MN Daily: Struggling sports look to rebound (Pitino searches for consistency)

[BleedGopher]

per the Daily:

Pitino searches for consistency

Despite leading the Gophers to a National Invitation Tournament championship in his first year at the helm, head basketball coach Richard Pitino has hit a down period with his team.

Pitino is 51-51 in his time at Minnesota and has yet to earn an NCAA tournament berth. The Gophers have suffered two consecutive losing seasons and didn’t secure a spot in the NIT in 2015 or 2016.

“I was always concerned about taking a step back in year three,” said Pitino. “We took a bigger step than we needed to, but I think in year four, we will have our most talented team, our most experienced team.”

The Gophers will look to bounce back through the experience of older transfer students. Senior guard Akeem Springs transferred from UW-Milwaukee, and senior forward Davonte Fitzgerald will be eligible to play this season after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules.

“It was difficult to run offense last year because we were not a good shooting team,” Pitino said. “I think with Davonte Fitzgerald will really help; he’s a very good shooter. You look at Akeem Springs — he’s a very good shooter. So this is much more of a complete team.”

http://www.mndaily.com/sports/2016/06/15/struggling-sports-look-rebound

Go Gophers!!

 

[bemidjigopher]

Technically we had a winning record in year two, but it was a disappointing season. Most of us who knew the roster thought year three would be tough unless Pitino could sign a bunch of five stars. Having a successful second year would' have given him some more leeway for last year. Time to earn those duckets

 

[bizzle22]

Technically we had a winning record in year two, but it was a disappointing season. Most of us who knew the roster thought year three would be tough unless Pitino could sign a bunch of five stars. Having a successful second year would' have given him some more leeway for last year. Time to earn those duckets

I wouldn't say that most of us thought 8-23 was in the cards going into last year

 

[bemidjigopher]

I wouldn't say that most of us thought 8-23 was in the cards going into last year

True, but I think even the most optimistic of us thought it would be a 5-13 or 6-12 type of year. They had a chance to finish strong before the tape came out. But the point is Pitino needed to have success within his first two years to keep the leeches off his back in year three. That team in year two needed to make the dance, coming off an NIT championship and it didn't happen. That team going 6-12 was the bigger disappointment because there were expectations and our best players were seniors. Last year my brother in law put it best during an exhibition game, Joey King is our best scoring option were in trouble

 

[Tim1406]

I wouldn't say that most of us thought 8-23 was in the cards going into last year

is there really much difference between 8-23 and 11-20?

Also I'd challenge Pitino's assessment that next year is the most experienced team, what about his 2nd year?

Also Fitzgerald might be an academic senior but he's junior eligibility...

 

[bizzle22]

is there really much difference between 8-23 and 11-20?

Also I'd challenge Pitino's assessment that next year is the most experienced team, what about his 2nd year?

Also Fitzgerald might be an academic senior but he's junior eligibility...

There is no difference in terms of making a postseason tournament as obviously neither of those records is going to get you into any tournament. But there is a difference to me as a fan. I wanted more wins even if it wouldn't have meant that we made the postseason. I was still attending games late into the season and certainly wasn't there with the hope that we would lose.

Agree on the 2nd year being the most experienced team.

 

[bizzle22]

True, but I think even the most optimistic of us thought it would be a 5-13 or 6-12 type of year. They had a chance to finish strong before the tape came out. But the point is Pitino needed to have success within his first two years to keep the leeches off his back in year three. That team in year two needed to make the dance, coming off an NIT championship and it didn't happen. That team going 6-12 was the bigger disappointment because there were expectations and our best players were seniors. Last year my brother in law put it best during an exhibition game, Joey King is our best scoring option were in trouble

Oh I agree with you that if you really looked at the roster last year it didn't look good. I remember thinking the exact same thing that your brother-in-law said. Even taking that into account I still expected something around 13-16 wins, and definitely did not think we would fall off the deep end like we did.

This is why I'm not super optimistic about next year. I thought Pitino had a roster that was capable of making the NCAA tournament in each of his first two years. Winning the NIT was nice, but I'd still call that an average year. So basically in my mind he's been average in year 1, below average in year 2, and terrible in year 3. It's just tough to get my hopes up for year 4 with that history in mind. I think we will definitely improve on last years record, but it disappoints me that we are a situation where something like a 18-15 season would be considered a huge improvement.

 

[alchemy2u]

Oh I agree with you that if you really looked at the roster last year it didn't look good. I remember thinking the exact same thing that your brother-in-law said. Even taking that into account I still expected something around 13-16 wins, and definitely did not think we would fall off the deep end like we did.

This is why I'm not super optimistic about next year. I thought Pitino had a roster that was capable of making the NCAA tournament in each of his first two years. Winning the NIT was nice, but I'd still call that an average year. So basically in my mind he's been average in year 1, below average in year 2, and terrible in year 3. It's just tough to get my hopes up for year 4 with that history in mind. I think we will definitely improve on last years record, but it disappoints me that we are a situation where something like a 18-15 season would be considered a huge improvement.

Pitino was on the steep end of the learning curve those first years. He has shown that he can coach basketball. And this year will be his first year with his type of players at each position. This season will be night and day difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tim1406]

I was still attending games late into the season and certainly wasn't there with the hope that we would lose.

Being out of state means I forget about the fans who are actually at the games. I really thought we'd get to 5 BIG wins before the suspensions happened.