***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA AT INDIANA IN-GAME THREAD***

[UpAndUnder43]

I agree with this. I dont think Dutcher does anything for the casual fan, but neither does Medved/Smith. Your "casual" fan knows only the super big names. I will give you a prime example, my dad watches every Gophers game, if its Gophers he has it on. Beilien was announcing the game the other day, he asked why he was announcing during the NBA season as he was coaching. He had no idea he got fired in CLE. Thats to me what you casual fan knows. Thats why Tubby was such a big move at the time, EVERYONE knew tubby's name.

100%. My old man is the same way. Loves the Gophers but isn't going to scour the internet for up and coming coaches from the MVC. He literally will call me when the Gophers hire a new coach and say "who is this guy?" because he knows I'll have an idea of who the person is (probably)

I think they shot for the last name + young guy and hoped fans would give Pitino time and it would work out. He has been given time, it hasn't worked out.

 

[MaxyJR1]

100%. My old man is the same way. Loves the Gophers but isn't going to scour the internet for up and coming coaches from the MVC. He literally will call me when the Gophers hire a new coach and say "who is this guy?" because he knows I'll have an idea of who the person is (probably)

I think they shot for the last name + young guy and hoped fans would give Pitino time and it would work out. He has been given time, it hasn't worked out.

Casual fan will read that the Gophers hired Dutcher or Musselman and be like, it sounds like the Vikings just hiring Kubiak and Zimmer's kids. Agree that any hire will have a honeymoon period and casual fans will know nothing about the coach.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I don't think nostalgia works with younger fans - and those are the fans that MN desperately needs to be bringing back into the fold. At the risk of sounding evil, the older Gopher fan base is going to die off sooner or later, and MN has to find a way to get younger fans to attend the games to replace the older generation.

Likewise, unless you are a die-hard college hoops junkie, you probably don't know a lot of the younger up-and-coming coaching candidates.

I do not want another Tubby-type hire - older coach whose career has entered the downward arc of its trajectory. I want someone on the way up - only this time, hire someone who can actually coach, not just because they have a famous last name.

If the U really wants to get fans back, they have to reduce ticket prices and seat donations. make a short-term sacrifice for a long-term benefit.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I don't think nostalgia works with younger fans - and those are the fans that MN desperately needs to be bringing back into the fold. At the risk of sounding evil, the older Gopher fan base is going to die off sooner or later, and MN has to find a way to get younger fans to attend the games to replace the older generation.

Likewise, unless you are a die-hard college hoops junkie, you probably don't know a lot of the younger up-and-coming coaching candidates.

I do not want another Tubby-type hire - older coach whose career has entered the downward arc of its trajectory. I want someone on the way up - only this time, hire someone who can actually coach, not just because they have a famous last name.

If the U really wants to get fans back, they have to reduce ticket prices and seat donations. make a short-term sacrifice for a long-term benefit.

Like Holy Man, I wonder if the world has fundamentally changed and trying to re-establish the way things used to be with the next generation is a fool's errand. Even in the SEC, keeping students in the seats for the duration of a college football game is damn near impossible. Part of that is the foolish notion that if a three-hour game is good, a four-hour game must be great. But the bigger issues are generational and cultural.

 

[cncmin]

I think what really gets me is almost every single road game, somehow the Gophers are either doing pretty well or at least hanging in there, and suddenly the other team catches ridiculous fire and makes like 18 straight 3's (well, it feels like 18, but is more like 3-5). It happened again last night, just as the Gophers were making a move to start opening a lead. In a flash they were down by a bunch. It's really unreal that this happens every game (at least on the road). The big one last night was one in which the Gophers played great defense for 29 seconds, only to have a very late lucky kickout and a 3.

As predictable as those ridiculous streaks by the other team are, so is the Gophers' mental collapse as soon as those streaks begin. The combination of the two is very poor for winning on the road. Additionally, it is quite inconceivable how Carr struggles so much more on the road than at Williams. Carr's difference in play is certainly a direct contributing factor to the Gophers' road mental collapses. He just seems so much more comfortable and emotional and engaged on the home court. This is especially odd considering the effects of home and away fans has been removed this season.

 

[howeda7]

If the U really wants to get fans back, they have to reduce ticket prices and seat donations. make a short-term sacrifice for a long-term benefit.

They absolutely are going to have to do this. In both football and basketball.

 

[DanvilleGopher]

I think what really gets me is almost every single road game, somehow the Gophers are either doing pretty well or at least hanging in there, and suddenly the other team catches ridiculous fire and makes like 18 straight 3's (well, it feels like 18, but is more like 3-5). It happened again last night, just as the Gophers were making a move to start opening a lead. In a flash they were down by a bunch. It's really unreal that this happens every game (at least on the road). The big one last night was one in which the Gophers played great defense for 29 seconds, only to have a very late lucky kickout and a 3.

As predictable as those ridiculous streaks by the other team are, so is the Gophers' mental collapse as soon as those streaks begin. The combination of the two is very poor for winning on the road. Additionally, it is quite inconceivable how Carr struggles so much more on the road than at Williams. Carr's difference in play is certainly a direct contributing factor to the Gophers' road mental collapses. He just seems so much more comfortable and emotional and engaged on the home court. This is especially odd considering the effects of home and away fans has been removed this season.

This is one of my many frustrations with Pitino as a coach. He never calls a timeout to get the Gophers back on track or break the momentum of the other team. He should know by now that if he waits, it's over, but he (as with so many other things) continues to just let things go and do as he always has and it's become so predictable what will be the outcome.

He literally just let's it happen and by the time a TV timeout comes.. their back has been broken.