New Pitino Blog: Week 2!!

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Pitino's blog:

I have been impressed with several players. As for the newcomers, Bakary Konate has stood out the most. This year will be perfect for him to learn under Elliott and Mo. He is a legit 6-11, plays with a high motor, and is very skilled. He also is a phenomenal kid and a quick learner. We are very excited! Andre and Deandre continue to progress on the court as well as in the weight room. They should prove to be a very strong backcourt.

Next week we will start team practice for a total of two hours a week. We will bring them along slowly starting with the basic fundamentals on defense. The look of this year's team will be different. We will certainly miss our veterans and they will be tough to replace. All of our newcomers are eager to learn and will have to impact this team immediately. It will be fun to see who separates themselves.

http://www.gophersports.com/blog/20...-2.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
 

This part was the best:

"Hoops season is just around the corner and we need to be ready. Not too many programs open up their season vs. a top-5 team on national TV. Gopher fans, I must warn you. Ignore anything and everything that comes out of my father's mouth leading up to this game. He does it on the golf course all the time and will start playing mind games with all of us soon enough! Pay no attention to him. He will say they are young and inexperienced. They are talented, athletic and obviously well-coached. He will tell everyone we are the overwhelming favorite. Prepare yourselves. He tried to coach my team last year during the NIT championship. I am looking forward to watching him try to coach both teams at once on November 14th! Haha."
 

The paragraph about his dad is hilarious. I'm even more excited to see Konate play now. Sounds like he has been impressive.
 

Bad Gopher said:
This part was the best:

"Hoops season is just around the corner and we need to be ready. Not too many programs open up their season vs. a top-5 team on national TV. Gopher fans, I must warn you. Ignore anything and everything that comes out of my father's mouth leading up to this game. He does it on the golf course all the time and will start playing mind games with all of us soon enough! Pay no attention to him. He will say they are young and inexperienced. They are talented, athletic and obviously well-coached. He will tell everyone we are the overwhelming favorite. Prepare yourselves. He tried to coach my team last year during the NIT championship. I am looking forward to watching him try to coach both teams at once on November 14th! Haha."
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The bantor between father and son is awesomely entertaining. It helps increase the hype for the game.

GO GOPHERS!!!
 



Love that he does this still...the bantor with his dad is hilarious, and these blog posts really keep me connected to the team, especially during the off-season when football is on my mind. I'm excited about the upcoming year to see what the team can do.
 


Great post, I also liked the part about his father. I can't wait for his blog post after the early signing period so he can comment on our recruiting class!
 

Rich understands the public relations part of his job better than any coach on campus since Lou Holtz. He's very savvy and a natural. My guess is that he's hysterical in private.
 



He seems like a smart you know what which is great because I am too. His players seem to actually like him and joke with him too
 

Is he the most popular coach among fans that watch the respective teams since Clem Haskins maybe? (Vikings/Wolves/Twins/Wild/Gopher Basketball/Gopher Hockey)? I'm having a hard time coming up with a more popular one. That might be a little biased because Gophers hoops is my favorite. He is an amazing public relations guy.
 

golfing18now said:
Is he the most popular coach among fans that watch the respective teams since Clem Haskins maybe? (Vikings/Wolves/Twins/Wild/Gopher Basketball/Gopher Hockey)? I'm having a hard time coming up with a more popular one. That might be a little biased because Gophers hoops is my favorite. He is an amazing public relations guy.
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Probably. Mike Zimmer might be 2nd.
 

golfing18now said:
Is he the most popular coach among fans that watch the respective teams since Clem Haskins maybe? (Vikings/Wolves/Twins/Wild/Gopher Basketball/Gopher Hockey)? I'm having a hard time coming up with a more popular one. That might be a little biased because Gophers hoops is my favorite. He is an amazing public relations guy.
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Don Lucia was a pretty popular dude in 2003
 




Anyone know who he could have been recruiting in Kansas and Florida?
 




Myke said:
Anyone know who he could have been recruiting in Kansas and Florida?
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Pretty sure that McBrayer is at Sunrise in Kansas for prep school and that Dorsey/Nwankwo are at two different prep schools in Florida (which would explain the different places in Florida part of Pitino's blog). I believe it's been "reported" on Twitter that Pitino has visited all of his commitments in the first two days of the open period as well as Amir Coffey ('16) and possibly Illikainen in New Hampshire. Nothing has been said about any new names on the radar, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.
 

Great blog entry by Coach P. After reading this, its obvious that in order to keep Pitino long term, we need a facilities upgrade, sure, but we need to keep Teague. Teague stays, we can have shooters chance to fend off big boys for Pitino's services. Teague bolts somewhere (remember rumours not long ago) and we can kiss Pitino goodbye (at least if Teague leaves soon).
 

Rouser said:
Great blog entry by Coach P. After reading this, its obvious that in order to keep Pitino long term, we need a facilities upgrades, sure, but we need to keep Teague. Teague stays, we can have shooters chance to fend off big boys for Pitino's services. Teague bolts somewhere (remember rumours not long ago) and we can kiss Pitino goodbye (at least if Teague leaves soon).
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Yes, if anyone's still wondering whether Pitino's going to be sought after, a top 20 recruiting class cements it. People are going to come after him. This is what we hoped for when they hired him, so it's not bad news. It's part of the deal.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Yes, if anyone's still wondering whether Pitino's going to be sought after, a top 20 recruiting class cements it. People are going to come after him. This is what we hoped for when they hired him, so it's not bad news. It's part of the deal.
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Hopefully NT stays too and can hang on to Pitino like he did Shaka at VCU.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Yes, if anyone's still wondering whether Pitino's going to be sought after, a top 20 recruiting class cements it. People are going to come after him. This is what we hoped for when they hired him, so it's not bad news. It's part of the deal.
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I agree with your general comments/premise, but remember that it may not be a top 20 recruiting class (there are many uncommitted impact players in 2015 still out there).

Regardless, some of the guys they're bringing in fit well with what Pitino has said they want to do. Plenty of upside vs. "rankings" and high school production for some of these guys.. Jarvis for example.. rough summer, but the upside is still there. I don't care what ranking he is -- the possibilities for his future make it a good addition.

But, probably not a "top 20 class."
 

EG#9 said:
Pretty sure that McBrayer is at Sunrise in Kansas for prep school and that Dorsey/Nwankwo are at two different prep schools in Florida (which would explain the different places in Florida part of Pitino's blog). I believe it's been "reported" on Twitter that Pitino has visited all of his commitments in the first two days of the open period as well as Amir Coffey ('16) and possibly Illikainen in New Hampshire. Nothing has been said about any new names on the radar, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.
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Oh alright thanks. I was wondering why Coach P was in Kansas. I thought McBrayer was still at Vermont Academy so it kind of threw me off. But thanks again.
 

Myke said:
Oh alright thanks. I was wondering why Coach P was in Kansas. I thought McBrayer was still at Vermont Academy so it kind of threw me off. But thanks again.
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Don't think McBrayer was ever at Vermont Academy (although some reported that he was). It appeared to be a likely landing place for him for a short time, but that's it, or so I believe.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
Don't think McBrayer was ever at Vermont Academy (although some reported that he was). It appeared to be a likely landing place for him for a short time, but that's it, or so I believe.
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He was definitely set to go to VT Academy, but the MINN coaches pulled the plug on that. And sent him instead to the school Bakary just came from.
 

maculis said:
He was definitely set to go to VT Academy, but the MINN coaches pulled the plug on that. And sent him instead to the school Bakary just came from.
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What's the story there? Anything big or just preference? IIRC Vermont's coach left a year ago (the one who coached McNeil)... to... VCU.

But.. was thinking the new and 'current' coach as of this summer at Vermont was actually a former GOPHER!.. (walk-on for a year?).

McNeil's coach was named Bopp. The Gopher kid who is now the coach is named Popp. I think. Man, it sounds so wacky I wonder if I'm dreaming this up. But, wonder if the staff just likes what they're doing at Sunrise after looking at Bakary, Lourawls, etc?

Anyway, any insight you might have would be interesting to hear.
 

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