I still support Pitino.

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The weird thing with Pitino is that I think he has actually gotten a lot more out of this team than last year’s team. We probably end up with 8 B1G wins on a team that has no depth and a few guys that shouldn’t be starting in the B1G. Last year we only won 9 games with a team that had Jordan Murphy, Coffey, Oturu, McBrayer, Stockman and the good shooting Kalscheur.

I don’t think Pitino is a good coach and I was ready to part ways after last season. But the thing I don’t quite get is how someone would change their mind on him after this season’s performance? How could anyone have possibly expected this year’s team to have a better B1G record than last year’s team?
 

John Galt said:
The weird thing with Pitino is that I think he has actually gotten a lot more out of this team than last year’s team.
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Concur. He demonstrated last year he cant coach. He'll never have a better team, and he couldn't even muster a .500 B1G record. 1 and done in the tournament.
 

Goldteam said:
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.
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I do not need a larger screen TV as I am at every home game. You?
 

I could be convinced either way on keeping Pitino. If --IF- Daniel stays I feel he definitely deserves another year.
and just an observation (and maybe one of the reasons he struggles recruiting Minnesota)-- at the Cretin vs Eastridge game last night-- Greg Gard was there, Fred Hoiberg was there-- Pitino was not.
Now, maybe he was at a more important recruits game- but I would be in front of Tre Holloman every chance I got if I were a Gophers coach. And Kendall Blue is good and Hadley as a PWO or late scholarship wouldn't be the biggest waste of a scholarship we have on the roster either.
 

John Galt said:
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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Claeys is an asshole as is Brewster. Pitino did really try to join the community which is why I think the "nice guy" thing gets brought up.
 


USAF said:
Concur. He demonstrated last year he cant coach. He'll never have a better team, and he couldn't even muster a .500 B1G record. 1 and done in the tournament.
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Last years team was built with inefficient guys who didn't defend. This roster is better than last years imo. This years collapses scare me and worry me and no improvement defensively as well.
 

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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Yeah, that's a good point on those three players. I actually liked the Pitino did not run them off but you're right about those mistakes, they were magnified by injuries and maybe even worse, they were also magnified by constantly having players on scholarship who have to be sitting out.
 

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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Tubby's last year we had Rodney Williams, Welch, Mbakwe, Andre and Austin Hollins. Oh and Elliot and Mo. Yeah that roster is waaay better than the current one. Most of those guys would start on our current roster.
 

cjbfbp said:
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?
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Hahahahahahaha
 



cjbfbp said:
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.
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Ok then. ?
 


jblass said:
I do not need a larger screen TV as I am at every home game. You?
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I go to two games a year. I see the same thing when I go as when I watch on TV.

What are you seeing?

You might want to use that larger screen for the road games. They've been brutal this year, but I'm sure there is some excuse.
 

Master of the obvious checking in.
Glass half empty: Coach hasn't consistently got us toward top of big ten. 7 years is enuf, let someone else try. If Oturu doesnt return, there is reason to be skeptical about next season.
Glass half full: Team plays hard for him. Dont see main players transferring out like previous regime. Would not even be having this discussion without the injuries to Mason/ Springs in 16-17 and the 17-18 injuries.

Am sure empty seats at Williamd are concerning and whatever the boosters are thinking. Purdue, Iowa, Maryland games were gut wrenching losses - can argue about how much credit Pitino should have for getting us in position to win those games or how much blame for losing. I believe Pitino is a good game coach, good player development. Recruiting is holding him back. Can make an argument this team is overachieving based upon where they were picked preseason. I also see other big ten coaches have their ups and downs, so no guarantees new coach would bring glory. Bottom line I think there is good reason to return Pitino and hope he returns, but trust Coyle to do what's best for the program either way.
 
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Goldteam said:
I go to two games a year. I see the same thing when I go as when I watch on TV.

What are you seeing?

You might want to use that larger screen for the road games. They've been brutal this year, but I'm sure there is some excuse.
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Big deal. All the big ten were struggling earlier on the road. This was not only a young team but a team with new players and a fairly strong pre-conference schedule. They have been competitive for the most part in conference games but unfortunately have been on the losing side in some close games. They will be stronger and mentally tougher next season. That happens naturally when your young players mature more.
 

I thought this was interesting - from Marcus Fuller article in the Strib. Basically suggesting that players from one of the top AAU programs in the state are down on Pitino.

tipping came in 2017, with Champlin Park’s McKinley Wright. Wright visited the U and was seriously considering making a commitment before the Gophers landed New York point guard Isaiah Washington. Right or wrong, it caused a perception that Pitino valued out-of-state talent more.

The ripple effect was lasting. Washington was a disappointment and eventually transferred to Iona, while Wright has become an All-Pac-12 player at Colorado. And the Gophers have not landed a recruit from Wright’s D1 Minnesota AAU program since, including McDonald’s All-American Matthew Hurt, Zeke Nnaji, Tyler Wahl and Tyrell Terry last year — and Ben Carlson, Dawson Garcia and Steven Crowl this year.

The article also suggests that the change in assistant coaches has not helped in maintaining relationships with recruits.
 

jblass said:
Big deal. All the big ten were struggling earlier on the road. This was not only a young team but a team with new players and a fairly strong pre-conference schedule. They have been competitive for the most part in conference games but unfortunately have been on the losing side in some close games. They will be stronger and mentally tougher next season. That happens naturally when your young players mature more.
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Big 10 teams don't seem to be struggling in the barn. That's a big deal, sir!
 

Goldteam said:
Big 10 teams don't seem to be struggling in the barn. That's a big deal, sir!
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OK so I guess you may be right. #9 Maryland did not struggle all that much to eek out a last second victory on desperation 3 point shot after trailing the entire game.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I thought this was interesting - from Marcus Fuller article in the Strib. Basically suggesting that players from one of the top AAU programs in the state are down on Pitino.

tipping came in 2017, with Champlin Park’s McKinley Wright. Wright visited the U and was seriously considering making a commitment before the Gophers landed New York point guard Isaiah Washington. Right or wrong, it caused a perception that Pitino valued out-of-state talent more.

The ripple effect was lasting. Washington was a disappointment and eventually transferred to Iona, while Wright has become an All-Pac-12 player at Colorado. And the Gophers have not landed a recruit from Wright’s D1 Minnesota AAU program since, including McDonald’s All-American Matthew Hurt, Zeke Nnaji, Tyler Wahl and Tyrell Terry last year — and Ben Carlson, Dawson Garcia and Steven Crowl this year.

The article also suggests that the change in assistant coaches has not helped in maintaining relationships with recruits.
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Not the AAU program, but players and families , especially those you mentioned are not high on Pitino in comparison to others.
 

jblass said:
OK so I guess you may be right. #9 Maryland did not struggle all that much to eek out a last second victory on desperation 3 point shot after trailing the entire game.
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It's as if you have no clue how hard it was for Minnesota to lose that game. It took a lot of work on our part.
 

MNgradinWI said:
Tubby's last year we had Rodney Williams, Welch, Mbakwe, Andre and Austin Hollins. Oh and Elliot and Mo. Yeah that roster is waaay better than the current one. Most of those guys would start on our current roster.
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And he was 8-10 in the Big Ten with that roster...... What you were talking about was, did Pitino improved on what he arrived here and got. Bottom line- yes he did. The roster Tubby gave him was far inferior to the roster Pitino has now- which is also a younger roster- soph, soph, jr. sr. and soph starting. If Ihnen starts as he may soon, then it gets even younger
 




bga1 said:
And he was 8-10 in the Big Ten with that roster...... What you were talking about was, did Pitino improved on what he arrived here and got. Bottom line- yes he did. The roster Tubby gave him was far inferior to the roster Pitino has now- which is also a younger roster- soph, soph, jr. sr. and soph starting. If Ihnen starts as he may soon, then it gets even younger
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Are you “Doug from Plymouth” that called into the Cake Show today? It was almost word for word your usual narrative when defending Pitino. Involved a lot of would of should of could of and it’s all bad luck talk.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
I thought this was interesting - from Marcus Fuller article in the Strib. Basically suggesting that players from one of the top AAU programs in the state are down on Pitino.

tipping came in 2017, with Champlin Park’s McKinley Wright. Wright visited the U and was seriously considering making a commitment before the Gophers landed New York point guard Isaiah Washington. Right or wrong, it caused a perception that Pitino valued out-of-state talent more.

The ripple effect was lasting. Washington was a disappointment and eventually transferred to Iona, while Wright has become an All-Pac-12 player at Colorado. And the Gophers have not landed a recruit from Wright’s D1 Minnesota AAU program since, including McDonald’s All-American Matthew Hurt, Zeke Nnaji, Tyler Wahl and Tyrell Terry last year — and Ben Carlson, Dawson Garcia and Steven Crowl this year.

The article also suggests that the change in assistant coaches has not helped in maintaining relationships with recruits.
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I will take Oturu over Hurt anyday
 



manderson1984 said:
Claeys is an asshole as is Brewster. Pitino did really try to join the community which is why I think the "nice guy" thing gets brought up.
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Huh. Claeys is an a hole, and Gard is the most wonderful.
 


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