I still support Pitino.

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gopher8190 said:
A one year absence from winning an NCAA tournament game is not a big deal with such a young team.
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I think what you meant to say was "1 ******* NCAA win in 7 years."

You're welcome.
 

I agree the potential for Pitino is played out here at the U. He could prove me wrong next year, or even yet this year and I would be very happy about it. In fact, I am pulling for him to do it and force me to eat some recent posts. Still... the time is now to make a change if I am Coyle and I think I can get a step up. The time was not last year or in the previous years.



Just so we are clear: scools, cjbfbp, and USAF - you guys like Pitino or don't like him?
 

The record and lack of depth don't align with the historic run of Minnesota HS basketball talent, time to move on.
 

I think Richard Pitino is a good person and a decent coach. However the risk of moving on is worth it, assuming Oturu is gone. If he would stay if Pitino stays I would give Richard one more year as next year we would be tremendous with Mashburn adding guard depth.

The failure to develop any kind of consistent rotation to spell his guards cost us late game losses IMO. No reason not to play Greenlee in the first half up 17 with Sticks on the bench with 3 fouls against Maryland.

Late game execution against Iowa and Maryland cost us a shot at the dance. Late game huddles were disorganized. it was telling to watch Turgeon versus Pitino. Every stoppage Maryland was locked in and planning a strategy. Half of our huddles guys just stood around and our staff was not actively engaging with them. It showed.

Oturu not getting the ball in the last 6 minutes versus Maryland was inexcusable.
 

gopher8190 said:
I worry about what is best for the program. Pitino is building with a young team and has promising incoming talent. After a coach reset, I feel it is unlikely the next coach would ever get back to where we are now. A one year absence from winning an NCAA tournament game is not a big deal with such a young team. I think disappointment that we lost some close games with a young team is being confused with underachievement and bad coaching.
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I agree with you 100%. Is this team competitive? Sure it is. We lost 9 games by 8 points or less. Not bad in my estimation for a team made up of mostly freshman and sophomores. I like to see wins as much as anyone and am disappointed in the close loses we have seen lately at home to Iowa, Indiana, and Maryland. I do think we will have a good team next year with or without Oturu as the kids get older and I think the recruits coming in next year will be a big plus. If Oturu stays we will have a great team next year.
 


USAF said:
I think what you meant to say was "1 ******* NCAA win in 7 years."

You're welcome.
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We have two other official NCAA wins since 1994. We get one every 9 years including the HOF coach Smith. Switching coaches has almost always worked! It's a tough job. Someone is going to win big here at some point but it will have to be one that we stick with and go through the valley with.
 

CPTMidnight said:
Just so we are clear: scools, cjbfbp, and USAF - you guys like Pitino or don't like him?
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I actually like Pitino. He’s a great interview. It’s not a personal thing it’s all about his ability as a coach. The sample size at the U is large enough. The program is basically in the same spot as when he was hired. I don’t see any way things are different if he stays.

It’s not Pitino’s fault he was hired here. It was a job he should have never been given and one he wasn’t ready for. He will get another job and he may be as successful as some on here ultimately think he will. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out here. Waiting him out to see if he will be successful in his current job should not be an option.
 

CPTMidnight said:
I agree the potential for Pitino is played out here at the U. He could prove me wrong next year, or even yet this year and I would be very happy about it. In fact, I am pulling for him to do it and force me to eat some recent posts. Still... the time is now to make a change if I am Coyle and I think I can get a step up. The time was not last year or in the previous years.



Just so we are clear: scools, cjbfbp, and USAF - you guys like Pitino or don't like him?
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he seems from afar like a decent man, but so what? Irrelevant.

He proved last year he cant be successful.

One last time: he's not a good enough coach to overcome the mediocre recruiting, and he's not a good enough recruiter to overcome the poor coaching.

Result: His teams are always short on depth, because he cant recruit, always settling for what he can get rather than what he needs. His teams routinely struggle in close games, because teams are a reflection of their coach in such situations, and he's not very good.

He got the job before proving he was ready, and by now has shown zero growth or ability to improve. It will never get better, almost certainly get worse.


I know it can seem like you're "supporting the program like a true fan" when you resist change, but what you're actually doing is ensuring your own future disappointment. And mine. Stop it.
 

Referring back to the OP it’s hard to keep all the turkey vultures at bay. They just keep circling.
 



I believe what my own eyes see! Some of you should try that!
 

Goldteam said:
I believe what my own eyes see! Some of you should try that!
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I don’t need to bold my posts in order to read them. There’s plenty of good optometrists in town. Just saying.
 
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SelectionSunday said:
I see both sides of this. I can name 1 guy I think he treated like crap or unfairly, however you want to frame it. Elliott Eliason.

To counter that, I respect Pitino for not running off 3 guys who received 12 years of scholarships (Konate, Diedhiou, Hurt), and basically were never Big Ten players, though Bakary had a few decent moments. A lot of coaches would’ve run them off after realizing their mistake(s).

But along with that, that’s why IMO his biggest issue has been roster management. Speaking strictly on the basketball (read: business) side of things, that’s 12 years of wasted scholarships on guys who absolutely at best were # 9 or #10 guys in the rotation. That has limited the roster so much, and even more so when you throw in injuries (esp. Curry) and an early departure (Coffey) that caught you off guard.
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100% agree with this. Elliot was not a great player but he deserved more. His body language and complaining after ever call sucked though.
 

scools12 said:
I actually like Pitino. He’s a great interview. It’s not a personal thing it’s all about his ability as a coach. The sample size at the U is large enough. The program is basically in the same spot as when he was hired. I don’t see any way things are different if he stays.

It’s not Pitino’s fault he was hired here. It was a job he should have never been given and one he wasn’t ready for. He will get another job and he may be as successful as some on here ultimately think he will. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out here. Waiting him out to see if he will be successful in his current job should not be an option.
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Me as well. Had a chance to meet and talk with him. Very likable guy, great speaker and storyteller. U tried to catch lightening in a bottle and whiffed. He was nowhere near ready to take advantage of the opportunity when hired, and did not evolve.

I would love to see him go into announcing...think he would do extremely well as a game or studio analyst.
 



scools12 said:
I actually like Pitino. He’s a great interview. It’s not a personal thing it’s all about his ability as a coach. The sample size at the U is large enough. The program is basically in the same spot as when he was hired. I don’t see any way things are different if he stays.

It’s not Pitino’s fault he was hired here. It was a job he should have never been given and one he wasn’t ready for. He will get another job and he may be as successful as some on here ultimately think he will. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out here. Waiting him out to see if he will be successful in his current job should not be an option.
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Well, we really aren't in the same spot...we are much worse talent wise. Please compare the talent in Tubby's last year or Pitino's first year and I would take them vs. our current roster. The only player that is better is Oturo. Carr and Andre Hollins are close but pre injury...I would take Dre.
 

LakevilleBro said:
I wonder how many college coaches in the history of basketball, have had a bad losing conference record (47-80) over 7 years, and then turned the program into a winning program? I would guess zero. This has been a 7 year sample size, and this is what you get with Pitino. If the administration likes where the program is, then keep him. But you can't expect different results in the future, by keeping him. Fact
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Actually not a fact but only your opinion which you are entitled too.
 

LakevilleBro said:
I wonder how many college coaches in the history of basketball, have had a bad losing conference record (47-80) over 7 years, and then turned the program into a winning program? I would guess zero. This has been a 7 year sample size, and this is what you get with Pitino. If the administration likes where the program is, then keep him. But you can't expect different results in the future, by keeping him.
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Do your own fckg homework. And don't go comparing Pitino's first 7 years as a D1 head coach with other coaches 12-19 years after they finally made it to a P5 job.
 

I will always support the Gophers, and Richard Pitino is currently our men's basketball coach, and I'd do anything I can to help him and the team including cheer hard at the games, which I haven't stopped doing. I've got warm feelings for all the guys who've coached here in the past, and I appreciate the blood, sweat and tears they've all expended for the school and the university, and I'll always have a soft spot for Pitino no matter what happens. I've loved his manner and openness, especially the blogs he's written. He's obviously wanted to do great things and do them the right way.
 

gopher8190 said:
I worry about what is best for the program. Pitino is building with a young team and has promising incoming talent. After a coach reset, I feel it is unlikely the next coach would ever get back to where we are now. A one year absence from winning an NCAA tournament game is not a big deal with such a young team. I think disappointment that we lost some close games with a young team is being confused with underachievement and bad coaching.
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I'm sorry and I know you mean well, but this is a horrible take! This is not the standard we want at Minnesota, or at least not that I want. I have higher expectations and I think we've seen that coaches actually CAN win at Minnesota (umm, check out the Football board perhaps??).

I actually don't think his recruiting (at least in the last few years - early on it was THE problem) the last few years has been the problem, even though we've missed on quite a bit of home grown talent, cannot deny that. IMHO it's his overall coaching (his in game and overall approach in player development) that to me is where he's lacking now and I can't see that improving vastly in the future.

He's had 7 years and most of us still scratch our heads with in game and end game decisions and then outcomes. Yes, the players play the game and make the plays (or not which is why we're having this conversation). The coach designs and implements his strategy and then teaches and coaches the players to effectively make it work. If the players cannot perfect what is being taught, or don't listen and ad lib, we still have a teaching/coaching issue. There is obviously something missing there.

Time to painfully (obviously depending on whom we hire) turn the page... yet again.
 
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USAF said:
he seems from afar like a decent man, but so what? Irrelevant.

He proved last year he cant be successful.

One last time: he's not a good enough coach to overcome the mediocre recruiting, and he's not a good enough recruiter to overcome the poor coaching.

Result: His teams are always short on depth, because he cant recruit, always settling for what he can get rather than what he needs. His teams routinely struggle in close games, because teams are a reflection of their coach in such situations, and he's not very good.

He got the job before proving he was ready, and by now has shown zero growth or ability to improve. It will never get better, almost certainly get worse.


I know it can seem like you're "supporting the program like a true fan" when you resist change, but what you're actually doing is ensuring your own future disappointment. And mine. Stop it.
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I have waited until the season played out and now called on Coyle to make a change. Stop what? Now is the time to have the discussion on the coach and I am for a change.

Next year I am calling all the people who spend the entire year trolling the rest of us on the coach to cease being dbags during the whole season. Stop it (in advance).
 



Gopherbbdude said:
Wow... you got anger issues
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Well, perhaps, but you might ask yourself whether that is any worse than being a phlegmatic blob like yourself who, like the three monkeys, sees no evil, hears no evil, and speaks no evil.
 

Frank Grimey Grimes said:
Who? Source?
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Who? Elliot Eliason, Isaiah Washington and, to a lesser extent, Charles Buggs and Carlos Morris. The treatment seemed pretty arbitrary as well. I believe Pitino thought this was an effective management technique: to shit on a selected player to keep the other players in line. I disagree and I've always disliked him because of that.

Source? Me and my own eyes. Who the hell else would it be? Do you think I need some newspaper columnist, radio jock, or blogger to form an opinion?
 

MNgradinWI said:
Well, we really aren't in the same spot...we are much worse talent wise. Please compare the talent in Tubby's last year or Pitino's first year and I would take them vs. our current roster. The only player that is better is Oturo. Carr and Andre Hollins are close but pre injury...I would take Dre.
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You are dead wrong. Pitino has improved the roster versus the what Tubby gave him. Of that there is no doubt. Pitino got the post injured Dre. Injuries count, as we have seen with Curry.

Tubby gave him this:

Hollins
Hollins
Ahanmisi
Eliason
Walker- 300 pound version
Ellenson
Osieniks
Buggs
 

jblass said:
I don’t need to bold my posts in order to read them. There’s plenty of good optometrists in town. Just saying.
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If you still support this boring brand of basketball........I should bold it, italicize it, underline it and enlarge it.

In fact, you might want to get a larger screen TV also, as apparently you aren't seeing the games too well.
 

bga1 said:
You are dead wrong. Pitino has improved the roster versus the what Tubby gave him. Of that there is no doubt. Pitino got the post injured Dre. Injuries count, as we have seen with Curry.

Tubby gave him this:

Hollins
Hollins
Ahanmisi
Eliason
Walker- 300 pound version
Ellenson
Osieniks
Buggs
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Huh, interesting, his highest win total season was with Tubby's players. Are you saying Pitino has recruited better than Tubby did here?
 


Why does everyone always feel the need to say that Pitino is a great guy? I don’t think he’s necessarily a jerk, but what makes him such a “great guy” in the eyes of so many? I’m genuinely curious. Is he a better guy than Dan Monson? Or Tubby? Tracy Claeys, Kill or Brewster? What about Motzko or Lucia?
 

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