Jeff Goodman on Pitino and Miles: Each had a really tough gig in BT, and now look at each spot. Those guys did as much as they could at those spots.

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Bobek said:
You are correct. The sanctions from the academic scandal were a death knell for the program that they have not yet recovered from. That left an entire generation of high school kids seeing a team that was usually mediocre, with an occasional year where they did well. So they didn’t experience Williams Arena at its most electric, and they decided to go elsewhere, often the the Sconnies.
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A death knell? A decade? Probation was for 4 years and they made the NIT 3 of those 4 years. Then they made the NCAA tournament 2 years after the sanctions ended. They also landed two of the highest rated recruits in Gopher history during those years in Rickert and Humphries.

The only death knell in this program is continuing to hire bad coaches. Now we have a coach who won't use all of our scholarships, and just making the NIT seems like a pipe dream. Yet Monson accomplished that in year 2, the first year he was eligible for the postseason, with a forced reduction in scholarships.
 

I don't think there's a question that some places are tougher to win at than others. You don't have to look any further than Nebraska. Hoiberg was almost immediately successful at Iowa State, and he can't get out of the mud in Lincoln. Sure, some of it is the heritage/history of the programs and their winning or losing traditions, but there has to be more to this than that. Fred hasn't become hapless overnight, but here sits the Huskers in the cellar with no indication they're going anywhere. One way or another, it does seem like the Gophers have likewise become the new Northwestern, at least for now.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I don't think there's a question that some places are tougher to win at than others. You don't have to look any further than Nebraska. Hoiberg was almost immediately successful at Iowa State, and he can't get out of the mud in Lincoln. Sure, some of it is the heritage/history of the programs and their winning or losing traditions, but there has to be more to this than that. Fred hasn't become hapless overnight, but here sits the Huskers in the cellar with no indication they're going anywhere. One way or another, it does seem like the Gophers have likewise become the new Northwestern, at least for now.
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Absolutely correct.

As it pertains to sports, I've never liked the obsession with pointing out a losing team/franchise is "trying hard". In recent Gophers history, we seem to applaud diving indiscriminately on the floor as almost a watershed moment. Even our assistant coach felt the need to tweet about it recently. Leading the league in butt slaps and floor burns doesn't translate to wins necessarily but generally is referenced by teams that have fallen into the abyss. Right now we are the new Northwestern and frankly act like it. Hopefully we can find our way back up the mountain at some point.
 

Bobek said:
You are correct. The sanctions from the academic scandal were a death knell for the program that they have not yet recovered from. That left an entire generation of high school kids seeing a team that was usually mediocre, with an occasional year where they did well. So they didn’t experience Williams Arena at its most electric, and they decided to go elsewhere, often the the Sconnies.
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I always thought those kids were drawn to Wisconsin because their coach reminded then of their favorite villain in how the grinch stole Christmas when they were growing up.
 




MaxyJR1 said:
Quick reminder that Pitino has lost 8 of 11 to finish 6th in the Mountain West. Two games behind Miles' San Jose team and 2 games ahead of Medved's Colorado State Team.
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National media likes to oversimplify things. Miles is a good measure better a coach than Pitino, maybe two measures. He outcoached Richard in most of their head-to-head matchups. In Richard's first season here, the Gophers went into Lincoln favored, and the Huskers threw stuff at them defensively that the Gophs weren't ready for and couldn't adjust to.

I said this in another thread, but Miles-Hoiberg is a more valid comparison than Miles-Pitino (or Nebraska-Minnesota). At least at the present moment in history, it's easier to win in Minneapolis than it is in Lincoln.
 





GopherBlood666 said:
Still gotta start fast to fade hard, more like he hits a triple with no outs, then proceeds to strike out three times to end the inning.
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The runner at 3rd has no control over what the subsequent batters do.

Hits a leadoff triple but then gets called out trying to score on a pitch where the ball got away from the catcher but recovered in time to toss it to the pitcher?!?
 






Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
And here we are in 2023, hoping, PRAYING for the current guy to hit the occasional bunt single, beating out the infield throw.
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I'd take a hit by pitch at this point. Be like Coach on Cheers - stick your head in there.
 

Bad Gopher said:
National media likes to oversimplify things. Miles is a good measure better a coach than Pitino, maybe two measures. He outcoached Richard in most of their head-to-head matchups. In Richard's first season here, the Gophers went into Lincoln favored, and the Huskers threw stuff at them defensively that the Gophs weren't ready for and couldn't adjust to.

I said this in another thread, but Miles-Hoiberg is a more valid comparison than Miles-Pitino (or Nebraska-Minnesota). At least at the present moment in history, it's easier to win in Minneapolis than it is in Lincoln.
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I don't know about that.... In the world of NIL, there are no pro sports to compete with college sports down there. I have a feeling that Nebraska is having an easier time putting together excitement for NIL than we are. Furthermore, due to a lack of competition, the Huskers are able to fill the arena even when the team is not doing great.
 

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