BleedGopher
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Richard Pitino was on with Justin Gaard. These notes are not verbatim, but close:
Pitino on the Gopher Caravan...It's been great for me for a couple of reasons. First I haven't spent a lot of time in the State of Minnesota. So to get to these other towns and meet all these fans is great. I didn't realize when we took this job how much support we have in this State. It's also great for me to get to know the coaches in the department.
Pitino on what coaches talk about on the bus...I had dinner with Jerry Kill last night and I spent a lot of time with him. Basketball and football cross path's a lot. We talk about old war stories, recruiting, the fan base. Jerry is a great guy and it's fun to hear about the direction he has the program.
Pitino on Andre Hollins on what type of guard he is (PG/SG, etc.)...I think everyone talks about positions because of the NBA standpoint. Andre Hollins can play both positions for us. There is not a real whole lot of difference. I want Andre to make plays as he's one of the better play makers in the Big Ten. We'll put him in a lot of pick and rolls. There's really not a whole lot of difference with our ball handlers.
Pitino on whether the fast place style can work in the Big Ten...It doesn't concern me too much. It would concern me if I didn't have the right players to play this style. It may not happen right away, but once you get the right type of players in the system it can work against anybody. It's also a bit of a misconception that everyone plays slow in the Big Ten. I don't worry about us playing our style, we just have to get the right players.
Pitino on EE and Walker's conditioning...Elliot came into my office before he went to Italy about the push-up contest. He's been great. He's putting on muscle. His problem is more timing as he just went to Italy. I'm not sure how much working out he'll do there. Mo Walker has been phenomenal and he's doing great. I gave him the option and he really was open to stay and work hard.
Pitino on physical fitness conditioning of his team tips from his Dad...Our new strength coach was my Dad's strength coach at Kentucky. It's very important to us. He understands the way we want to play so he knows how he needs to shape our guys body types. That is extremely important and we had to lure him away from USC.
Pitino on Austin Hollins...Austin is a really good shooter, he's very good at the mid-range game. I want to see him taking guys off the bounce, his play making ability. He has to do that to play at the next level. He's really, really good. He's under-valued nationally.
Pitino on the 3 guys that signed...Deandre Mathieu we were fortunate to get him. He's so fast and so athletic and brings a dimension that we don't have. He's a pure PG and he fits what we're trying to do. He'll be very good with the press. McNeil is a diamond in the rough and we think he's going to be a very good player. Malik Smith has one year for us and he's great for me because he knows what it takes to play for me. He's as good of a shooter in the country. He had a game where he had 8 threes. He set all types of records. The beauty of Malik is he has a short memory.
Pitino on what a good 3 point shooter can do...People obsess over the three-point as its such a momentum changer. Offensively if you are not even shooting a three you can open things up in the paint.
Pitino on upcoming summer schedule...We're in a different situation taking over a new program. Normally you ahve a couple of camps in June. We're only going to have one day camp because we got in so late. Next year we'll have 2-3 camps and we'll do it right. In July we have a couple of evaluation periods. It's a good opportunity to watch 20-30 kids. Come August and September we'll bring in kids for visits.
Go Gophers!!
Pitino on the Gopher Caravan...It's been great for me for a couple of reasons. First I haven't spent a lot of time in the State of Minnesota. So to get to these other towns and meet all these fans is great. I didn't realize when we took this job how much support we have in this State. It's also great for me to get to know the coaches in the department.
Pitino on what coaches talk about on the bus...I had dinner with Jerry Kill last night and I spent a lot of time with him. Basketball and football cross path's a lot. We talk about old war stories, recruiting, the fan base. Jerry is a great guy and it's fun to hear about the direction he has the program.
Pitino on Andre Hollins on what type of guard he is (PG/SG, etc.)...I think everyone talks about positions because of the NBA standpoint. Andre Hollins can play both positions for us. There is not a real whole lot of difference. I want Andre to make plays as he's one of the better play makers in the Big Ten. We'll put him in a lot of pick and rolls. There's really not a whole lot of difference with our ball handlers.
Pitino on whether the fast place style can work in the Big Ten...It doesn't concern me too much. It would concern me if I didn't have the right players to play this style. It may not happen right away, but once you get the right type of players in the system it can work against anybody. It's also a bit of a misconception that everyone plays slow in the Big Ten. I don't worry about us playing our style, we just have to get the right players.
Pitino on EE and Walker's conditioning...Elliot came into my office before he went to Italy about the push-up contest. He's been great. He's putting on muscle. His problem is more timing as he just went to Italy. I'm not sure how much working out he'll do there. Mo Walker has been phenomenal and he's doing great. I gave him the option and he really was open to stay and work hard.
Pitino on physical fitness conditioning of his team tips from his Dad...Our new strength coach was my Dad's strength coach at Kentucky. It's very important to us. He understands the way we want to play so he knows how he needs to shape our guys body types. That is extremely important and we had to lure him away from USC.
Pitino on Austin Hollins...Austin is a really good shooter, he's very good at the mid-range game. I want to see him taking guys off the bounce, his play making ability. He has to do that to play at the next level. He's really, really good. He's under-valued nationally.
Pitino on the 3 guys that signed...Deandre Mathieu we were fortunate to get him. He's so fast and so athletic and brings a dimension that we don't have. He's a pure PG and he fits what we're trying to do. He'll be very good with the press. McNeil is a diamond in the rough and we think he's going to be a very good player. Malik Smith has one year for us and he's great for me because he knows what it takes to play for me. He's as good of a shooter in the country. He had a game where he had 8 threes. He set all types of records. The beauty of Malik is he has a short memory.
Pitino on what a good 3 point shooter can do...People obsess over the three-point as its such a momentum changer. Offensively if you are not even shooting a three you can open things up in the paint.
Pitino on upcoming summer schedule...We're in a different situation taking over a new program. Normally you ahve a couple of camps in June. We're only going to have one day camp because we got in so late. Next year we'll have 2-3 camps and we'll do it right. In July we have a couple of evaluation periods. It's a good opportunity to watch 20-30 kids. Come August and September we'll bring in kids for visits.
Go Gophers!!
