BleedGopher
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per Marcus:
Richard Pitino, 31, wants to use the opportunity to sell his brand on a bigger stage, to an audience that might not yet know him as an up-and-coming head coach.
"You know, any time you play on national TV, you play on ESPN, you've got, you know, a legend like Bob Knight doing the (color analysis), you're in the Garden, it's good for your program," Pitino said.
The exposure, the first-year Gophers coach said, is crucial for recruiting. Before this season, Pitino was selling an abstraction because few players had seen his 2012-13 Florida International team play in his only other season as a head coach.
"Now they see it," he said. "So either they are going to like it and they are going to want to be part of it, or they are not. But exposure is the best thing for a program when you're trying to build it."
"It's a big confidence booster," said Seattle Bothell High School forward Josh Martin, who signed to play for Pitino next season. "It shows me that they were just on the cusp of making the NCAA tournament this year, and they're in the NIT championship because they're doing something right.
"I'm excited to be part of it next year -- in the Big Dance."
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...t-title-game-traditionally-springboard-better
Go Gophers!!
Richard Pitino, 31, wants to use the opportunity to sell his brand on a bigger stage, to an audience that might not yet know him as an up-and-coming head coach.
"You know, any time you play on national TV, you play on ESPN, you've got, you know, a legend like Bob Knight doing the (color analysis), you're in the Garden, it's good for your program," Pitino said.
The exposure, the first-year Gophers coach said, is crucial for recruiting. Before this season, Pitino was selling an abstraction because few players had seen his 2012-13 Florida International team play in his only other season as a head coach.
"Now they see it," he said. "So either they are going to like it and they are going to want to be part of it, or they are not. But exposure is the best thing for a program when you're trying to build it."
"It's a big confidence booster," said Seattle Bothell High School forward Josh Martin, who signed to play for Pitino next season. "It shows me that they were just on the cusp of making the NCAA tournament this year, and they're in the NIT championship because they're doing something right.
"I'm excited to be part of it next year -- in the Big Dance."
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...t-title-game-traditionally-springboard-better
Go Gophers!!
