tech...

You're right in that SOME of your players need to be very good. Having at least 1 very good wing is important, and having good shooters is important. You don't need the whole team to be uber talented though.

 

[SDGopherFan]

quite a few of Louisville's roster this year were 4 star players but Russ smith was a 2* player with no other big time offers. Rick Pitino seems to run a system and finding the pieces to fit that system is important whether 2* or 4*. Will Rich be able to find those players, get them to MN and be able to motivate them to play above and beyond expectations.

 

[scher215]

Pitino's system only works if you get big time players, otherwise it's a complete dud. And remember Tubby has had Rick Pitino's number. I think Tubby is the only former Pitino disciple that has a winning record against him, and that's with lesser talent most of the time. Any coach that plays the same system with no changes is usually very easy to prepare against. The trick is to have such overwhelming talent and athleticism that it doesn't matter.

I realize it is a different conference, but it worked okay at FIU it seemed. Havoc also seems to work at VCU and those schools hardly get what I'd call "big time talent" (not terrible talent by any means, but not at the level you'd expect from UK or Louisville.)

 

[GoodasGold]

I didn't always make my left-handed layups, but when I did, it was usually in the 4th quarter when the game was well in-hand.

Stay thirsty my friend...

 

[JDGopher]

Pitino's system only works if you get big time players, otherwise it's a complete dud. And remember Tubby has had Rick Pitino's number. I think Tubby is the only former Pitino disciple that has a winning record against him, and that's with lesser talent most of the time. Any coach that plays the same system with no changes is usually very easy to prepare against. The trick is to have such overwhelming talent and athleticism that it doesn't matter.

I don't believe this to be true. Ideally, it's about fit, not necessarily overwhelming talent. A bunch of above average players who have bought in and fit can beat a team of elite talent. There are tons of examples of this. Of course, ideally, the players would be both extremely talented and fit well (many of the best players would), but we don't NEED all elite players for this to work out (though it would help).

 

[Dr.Don]

OP asks: Define the "Pitino Style of Play" for me...

4700 square feet of pure unadulterated hell to pay for each opponent.

Ya guard 'em with one hand in their jocks and trip 'em with both feet.

 

[MN1nAZ]

.... He wants his whole team to be disrupting passes and wants to essentially do to opposing ball handlers what Tubby did to his own players last year. And that is, be too tentative. He wants to wear them down, making them think that there are no safe passes, and they need to play very carefully. That combined with pressing after every make to essentially FORCE them to make passes....

Insight! Oh! Insignt!

 

[jaymil]

Rich has used that description a lot, but let me decode it for the OP and others who may not quite understand the nuances of those.

Louisville's defense is predicated on forcing the opposing ball handler to make choices and react. Papa Pitino tracks a lot of stats, but more important than points, rebounds or turnovers, is deflections. He wants his whole team to be disrupting passes and wants to essentially do to opposing ball handlers what Tubby did to his own players last year. And that is, be too tentative. He wants to wear them down, making them think that there are no safe passes, and they need to play very carefully. That combined with pressing after every make to essentially FORCE them to make passes and give you a chance at a steal/deflection, and also to make the other team play fast (if they break the press, or are pushing in a broken court). The theory is that his players focus more heavily on their conditioning, so that even if the other team breaks the press and gets some easy baskets, the pace of the game favors the Louisville players with their better conditioning.

On the offensive end, the Florida offense basically involved tons of pick and roll with a well-spaced floor. They like a stretch 4-man for that reason. On the offensive end, it is a great system for a high level PG, because they get to push the ball in an open court a lot (the defense forces more turnovers than most teams), and also lets them run a lot of pick and roll with the ball in the hands of the guards most of the time. It's good for any 3-point shooting guard or wing because the offense is designed to either get them a look at a 3, or create a seem for the ball handler to drive the lane. It is essentially the offense that most NBA teams run.

Basically on offense, Tyus and Rashad would both put up absurd numbers on the off chance that they both came here, as the offense is designed for players like them.

I think this is a really good summary. The key is wearing down the other team. If you watched the Louisville-Wichita St. game then you saw it first hand. Wichita State had something like 4 turnovers all game until the last few minutes, but Louisville kept on attacking and forced some turnovers and got easy buckets to seal the win.

One thing we should get used to is seeing our offense a lot more dependent on the 3. I think this is a good thing, but obviously if the team goes cold it can be a detriment. But for instance in the Gophers vs Florida game, Florida couldn't miss in the 1st half and we had no answer. That offense is always capable of outbursts like that.

 

[mnsports1]

Lots of talk about a new "style of play". Talk that certain personnel will or won't "fit the system". I would like to know what this really means. I am not a huge Xs and Os guy, but I played high school basketball. (think Dos Equis guy). I understand the difference between pressing and not pressing. I understand the difference between 1/2 court and full court. I understand the difference between being in-shape and out-of-shape. I understand the difference between long, athletic players and Mo Walker. But is there more? Is there a second magical layer to this that I don't know about? I am honestly intrigued.

This is not a thread of "will it work" in the BigTen. This is a thread of "what the hell is it?".

Your mission, if you choose to accept:

Define Pitino's style of play like you're writing the Wikipedia article. What personnel is needed for this syle of play and what are the physical and mental characteristics of these players?

If you have to ask, I'm not telling.

 

[mnsports1]

I didn't always make my left-handed layups, but when I did, it was usually in the 4th quarter when the game was well in-hand.

BTW, this was funny.

 

[gophmeister]

see Daddy Pitino teams at louisville and kentucky:
*Oto - doesn't fit
*mav - doesn't fit
*mo - doesn't fit

go gophers

I think Oto can fit if his confidence can be rebuilt. I have no idea in regards to Mav. He has a cool name though. Mo? I think he is screwed. I have never seen anyone more so slow on a basketball court in comparison with everyone else. Maybe, just maybe he'll recover and a new S&C program will resuscitate his career. That's a lot of maybes. Even Elliot is in need of serious improvement in S&C. The rest of the guys should welcome this change. It really plays to their strengths. If Pitino and company can get them some front court help they might be competitive next season.

 

[BarnBoy]

If you have to ask, I'm not telling.

Unless you're just being sarcastic, I'll assume that in your eyes, there is not that "magical, deeper 2nd level" to this system. Just get me long, lean players that are in good shape and can effectively overplay passing lanes.

 

[GopherJake]

One thing we should get used to is seeing our offense a lot more dependent on the 3. I think this is a good thing, but obviously if the team goes cold it can be a detriment. But for instance in the Gophers vs Florida game, Florida couldn't miss in the 1st half and we had no answer. That offense is always capable of outbursts like that.

You just defined a role for Maverick. If he can hit 3s in transition, he will play.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

Unless you're just being sarcastic, I'll assume that in your eyes, there is not that "magical, deeper 2nd level" to this system. Just get me long, lean players that are in good shape and can effectively overplay passing lanes.

He's being the dick he is.....

 

[mnsports1]

Unless you're just being sarcastic, I'll assume that in your eyes, there is not that "magical, deeper 2nd level" to this system. Just get me long, lean players that are in good shape and can effectively overplay passing lanes.

100% sarcasm...

 

[The-Real-Truth]

Pitino's system only works if you get big time players, otherwise it's a complete dud. And remember Tubby has had Rick Pitino's number. I think Tubby is the only former Pitino disciple that has a winning record against him, and that's with lesser talent most of the time. Any coach that plays the same system with no changes is usually very easy to prepare against. The trick is to have such overwhelming talent and athleticism that it doesn't matter.

People are very excited about the change now so any points that you, me and a few other people are making here are not welcomed yet. We get labeled as Tubby-lovers, anti-Gophers.... Like you said a few weeks back and I agree 100%, coaching change will not fix this. We have to have resources to bring in big time players. Only we have seen how Pitino's style is so similar to Tubby's. Tubby failed here bacuse of many mistakes that he made and also not being able to bring in top players. His best years here were his 1st and 2nd becasue he had Al and Damian. Even Rick wanted to steal Al after the loss to the Gophers.

Somebody disagreed with you and talked about the fit. People have forgotten that Rick Pitino got killed by Uk last year when UK was loaded. During March madness, people see some weak teams win so they think it is all about the fit no it is about getting good players also.

Somebody mentioned that for this style, you have to have a strong 3. I couldn't agree more with that poster. A few weeks back, somebody said that Rodney will cost Tubby his job and he did. Tubby's mistake was red-shirting Buggs. He should have used Buggs at 3, Trevor at 4 and EE at center. As Tubby said himself, JC was too small for 3. I could never understand why Buggs was red-shirted. I thought that he already went to a prep-school so he seemed like an experienced player already.

Pitino/Tubby/Richard's style is very fun to watch but you have to have good players. The reason that you mentioned Rick's problems of beating Tubby is becasue they are identical. The 1996 Uk team that beat teams by the largest margins ever, had the hardest time against one team only and that was UGA coached by Tubby.

I would love to see Richard win here but it won't be easy. I am afraid, he will be gone too if NT does not upgrade the facilities. See you all at the tip-off.

Go Gophers

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

He should have used Buggs at 3

I had no idea Buggs was some all-american that we decided to redshirt for the hell of it.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

I had no idea Buggs was some all-american that we decided to redshirt for the hell of it.

No but he could shoot and he could block and he could run and he could rebound and he could ...

I am not saying that I am right. It is just an opinion. Weather it would have worked or not, we will never know.

Go Gophers