Minnesota is not a stepping stone

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alchemy2u

alchemy2u

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I am getting sick and tired of all the local press saying that we are just a temporary stop for Pitino until he moves to a better job.

We have BB revenues very similar to the top programs in the B1G and that will only improve with selling out the Barn. The new administration is committed to improving the facilities and expenses to be a top program. Just because we haven't done it under the prior administration doesn't mean we won't do it now.

The program and legacy is built by the coach and the players he brings in to the school. Minnesota can be one of the top programs in the B1G and it is in the hands of coach Pitino. He can mold it into a top program and create his own legacy. WE ARE THE BETTER JOB!!!!!

Also, why does everyone think he has this undying love for Louisville? He was about 20 when his dad started coaching at Louisville. He went to school at Providence, if anything that may be his dream school, but he has already jumped over them.

So lets stop this "We could lose him" talk and start the "this is the beginning" talk.
 

Well some of us wondered if we were a stepping stone for Dan Monson as well. I'm sure most didn't think it would be to Long Beach State. If Pitino is wildly successful, which is unlikely, then he will have his pick of jobs if he wants something else. If he's mildly successful, we'll have a good chance to keep him a long time. If he has Monson like success, he'll be stepping right back to the Sun Belt with his tail between his legs.
 

alchemy2u said:
I am getting sick and tired of all the local press saying that we are just a temporary stop for Pitino until he moves to a better job.

We have BB revenues very similar to the top programs in the B1G and that will only improve with selling out the Barn. The new administration is committed to improving the facilities and expenses to be a top program. Just because we haven't done it under the prior administration doesn't mean we won't do it now.

The program and legacy is built by the coach and the players he brings in to the school. Minnesota can be one of the top programs in the B1G and it is in the hands of coach Pitino. He can mold it into a top program and create his own legacy. WE ARE THE BETTER JOB!!!!!

Also, why does everyone think he has this undying love for Louisville? He was about 20 when his dad started coaching at Louisville. He went to school at Providence, if anything that may be his dream school, but he has already jumped over them.

So lets stop this "We could lose him" talk and start the "this is the beginning" talk.
Click to expand...

Until they update the facilities it is a stepping stone for a better job for Teague, Kill and Pitino. That's not a bad thing though if they win and leave the program better off from when they got it who cares if they leave.
 

The Louisville fans on the Scout forum seem to think this is a stepping stone for young Richard.

I, personally, think that the folks in Louisville forget that Louisville was nothing more than a cesspool swamp until a young assistant by the name of Denny Crum came along as a kid who had studied under John Wooden. Crum made that program into a national power. Young Richard is stepping into a mid-level B1G school with short stints of high success. It's a better gig than what Crum stepped into with Louisville and perhaps this is the place where young Richard can make a name for himself rather than ride into Louisville to pick up what his dad inherited and maintained from Denny Crum.

Here's to hoping young Richard build his own legacy here at Minnesota.
 



Young Pitino is supposed to be more like Donovan, who is not a jumper.
 

Sparlimb said:
Well some of us wondered if we were a stepping stone for Dan Monson as well. I'm sure most didn't think it would be to Long Beach State. If Pitino is wildly successful, which is unlikely, then he will have his pick of jobs if he wants something else. If he's mildly successful, we'll have a good chance to keep him a long time. If he has Monson like success, he'll be stepping right back to the Sun Belt with his tail between his legs.
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All quite true, but Minnesota certainly could have been a stepping stone for Monson. He was offered the University of Washington job in 2002. Turned it down and his buyout went up because of it. We would have been better off if he had taken it. Can't speak for Washington. If Doogie was right when he said that Flip was told that a private jet and a new basketball facility was a "done deal" then Mr.Pitino the Younger has a good chance of being successful and staying.

The good news is that unlike the Louisville Board's dream of inheriting the "Son of the Coach", when Monson turned down Washington he wasn't turning down Dad's school. His Dad, Don Monson coached at Oregon. Second thought that may not be good news.

http://seattletimes.com/html/huskies/2004034875_umen26.html
 

THE SCOUT! said:
More often a cliff then a stepping stone
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girls scout, your daddy got fired, get over it! You do realize that there are other teams to support if you don't care to support the Gophers. I gave your daddy 3 or 4 years to be better than mediocre. He proved that he had no clue on how to improve on 6th place and he was fired after 6 years of trying. He was given a fair opportunity. Give the youngin' a fair opportunity and if he's utterly fallen on his face, then both you and I will explain why the youngin should be the next coach at Texas Tech. Until then, swallow your bitterness.
 

tinyarch said:
The Louisville fans on the Scout forum seem to think this is a stepping stone for young Richard.

I, personally, think that the folks in Louisville forget that Louisville was nothing more than a cesspool swamp until a young assistant by the name of Denny Crum came along as a kid who had studied under John Wooden. Crum made that program into a national power. Young Richard is stepping into a mid-level B1G school with short stints of high success. It's a better gig than what Crum stepped into with Louisville and perhaps this is the place where young Richard can make a name for himself rather than ride into Louisville to pick up what his dad inherited and maintained from Denny Crum.

Here's to hoping young Richard build his own legacy here at Minnesota.
Click to expand...

Exactly. If we think we are second rate, how can you expect anyone not believe us.
 



When you are a Big Ten school, and with conference realignment which puts the ACC at risk, I don't know how many programs are really significantly better to the degree where a jump makes sense.

The Bluebloods would be:

Duke
Kentucky
Louisville
Kansas
North Carolina

UCLA at this point becomes questionable... doesn't seem to be what it was

Then you have the other B1G blue bloods, but how many would change jobs inside a conference.
Indiana
MSU
Michigan?
Ohio State
Maryland

I think that would be odd for any coach to leave MN just to stay in the same conference.

Then you have the other schools some think might be blue bloods
Florida
Missouri


Outside of that, I don't know if there are any obvious choices where it would be a no brainer.
Also, MN has shown it can pay a high salary for basketball so from a compensation standpoint, MN should be able to match just about any offer.

So going back to the list, I think we'd be at risk for him going to a blue-blood school but that's about it.
 

If Pitino has success and the U builds the needed facilities, there's a chance he could be convinced to stay. Same with Kill in football. If coaches have a lot of success here but don't feel they are getting the needed support, they'll probably look to leave. I have the utmost confidence that Teague will do whatever he can within his power to get his major sports the necessary resources to be successful though. He is not, like Maturi, a man of half-measures.
 

Stepping Stone

alchemy2u said:
I am getting sick and tired of all the local press saying that we are just a temporary stop for Pitino until he moves to a better job.

We have BB revenues very similar to the top programs in the B1G and that will only improve with selling out the Barn. The new administration is committed to improving the facilities and expenses to be a top program. Just because we haven't done it under the prior administration doesn't mean we won't do it now.

The program and legacy is built by the coach and the players he brings in to the school. Minnesota can be one of the top programs in the B1G and it is in the hands of coach Pitino. He can mold it into a top program and create his own legacy. WE ARE THE BETTER JOB!!!!!

Also, why does everyone think he has this undying love for Louisville? He was about 20 when his dad started coaching at Louisville. He went to school at Providence, if anything that may be his dream school, but he has already jumped over them.

So lets stop this "We could lose him" talk and start the "this is the beginning" talk.
Click to expand...

Even if Minnesota is a "Stepping Stone" wouldn't that be a better problem to have instead of firing a coach for failure to win (Smith & Monson) or cheating/scandal (Haskins, Dutcher & Musselman)?

Sign me up.
 

Johnnyboy18 said:
Until they update the facilities it is a stepping stone for a better job for Teague, Kill and Pitino. That's not a bad thing though if they win and leave the program better off from when they got it who cares if they leave.
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+1. I actually agree with jb on something
 



How many Big Ten programs have gotten stepping-stoned?

Self left Illinois for Kansas.
Orr left Michigan for Iowa State, but was that really a step up? What were the circumstances?
Olson left Iowa for Arizona.

What am I forgetting?
 

Bad Gopher said:
How many Big Ten programs have gotten stepping-stoned?

Self left Illinois for Kansas.
Orr left Michigan for Iowa State, but was that really a step up? What were the circumstances?
Olson left Iowa for Arizona.

What am I forgetting?
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Tubby left Minnesota for Texas Tech... :p
 

Name the last coach (hoops-football-hockey) to leave on their own accord? This is the furthest thing from a stepping stone job.
 

It is a stepping stone until the facilities and resources are in place to compete with other schools. The think is we don't know because we don't have the facilities and every coach has been fired here. To me that means they were a bad coach or the support was not their for them to compete.
 

Ope3 said:
Even if Minnesota is a "Stepping Stone" wouldn't that be a better problem to have instead of firing a coach for failure to win (Smith & Monson) or cheating/scandal (Haskins, Dutcher & Musselman)?

Sign me up.
Click to expand...

Not my point. We have got to drop the defeatist mentality and that we are not worthy of the best.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
It is a stepping stone until the facilities and resources are in place to compete with other schools. The think is we don't know because we don't have the facilities and every coach has been fired here. To me that means they were a bad coach or the support was not their for them to compete.
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Until a coach comes here and actually dumps us for another job we are not a stepping stone. There is a need to come up with a better term for us.
 

tikited said:
Name the last coach (hoops-football-hockey) to leave on their own accord? This is the furthest thing from a stepping stone job.
Click to expand...

Lou Holtz and Herb Brooks, that's it in my lifetime (past 40 years). Brenda Freese left the women's program.
 

Ope3 said:
Lou Holtz and Herb Brooks, that's it in my lifetime (past 40 years). Brenda Freese left the women's program.
Click to expand...

Yep. Kind of proves my point. It's been a loooong time. We fire coaches here. They don't leave until we say so.
 

Here is my 2 cents

alchemy2u said:
I am getting sick and tired of all the local press saying that we are just a temporary stop for Pitino until he moves to a better job.

We have BB revenues very similar to the top programs in the B1G and that will only improve with selling out the Barn. The new administration is committed to improving the facilities and expenses to be a top program. Just because we haven't done it under the prior administration doesn't mean we won't do it now.

The program and legacy is built by the coach and the players he brings in to the school. Minnesota can be one of the top programs in the B1G and it is in the hands of coach Pitino. He can mold it into a top program and create his own legacy. WE ARE THE BETTER JOB!!!!!

Also, why does everyone think he has this undying love for Louisville? He was about 20 when his dad started coaching at Louisville. He went to school at Providence, if anything that may be his dream school, but he has already jumped over them.

So lets stop this "We could lose him" talk and start the "this is the beginning" talk.
Click to expand...

Many people have been so excited because Tubby is gone that they would take anybody. Many also compared his time here to his UK's time when he left. There was a lot of similarities. Fans were getting tired of the situation. At the end, it was a win-win situation for all parties.

Pitino/Smith did raise the bar at UK. They won many games and put Uk on the map again. Fans started complaining about Tubby because he wasn't winning enough. He left before he got fired. They hired a coach called BCG. There was so much pressure on him from day one. Like here, many people thought that he was sent by God. Many people also did not like the hire. The pressure finally got into him and then he went crazy. They were forced to hire Calamari who wins and wins and wins at any cost.

Monson/Smith did rasie the bar at UofM. They put UofM back on the map again. Fans started complaining about Tubby because he wasn't winning enough. He left when he got fired. UofM has hired a coach who has a far smaller resume than BCG. Many people like me don't see this hire a top one. Richard will win a few games here and there and then he will be gone before you can enjoy him much.

As one of the posters mentioned, UofM will be forced to hire a Calamari-type hire to win at any cost like UK did.

If Richard's role model is Billy, he might be a Calamari-type hire. Many years ago, Vandy had a great coach called Eddie Fogler. He publicly attacked Billy for his cheating in recruiting. Eddie stopped coaching because of all the BS that was going on in CBB. Lets hope Richard does it in a right way not Billy-way.

Many of us have said this, in order to be a top program, you have to spend money. Until then, people will come and go. Some will use the U as a tepping-stone.

Go Gophers
 

Ope3 said:
Lou Holtz and Herb Brooks, that's it in my lifetime (past 40 years). Brenda Freese left the women's program.
Click to expand...

You have a point with Holtz and Freese, Brooks maintained a loyalty even though he went Olympics and from there the Pros.
 


The-Real-Truth said:
Many people have been so excited because Tubby is gone that they would take anybody. Many also compared his time here to his UK's time when he left. There was a lot of similarities. Fans were getting tired of the situation. At the end, it was a win-win situation for all parties.

Pitino/Smith did raise the bar at UK. They won many games and put Uk on the map again. Fans started complaining about Tubby because he wasn't winning enough. He left before he got fired. They hired a coach called BCG. There was so much pressure on him from day one. Like here, many people thought that he was sent by God. Many people also did not like the hire. The pressure finally got into him and then he went crazy. They were forced to hire Calamari who wins and wins and wins at any cost.

Monson/Smith did rasie the bar at UofM. They put UofM back on the map again. Fans started complaining about Tubby because he wasn't winning enough. He left when he got fired. UofM has hired a coach who has a far smaller resume than BCG. Many people like me don't see this hire a top one. Richard will win a few games here and there and then he will be gone before you can enjoy him much.

As one of the posters mentioned, UofM will be forced to hire a Calamari-type hire to win at any cost like UK did.

If Richard's role model is Billy, he might be a Calamari-type hire. Many years ago, Vandy had a great coach called Eddie Fogler. He publicly attacked Billy for his cheating in recruiting. Eddie stopped coaching because of all the BS that was going on in CBB. Lets hope Richard does it in a right way not Billy-way.

Many of us have said this, in order to be a top program, you have to spend money. Until then, people will come and go. Some will use the U as a tepping-stone.

Go Gophers
Click to expand...
Swing and a miss...

Monson did not elevate the program. He was brought in to clean up the program. He was put in a tough spot, but he proved that he could not coach at the B1G level. He had a few good seasons, but nothing more, in fact typically less than would be expected from a middle of the pack B1G program. Tubby came in with high expectations and he was able to land a few good recruits, but he didn't improve the players and had some very questionable coaching. As many have said, if Tubby would have been able to communicate with the players and actually develop them, he would have done fine.

We are not a mirror of UK, we will be a competive B1G team that makes a run at the conference title every so often. We will never be a win at all cost program.
 

alchemy2u said:
Swing and a miss...

Monson did not elevate the program. He was brought in to clean up the program. He was put in a tough spot, but he proved that he could not coach at the B1G level. He had a few good seasons, but nothing more, in fact typically less than would be expected from a middle of the pack B1G program. Tubby came in with high expectations and he was able to land a few good recruits, but he didn't improve the players and had some very questionable coaching. As many have said, if Tubby would have been able to communicate with the players and actually develop them, he would have done fine.

We are not a mirror of UK, we will be a competive B1G team that makes a run at the conference title every so often. We will never be a win at all cost program.
Click to expand...

It's pretty darn tough to coach at a Big Ten Program when you have loss of scholarships, sanctions, post-season play bans for a while, ALL the negative publicity of the Haskin's scandal, and other factors. Just try going against MSU, Ohio State, Illinois, good Purdue teams.

Richard Pitino is coming into an incredibly GOOD situation compared to the situation Monson came into. But, what doesn't kill you, makes you tougher. The Long Beach State Program Monson took over was just being penalized by the NCAA because of the sins of the coach there before Monson. He was recognized as a coach who could hold a program together in spite of loss of scholarships, sanctions and the BAD PUBLICITY the NCAA violations always brings to the school/program. When the NCAA puts penalties on...it is their intention to damn near kill that program if the violations were severe enough. The NCAA can do that pretty effectively...

; 0 )
 

tikited said:
Yep. Kind of proves my point. It's been a loooong time. We fire coaches here. They don't leave until we say so.
Click to expand...

Yes, but what will happen if Pitino is successful without cheating?
 

justthefacts said:
Yes, but what will happen if Pitino is successful without cheating?
Click to expand...

Win win even if he leaves us. He gets his dream job, wherever that may be, and we are obviously in a much better position than we are now.
 

Of course the UM job is a stepping stone job. The admin doesn't take athletics seriously at the U. They are Big Ten cellar dwellers in recruiting budgets, and they are in desperate need of new facilities. Our antiquated arena is a classic. But it doesn't mean ANYTHING to the out of state blue-chipper. To them, Williams arena is a a dump. The U is losing the facilities arms race.
 

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