***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA AT ILLINOIS IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

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I am actually a fan of Pitino, but I think he needs to readjust the game plan. We are 5 of 47 from three in the past two games, so clearly jump shooting is not a strength of this team. Instead of people constantly saying we just need to hit shots, maybe we should reconsider our offensive approach? We have a potential all american at center and we are shooting ourselves out of the game from the perimeter it makes no sense to me.
 

leib0039 said:
I didnt watch much of the game but a few comments. Part of coaching in college is recruiting, we simply dont have the horses to compete in every Big Ten game, MN kids or not, we simply need more talent on the floor.
The other thing, I generally hate saying "if only X would have stayed or Y wouldnt have gotten hurt we would have been amazing!" People realize that's at like 80% of places right? Iowas ranked, they lost a huge piece to injury, one to the draft and one transfer to Kansas, they didnt crumble. Seton Hall lost their best big man early to injury, they're still a top 10 team
Again that's part of coaching in college, it's on Pitino if he only has 3 guys he trusts or can play at this level. To reiterate. I'm not commenting on this game in particular
as i didnt see enough to know just making general statements.
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Pitino recruited kids to come in and fill a bunch of gaps this year. They were picked bottom 1/3 at the start of the season. They are above that right now and if they win on home court they will be fine. Coaching/X's&O's are not losing games this year. It's missed shots.
 

Northeastgopher said:
I am actually a fan of Pitino, but I think he needs to readjust the game plan. We are 5 of 47 from three in the past two games, so clearly jump shooting is not a strength of this team. Instead of people constantly saying we just need to hit shots, maybe we should reconsider our offensive approach? We have a potential all american at center and we are shooting ourselves out of the game from the perimeter it makes no sense to me.
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Agree, run some UCLA offense with Oturu at high post. More cutting, back doors etc.
This team really can't shoot in B10 with the overscouting going on.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Pitino recruited kids to come in and fill a bunch of gaps this year. They were picked bottom 1/3 at the start of the season. They are above that right now and if they win on home court they will be fine. Coaching/X's&O's are not losing games this year. It's missed shots.
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I believe we will also have gaps next year. Right now I have strong doubts that Oturu will be back. We could lose other players to transfer. Willis might be able to grad transfer and Freeman might leave just because he doesn't see a future here. The two latter players are not big losses but additional spring recruits will have to be found if they do depart. So, Pitino could be filling "a bunch of gaps again" and one of them would be huge.

While I think the 9 game schedule remaining is a little more favorable than the first 11 games, I could see the team finishing below .500 in the league once again even if they avoid the "bottom 1/3rd."
 

builtbadgers said:
I think he will come out of it. It means he will have to keep shooting and that can be painful for fans but he is too good of a shooter to not come out of a slump. I have seen it before with other good shooters.
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I seem to remember that Mike Hurt was a shooter in high school who unfortunately could not adapt to the smaller college hoops. His confidence went and seemingly never returned. Hope things turn out better for Gabe.
 


cjbfbp said:
I believe we will also have gaps next year. Right now I have strong doubts that Oturu will be back. We could lose other players to transfer. Willis might be able to grad transfer and Freeman might leave just because he doesn't see a future here. The two latter players are not big losses but additional spring recruits will have to be found if they do depart. So, Pitino could be filling "a bunch of gaps again" and one of them would be huge.

While I think the 9 game schedule remaining is a little more favorable than the first 11 games, I could see the team finishing below .500 in the league once again even if they avoid the "bottom 1/3rd."
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Why would Freeman leave? Oturu is here max one more year. Freeman might leave if Pitino does but otherwise he has a big opportunity here. That said we have gaps to fill. I'd get a JUCO 4/5 and if they can get Walton, things look pretty good. If Oturu stays- look out.
 

GoodasGold said:
I seem to remember that Mike Hurt was a shooter in high school who unfortunately could not adapt to the smaller college hoops. His confidence went and seemingly never returned. Hope things turn out better for Gabe.
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I don't post on basketball much, but bold is a joke, right?
 


Northeastgopher said:
I am actually a fan of Pitino, but I think he needs to readjust the game plan. We are 5 of 47 from three in the past two games, so clearly jump shooting is not a strength of this team. Instead of people constantly saying we just need to hit shots, maybe we should reconsider our offensive approach? We have a potential all american at center and we are shooting ourselves out of the game from the perimeter it makes no sense to me.
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Fully agree with this, except I would make the perimeter game be from inside the 3 point line some. The mid-range game is where we can improve. Neither team last night made many 3's, but Illinois did a better job of getting to the basket on a consistent basis. Although I don't understand how a post player can shove a defender down under the basket to score with no foul being called, but the moment a defender shoves the offensive player away from the basket is is a foul.
 



This may have been mentioned, but Demir might have the slowest release ever! I can't tell if his shot is just that slow to develop or it seems he's always hesitant and that might slow it down?
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Pitino recruited kids to come in and fill a bunch of gaps this year. They were picked bottom 1/3 at the start of the season. They are above that right now and if they win on home court they will be fine. Coaching/X's&O's are not losing games this year. It's missed shots.
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Missing shots is typical in a loss, no? That is pretty much the equivalent of saying, "if we would have scored more, we would have won." There were some things that could have been done better yesterday and there was a way to win the game. The Gophers played hard and with good intensity. They have to play a little smarter and get some cleaner looks in a game like that to take it to the next level.
 

NWMetroGopherFan said:
His job is to put the players in positions to be successful. He is, and they're not making shots. It's that simple. Gabe Kalscheur, other than 3 games heading into tonight, has largely been awful in Big Ten play. He's getting open looks too, so that's really frustrating.
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And when I said Gabe was a regression candidate this season and whatnot, I got hammered for it earlier on this board. There is no doubt Gabe's shooting this season has hurt the team. He has no other game besides being a spot up shooter. At this point, he's been relegated to a defensive stopper. Fine, you need those as well, but him being able to make some shots would sure help this club.
 

howeda7 said:
I'm indifferent to a mid-season coaching change at this point. They're playing hard if nothing else. But if they lose the next two before that break, the tournament hopes are close to dead. Wisconsin game is massive.
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Craig Smith is 17-6 this season at Utah State :cool:
 



Seems like the main wins we have to hang our hats on this year so far are the two Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn St.

Ohio St and Michigan don't look so great now. Penn St is still ranked top 25. Obviously a huge game coming up out there.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda at Purdue, but even though don't look as great now.
 



Travdaddy84 said:
He can’t make Coffey stay or make Curry stay healthy. Are you saying those are his fault? He brought in some decent transfers to make up for that. They were supposed to be a bottom feeder this year and every time I watch them they surprise me in the amount of fight they have.
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Having one major injury to a guy you knew you couldn't fully count on is not something that should be a major blow. Every team has injuries. Coffey leaving early sucks, but we're also not the only team to have that happen. If our depth is so fragile that everyone has to stay healthy and stay for 4 years or we're sunk, that's on the coach.
 

Northeastgopher said:
I am actually a fan of Pitino, but I think he needs to readjust the game plan. We are 5 of 47 from three in the past two games, so clearly jump shooting is not a strength of this team. Instead of people constantly saying we just need to hit shots, maybe we should reconsider our offensive approach? We have a potential all american at center and we are shooting ourselves out of the game from the perimeter it makes no sense to me.
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Pitino had said from the start of the season that he had changed the offense to be more perimeter orientated. Gophers have a few guys who can make shots. I wouldn't say they are good shooters though. What they are is streaky and so far this year their streak has been mostly bad.
 


howeda7 said:
What principle is that?
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Hire a young, up-and-coming, doing good things in a lower conference, great recruiter/salesman/motivator.

I did google "John Boehlein", and it came up with nothing. I assume you meant John Beilein? Who is in his first year of a five year contract in the NBA and is 66 years old. Why would he want to come back to the Big Ten, in the first place?
 

MplsGopher said:
Hire a young, up-and-coming, doing good things in a lower conference, great recruiter/salesman/motivator.

I did google "John Boehlein", and it came up with nothing. I assume you meant John Beilein? Who is in his first year of a five year contract in the NBA and is 66 years old. Why would he want to come back to the Big Ten, in the first place?
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Yes. I can never spell his name correctly, so I don't try. I don't care if he's 66. He was one of the 5 best coaches in the game. If he can give us 5-6 years, sign me up. I think we will be fired or quit at the end of the season. The NBA experiment is a failure.
 

howeda7 said:
Having one major injury to a guy you knew you couldn't fully count on is not something that should be a major blow. Every team has injuries. Coffey leaving early sucks, but we're also not the only team to have that happen. If our depth is so fragile that everyone has to stay healthy and stay for 4 years or we're sunk, that's on the coach.
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I will agree with you that this year's team for better or worse is on Pitino even with the Coffey decision, Curry injury, and other games missed here and there by others due to injury and would categorize it as a "reasonable" threshold of disruption that many teams face.

I would further agree that years 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 would fall in that same category.

However, would you agree with me that year 5 included a crazy amount of misfortune with Lynch/Curry/Coffey/McBrayer/Mason suspensions/injuries that almost any coach would have difficulty with and that season would have had a different trajectory under a "reasonable" threshold of disruption?
 
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After a gophers loss, so depressing to come on this site. Just don't see why we cant support the team, enjoy the season, and hope for the best. Trust Coyle after the season to do what's best, his track record is pretty good after all. Would think it is not much fun to cheer for the opposition year after year. If Coach (sorry, Lil' Ricky as some like to say) is brought back next season then another season of misery for some. Don't get it.
 

On the shooting issues - for better or worse, this is how basketball is played now. the mid-range shot has virtually vanished from the game. Everything is either layups/close-in shots or 3-pointers. I see it a lot even at the High School level. A kid will have a good look from 15 feet, but he or she either tries to make an entry pass to the low block, or kicks it out to a kid on the perimeter for a 3-pointer. I covered a HS Girls game the other night, and the losing team put up 60 3-point attempts - making 14. (game wound up 95-91 in regulation....)

I can't say for sure that coaches are telling kids not to attempt mid-range shots, but that is how things have evolved.

so - for the Gophers, it puts an even bigger emphasis on recruiting shooters. In today's game, you need 3 or 4 guys at least who can hit 3's at a decent rate.
 


manderson1984 said:
And has majorly underachieved... and I'm a Craig Smith guy. Don't use this years record as a reason to go get him.
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Lost a true road game at St Mary's, tourny team, and a neutral game in SLC vs BYU, another tourny team, in early non-conf.

Agree that they had a hiccup in conf season so far. Losing at SDSU is nothing, they're #4 right now. Losing at Air Force was bad, but they just crushed them at home. Lost at UNLV and at Boise, both of which are in a big mid-pack logjam along with Utah St. They get another shot at both, in Logan. So we'll see.
 

MplsGopher said:
Lost a true road game at St Mary's, tourny team, and a neutral game in SLC vs BYU, another tourny team, in early non-conf.

Agree that they had a hiccup in conf season so far. Losing at SDSU is nothing, they're #4 right now. Losing at Air Force was bad, but they just crushed them at home. Lost at UNLV and at Boise, both of which are in a big mid-pack logjam along with Utah St. They get another shot at both, in Logan. So we'll see.
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Agreed, I'm cheering for them. Love Craig Smith
 

ltf said:
Trust Coyle after the season to do what's best, his track record is pretty good after all.
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I'll trust him after the season.

I'll even trust him before the end of the season, if he thinks that's what's best for the program.
 



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