***OFFICIAL ORAL ROBERTS AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!!***

[Holy Man]

I'm not sure of the spirit of this comment, but I'll respond anyway. Allowing his players to make mistakes was not his modus operandi in the past. As you may recall, he was pretty quick to bench players for making mistakes in previous seasons. I suspect his new found patience is dictated by the significant problems with the depth/bench this season. He probably realizes that he has to allow some of these players to develop more confidence and assertiveness or this team is a dead duck.

I think it depends on the player and the circumstance. He had a really quick hook last night when there two subs ready to go in and a few more trips down the court and blown defensive assignments and all five on the floor were pulled, apparently because of poor defense. My guess is there are factors like what was practiced, what was coached, and the effort given. Mistakes with strong effort are much more forgivable than those made out of laziness or not listening.

I have been most disappointed that the effort on defense has not been there like it was last year. This team needs to be completely healthy to succeed.

 

[howeda7]

Lynch is third in the country in blocks per game, averaging 7.9 boards, shooting over 56% from the floor and generally staying out of foul trouble. This team is not where it needs to be yet, but Reggie is not what I'm worrying about. Playing better team D and getting Dupree healthy are at the top of my wish list.

He's doing better on the fouls. But he just seems lost offensively. His little spin move isn't working anymore and he's constantly getting the ball stripped on the way up or missing point blank shots. And it seems like he's lost more rebounds than usual on both ends. Hopefully Pitino can have a come to Jesus meeting with him that's as effective as it was for Murphy last year.

 

[jrock]

I'm not sure of the spirit of this comment, but I'll respond anyway. Allowing his players to make mistakes was not his modus operandi in the past. As you may recall, he was pretty quick to bench players for making mistakes in previous seasons. I suspect his new found patience is dictated by the significant problems with the depth/bench this season. He probably realizes that he has to allow some of these players to develop more confidence and assertiveness or this team is a dead duck.

I agree and this is the mark of a quality coach. Pitino sees the big picture and adapts to it. I think he is going to do big things for Gopher basketball.