Interesting Richard Pitino interview on his time at Minnesota

[matt]

https://www.sportskeeda.com/college...-richard-reflects-getting-fired-xavier-hc-job

“Then, when I got the New Mexico job, what I saw was I was able to bring people with me, whether it was administration boosters, staff and then obviously, the players, to where to get them to understand what the vision was,” he said. “I don't think I did a good job of that in my eight years in Minnesota.

“Like we had success, We went to two NCAA tournaments, We won the NIT, like I know I can coach. But now, the four years at New Mexico, I thought I did a really good job of the fans, the boosters, the administration, and the alumni to get them to be on the same page with me, to get the train moving in the right direction. And, it's the most important thing,” he added.

 

[BleedGopher]

We hired Pitino one job too soon. That’s not his fault, but he will have a long and successful career as a HC IMO, we just got him too early. Plus he had Mega Tongue as an AD at the onset and that probably didn’t help creating a healthy infrastructure around a young coach.

Go Gophers!!

 

[dinkything]

Richard's biggest lesson learned during his tenure at the "U" was to make sure he filled the gas tank prior to returning the rental car, while on those recruiting trips

 

[Unregistered User]

Did he ever have a reasonably healthy team for a full season?

Honest question.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

Did he ever have a reasonably healthy team for a full season?

Honest question.

I think he had a few years having reasonably healthy teams. Unfortunately those were not his most talented teams.

 

[Gophers1992]

We hired Pitino one job too soon. That’s not his fault, but he will have a long and successful career as a HC IMO, we just got him too early. Plus he had Mega Tongue as an AD at the onset and that probably didn’t help creating a healthy infrastructure around a young coach.

Go Gophers!!

Spot on - Richard has shown class every step of the way since he left here and I will always root for him.

 

[jamiche]

Good dude. Sorry it didn't work out for him here.

 

[alchemy2u]

We hired Pitino one job too soon. That’s not his fault, but he will have a long and successful career as a HC IMO, we just got him too early. Plus he had Mega Tongue as an AD at the onset and that probably didn’t help creating a healthy infrastructure around a young coach.

Go Gophers!!

I agree. He talked about how he learned from Minnesota to get more involved in the process, instead of just doing it all himself.

At Minnesota, he showed the ability to make great game plans and was a good in game coach at times. But the team looked unprepared for many games and could be embarrassing to watch. I think the normal thought was it came from laziness, but it sounds like it was more from Pitino spreading himself too thin and not delegating tasks properly.

His experiences at Minnesota made him an excellent coach for New Mexico and they prepared him for a shot at the Big East.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

I think Pitino would thrive with a stable athletic department and a GM to handle the day to day business stuff. He's very likable. Fans enjoy him. Players seem to like him. Thats where he is best.