I've Seen Enough

[CentralGopher]

If Pitino is gone after this year I'll take no satisfaction in it. I like the guy and thought he was a good coach and had high hopes for him and the team but just don't see anything other than mediocre right now from how the team plays to recruiting. I won't be bitter about it and will remember his time here fondly while rooting for a new coach and the team as always. Go Gophers!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dano564]

Actually Fran is supposedly an awesome guy off the court and a fantastic interview. He just loses his **** on the court, when 90% of his general audience sees him.

I watched a couple of his interviews and was surprised how decent he was.
I think he's scaled back some of his a-hole-ness this year.
The guy acted insane on the court.

 

[RolGnav]

I don't know what the answer is at PG, but it certainly isn't Coffey. IW has flashes but Pitino just doesn't trust him, and neither do I... but then again, I certainly think IW will do more than flying into the lane 1 v 3, and throwing up the shortest bricks ever. So conflicted... probably how Pitino feels. But guess who put the team together? That's his own doing. We have one real ball handler... everyone else is just a square peg in a round hole. But that's not even the problem, I don't even know what the problem is. It's no secret we're the one team that baffles everyone. We can beat some of the best teams, and yet still lose to some of the worst teams. So are we not talented enough for the B10 but over achieving or are talented but under achieving? I honestly believe we are talented but just don't have the coach to bring out the best in our players. I even think Murphy could be better with better coaching.

 

[Hates Monikers]

Other than recruiting the players, how is it Pitino’s fault when Players shoot so poorly?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You recruit shooting. You can't recruit poor high school shooters and hope they become good shooters in college. This wasn't a one-game anomaly -- shooting has been a problem throughout Pitino's tenure. To a lesser extent, the same is true of toughness and grit, and we don't have much of that, either.

You are what you recruit. We're a soft, poor shooting, mediocre team.

 

[gophereric30]

Not sure why when were struggling offensively that bringing in Washington and pushing the pace of play isn't gonna get us some easy transition baskets. That way maybe coffey and everyone else get some easy buckets and maybe just maybe gives them a little confidence. Your always gonna win with defense, but at this point my question is what was anybody backcourt wise doing defensively last night that Washington couldnt do. Michigan hit 13 three pointers last night. Seemed like they scored like 15 times in a row at one point lol if Washington had been running point all year maybe by now he would have confidence and could solve some of our offensive woes.

 

[Go Gophs]

Right on many levels.

Michigan wasn’t do or die for me. I honestly think they are final 4 good. Have all year.

I wonder how all these conversations would be going had we beat Nebraska and not lost at the buzzer to Michigan the first time?

We beat Rutgers and NW...win one in the conference tourney we’re probably in.

The guard play will dictate this.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We would then be 19-8, 9-7 right now and a virtual LOCK for the tourney. Of course this loss wouldn't be frowned on so much.

I can agree with the rest of your post, but what makes you think we will win 2 on the road and then beat a decent team in the BT tourney with the way this team is playing right now?

 

[cjbfbp]

what makes you think we will win 2 on the road and then beat a decent team in the BT tourney with the way this team is playing right now?

The answer to your question should be obvious: blind faith.

 

[builtbadgers]

Still see so many posts using words like if, would, could be our record. 38-68 is historically bad. Dan Monson inherited a absolute mess and did better. Spelled it out a dozen times. Non blue blood programs must be built with defense for so many reasons. I do not mean defenses that are regularly outside the top 50. Defenses in the top 25 keep you in games where you shoot poorly. You build a toughness both mentally and physically that you can not fake and it becomes your identity. Every player every recruit knows exactly what is required to play. It wins. And when it does it leads to getting even better players. In that group are guys that can shoot but you never back off on demanding great defense. Fans want buckets, they watch the ball and i get it, the goal is to score more points. Knowing that then it is required to understand the value of stopping the other team from scoring. Actually not concerned about the result of last nights game but the lack of passion and toughness was embarrassing.

 

[golfing18now]

It's humbling to watch a top 5/10ish team come in and execute the way Michigan did last night. They are so well coached, work so hard on the defensive end, and get what they want on the offensive end. Really impressive. Then to think there might be another level above them in Duke/Gonzaga/Virginia/Kentucky. Wow.

I get sick of reading comments above our "effort", how "soft" we are, etc. etc. We got beat by a much better team last night but it wasn't due to effort. Our starting front court had 36 points and 27 rebounds. That's not "soft".

For me, it boils down to execution. Clearly Michigan has better shooters but they also create much easier shots in their half court offense. Nothing comes easy for us unless we are playing a porous defense like Iowa or Indiana. We missed a couple wide open threes but most shots were very contested. That's the most frustrating part for me.

 

[big10guy]

And we had a potential recruit from Hopkins at the game. Excellent recruiting tactic tonight.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Actually any recruit watching this team should know if he's worth anything, he can walk right in next year and play. Especially if he can shoot or dribble the ball. (and if he can't, we better not be recruiting him.)

 

[rowdaboat]

Home Run
1. Musselman
2. Shaka

Solid
3. Oates
4. Howland

Hope for the best
5. Hoiberg
6. Otzelberger
7. Miles
8. Medved

Zero chance to poach Shaka from Texas without paying him double. It'd be at best lateral move for him

 

[bottlebass]

I wonder what the sentiment would be had we not had the injuries and suspension last year. They were going to dominate in the tournament last year.

I guess I'm not the happiest with Pitino right now but I don't really want to go through another rebuild cycle. I'll wait until the end of the season. If we don't make the dance I'll assume he is fired and will be OK with it, but still won't be calling for his head I guess.

 

[Angrygopher1]

It comes down to shooting, make 5 more free throws and 3 more shots from the field and we win! No excuse for shooting 50% free throws and 23% from the field. Michigan was really not that much better overall than us.

 

[benlaur]

It comes down to shooting, make 5 more free throws and 3 more shots from the field and we win! No excuse for shooting 50% free throws and 23% from the field. Michigan was really not that much better overall than us.

Yes, you can say that every game. Had we only shot better, had we only stopped the other team 1 more time, had the ref not blown a call, had we not missed some key 3 pointers. An average college game has a 5/6 point spread, so theoretically you could say that almost every game. Heck, if we shoot 75% we can win every game!

This was not a pretty game to watch. Something missing for sure. Bad shooting = bad looks or bad shooters. The worse the shooters, the better the looks needed.

 

[scools12]

I wonder what the sentiment would be had we not had the injuries and suspension last year. They were going to dominate in the tournament last year.

I guess I'm not the happiest with Pitino right now but I don't really want to go through another rebuild cycle. I'll wait until the end of the season. If we don't make the dance I'll assume he is fired and will be OK with it, but still won't be calling for his head I guess.

Saying they would have dominated in the tournament last year is a belief not a fact.

If last year would have went differently the sentiment this year would probably be different. However, there is no way of knowing how last year would have went without the injuries and suspensions.

IIRC Pitino asked for a mulligan on last year. This year he has that mulligan and so far he hasn't taken advantage of it.

 

[MennoSota]

It comes down to shooting, make 5 more free throws and 3 more shots from the field and we win! No excuse for shooting 50% free throws and 23% from the field. Michigan was really not that much better overall than us.

Right.
We have a 6'8" point guard who releases his shot at about the 5'10" mark on his body and has yet to shoot a jump shot from farther out than 10 feet of the basket. When rushed, he tosses up bricks. Add McBrayer as a shorter version and you have two of three guards who can't get their shot off when being guarded. Now add a 6' point guard who can't make a shot outside of 10 feet and you have 3 guys on the perimeter that can't score from beyond the arc. Murphy, at his size, needed to add an outside shot (he would be a first round draft pick if he could shoot from outside), but he never figured it out while being here. Curry is just rusty and can't hit the outside shot like he did before his injury.
We have an entire team consisting of mostly below average shooters.
Now add a team that doesn't covet each possession of the ball and simply makes unforced turnovers and you have a recipe for playing in the NIT.

 

[Ewert86PC]

]Yes, you can say that every game.[/b] Had we only shot better, had we only stopped the other team 1 more time, had the ref not blown a call, had we not missed some key 3 pointers. An average college game has a 5/6 point spread, so theoretically you could say that almost every game. Heck, if we shoot 75% we can win every game!

This was not a pretty game to watch. Something missing for sure. Bad shooting = bad looks or bad shooters. The worse the shooters, the better the looks needed.

Here's the problem, we have been saying it for EVERY SINGLE GAME. Nothing has changed. If you keep banging your head on the wall, then your choices are stop or knock yourself out.


Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[big10guy]

Whether Pitino is here next year or not really doesn't matter. The core makeup of this team is problematic. No shooters.
I think IW is gone and that still leaves us with a PG problem. I hope Carr is the answer everyone thinks he can be; if not, we're at the same disaster stage.
Coffey has to move to the 3 next year and there can be absolutely no consideration of another year of him playing point. That's been an unmitigated failure for this team. Sorry, dad. As such, Amir needs to greatly improve his shooting, ball handling and defensive intensity. Hate to say it, but he is the key to this team's success next year, even more so with Murphy gone.

 

[benlaur]

Do we ever post up Coffee? Would love to see him posting a smaller guard on occasion and seeing some more off ball cutting. He is a very talented player and we need to better figure out how to capitalize on his ability.

 

[howeda7]

Zero chance to poach Shaka from Texas without paying him double. It'd be at best lateral move for him

He might be a year away from getting canned. It's a similar situation to Tubby and Kentucky in 2007 and that's the only reason I think it's somewhat realistic. I admit it's still unlikely.

 

[Hates Monikers]

It's humbling to watch a top 5/10ish team come in and execute the way Michigan did last night. They are so well coached, work so hard on the defensive end, and get what they want on the offensive end. Really impressive. Then to think there might be another level above them in Duke/Gonzaga/Virginia/Kentucky. Wow.

I get sick of reading comments above our "effort", how "soft" we are, etc. etc. We got beat by a much better team last night but it wasn't due to effort. Our starting front court had 36 points and 27 rebounds. That's not "soft".

For me, it boils down to execution. Clearly Michigan has better shooters but they also create much easier shots in their half court offense. Nothing comes easy for us unless we are playing a porous defense like Iowa or Indiana. We missed a couple wide open threes but most shots were very contested. That's the most frustrating part for me.

Murphy is tough as nails. Oturu and Kalscher look like they'll be fine. That's it for toughness, and I'm talking mental toughness, too.

You're right, Michigan is much better and there's no shame in losing a game to a better team. For me, it's how we lost that game and many others this year. We lay back and let it happen. I'd like to see some sense that they're sick and tired of being sick and tired and say enough is enough.

 

[howeda7]

I wonder what the sentiment would be had we not had the injuries and suspension last year. They were going to dominate in the tournament last year.

I guess I'm not the happiest with Pitino right now but I don't really want to go through another rebuild cycle. I'll wait until the end of the season. If we don't make the dance I'll assume he is fired and will be OK with it, but still won't be calling for his head I guess.

What are you basing that on? Their last 3 power 5 games before Lynch/Coffey went out they got blown out by Nebraska and Arkansas and struggled to beat Illinois at home. It feels like people are back-dating Coffey and Lynch going out to the Alabama game and claiming we were a top 15 team when that happened. We were an un-ranked team that looked headed for an 8-11 seed in the NCAA's IMO.

 

[bga1]

Do we ever post up Coffee? Would love to see him posting a smaller guard on occasion and seeing some more off ball cutting. He is a very talented player and we need to better figure out how to capitalize on his ability.

If we post up Coffey, why would the guys who guard Murphy and Oturu leave the lane? They wouldn't. Those guys are not a threat outside so their opponents will sag in. Now Coffey is facing three guys, just like Murphy does.

 

[WanderingGopher]

What are you basing that on? Their last 3 power 5 games before Lynch/Coffey went out they got blown out by Nebraska and Arkansas and struggled to beat Illinois at home. It feels like people are back-dating Coffey and Lynch going out to the Alabama game and claiming we were a top 15 team when that happened. We were an un-ranked team that looked headed for an 8-11 seed in the NCAA's IMO.

Yeah, things started going downhill the year before when Springs and Mason got hurt at the end of the year, then Curry and McBrayer got hurt in the off-season.

A fully healthy and available squad last year was definitely a top-3 big ten team.

 

[cjbfbp]

Right.

We have an entire team consisting of mostly below average shooters.
Now add a team that doesn't covet each possession of the ball and simply makes unforced turnovers and you have a recipe for playing in the NIT.

Well, that remains to be seen. We're not there yet. This could be another Pitino year with no postseason like three out of his last five.

 

[dpodoll68]

Wanting to get rid of Pitino may be change just for change's sake.

I've seen this posted here a few times, and the cognitive dissonance on display is amazing. "Change for change's sake" applies when the person probably doesn't deserve to be fired based on performance, but the players in the room need a different voice, a new set of opinions, a fresh perspective. Recent examples would include Dwane Casey (Raptors), Jim Harbaugh (49ers), and Mark Richt (Georgia). Pitino doesn't even belong on the same planet as those in that conversation. Pitino's body of work here is historically bad. If he is terminated, it would be richly deserved and then some. It would be the polar opposite of "change for change's sake."

 

[dpodoll68]

Zero chance to poach Shaka from Texas without paying him double. It'd be at best lateral move for him

Get out - really? A move from Texas to Minnesota is "at best" a lateral move? No way, that's crazy.

In all seriousness, though - calling that a "lateral move" is being extremely, extremely kind to Minnesota.

 

[Goph4phan]

First off, I have always been a Richard Pitino supporter. I truly believed that he could get Minnesota to where we all want Minnesota to be, until this year. His lack of allowing Isaiah Washington to make mistakes has hurt this team immensely. My opinion cannot be changed. Isaiah Washington's abilities were the key to this season being successful or not. If you cannot shoot the ball then somebody needs to be able to create shots for others. There is not one player on this team that can do that other than Isaiah Washington. Now, I am not claiming that our record would be better if Richard played Isaiah all year long, however it was a rock left mostly unturned in a very frustrating season where we struggled to score the ball.

Also, whether we find a way to make it into the NCAA tournament or not, Richard Pitino should be looking for a job next basketball season.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[howeda7]

First off, I have always been a Richard Pitino supporter. I truly believed that he could get Minnesota to where we all want Minnesota to be, until this year. His lack of allowing Isaiah Washington to make mistakes has hurt this team immensely. My opinion cannot be changed. Isaiah Washington's abilities were the key to this season being successful or not. If you cannot shoot the ball then somebody needs to be able to create shots for others. There is not one player on this team that can do that other than Isaiah Washington. Now, I am not claiming that our record would be better if Richard played Isaiah all year long, however it was a rock left mostly unturned in a very frustrating season where we struggled to score the ball.

Also, whether we find a way to make it into the NCAA tournament or not, Richard Pitino should be looking for a job next basketball season.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

+1. It would as if PJ Fleck decided he didn't like Tanner Morgan, had no other options and said "$% it, we'll use Seth Green and run wildcat all season." I don't know what drove Richard to this decision but it was a mistake and his refusal to correct it probably cost him his job.

 

[Goph4phan]

+1. It would as if PJ Fleck decided he didn't like Tanner Morgan, had no other options and said "$% it, we'll use Seth Green and run wildcat all season." I don't know what drove Richard to this decision but it was a mistake and his refusal to correct it probably cost him his job.

That parallel is so strangely correct!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk