Pitino coming back

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MNgradinWI said:
I would think that could have some truth. With spring sports being cancelled and an uncertain fall economic climate...I'm sure any A.D. would be nervous for buyouts and higher salaries.
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If true--or even if not--hiring a new coach at a Power 5 school is something you need to get right at all costs. If the virus is at all inhibiting you from getting it right, don't proceed.
 



I know people here say there is a high likelihood that Oturu leaves, and for obvious reasons. However, there have been several instances of draft-worthy guys who have surprised the college basketball world and come back for one more year. Oturu loves his home state and playing in front of family and friends. Why not us? Can we be the team that finally has some unexpected good fortune?

I choose to dream of this scenario:
1. Daniel at center has a 1st Team Big 10 season. 2. Curry remains healthy all year and gives us 20 minutes a game of solid (not spectacular, but better than Demir) play. 3. Ihnen continues his rapid improvement, learns to defend well, continues to shoot threes at a high clip, and develops the start of an inside game. 3. Omersa does what he does as a backup (no expectations that he will ever score much). 4. Freeman gradually earns 10 minutes a game to spell Oturu as he starts to figure out defense. 5. Mitchell comes in and surprises everyone with some offensive skill. Minutes are limited (skinny and needs to learn defense), but he ends up having an Ihnen-like season. 6. Carr continues his excellent play. 7. Gabe ditches his sophomore slump and returns to his shooting form. 8. Willis does what he did this year, and maybe slightly better, and 9. Mashburn is a stud as a freshman. Wouldn’t that be fun? By the way, I love my new rose-colored glasses. You all should buy a pair.
 


Bordergopher said:
I know people here say there is a high likelihood that Oturu leaves, and for obvious reasons. However, there have been several instances of draft-worthy guys who have surprised the college basketball world and come back for one more year. Oturu loves his home state and playing in front of family and friends. Why not us? Can we be the team that finally has some unexpected good fortune?

I choose to dream of this scenario:
1. Daniel at center has a 1st Team Big 10 season. 2. Curry remains healthy all year and gives us 20 minutes a game of solid (not spectacular, but better than Demir) play. 3. Ihnen continues his rapid improvement, learns to defend well, continues to shoot threes at a high clip, and develops the start of an inside game. 3. Omersa does what he does as a backup (no expectations that he will ever score much). 4. Freeman gradually earns 10 minutes a game to spell Oturu as he starts to figure out defense. 5. Mitchell comes in and surprises everyone with some offensive skill. Minutes are limited (skinny and needs to learn defense), but he ends up having an Ihnen-like season. 6. Carr continues his excellent play. 7. Gabe ditches his sophomore slump and returns to his shooting form. 8. Willis does what he did this year, and maybe slightly better, and 9. Mashburn is a stud as a freshman. Wouldn’t that be fun? By the way, I love my new rose-colored glasses. You all should buy a pair.
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I already had a pair. Saw the same thing. I also saw Kerwin Walton committing to the Gophers.
 
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My rose colored glasses showed that we were going to land Tyus Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis in a single class.

I threw them away afterwards...
 

Bordergopher said:
I know people here say there is a high likelihood that Oturu leaves, and for obvious reasons. However, there have been several instances of draft-worthy guys who have surprised the college basketball world and come back for one more year. Oturu loves his home state and playing in front of family and friends. Why not us? Can we be the team that finally has some unexpected good fortune?

I choose to dream of this scenario:
1. Daniel at center has a 1st Team Big 10 season. 2. Curry remains healthy all year and gives us 20 minutes a game of solid (not spectacular, but better than Demir) play. 3. Ihnen continues his rapid improvement, learns to defend well, continues to shoot threes at a high clip, and develops the start of an inside game. 3. Omersa does what he does as a backup (no expectations that he will ever score much). 4. Freeman gradually earns 10 minutes a game to spell Oturu as he starts to figure out defense. 5. Mitchell comes in and surprises everyone with some offensive skill. Minutes are limited (skinny and needs to learn defense), but he ends up having an Ihnen-like season. 6. Carr continues his excellent play. 7. Gabe ditches his sophomore slump and returns to his shooting form. 8. Willis does what he did this year, and maybe slightly better, and 9. Mashburn is a stud as a freshman. Wouldn’t that be fun? By the way, I love my new rose-colored glasses. You all should buy a pair.
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you have two number 3's, rendering your entire post invalid.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Wisconsin had to build a program and then they have hired from within their program or state for 25+ years. Dick Bennett had a losing Big Ten Record in 5 seasons, but managed to go to the final four after going 9-9 in conference play. Bo Ryan became the perfect hire for them.
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Bennett also had 3 NCAA'S in 5 years building it from nothing, Left the core of the that final 4 team behind as that core were juniors and set the table by having he and his son recruit Tucker, Harris, Wilkinson and Penney, 4 of the best best players in UW history. Plus Ryan had Tony Bennett on staff,teaching and recruiting. To Ryan's credit he built on it but someone built the foundation and the culture. Pitino would not have lasted 5 years there, he would not have been the genesis to get a arena funded as Nicholas and Kohl delivered on the premise that Bennett would be secured. He could spell out that it would be ugly in the beginning, especially in a Big 10 at the top that was loaded but he was a proven builder by then and did not have to sell himself, they begged him to take the job but in a very carefully designed strategy where this could not make money first, it had to be about values. Anyone close to that knew what he would build. Tony did not win right away at UVA because not cutting corners was part of the culture. The identity of doing it clean, with high character kids, all the while seeking out kids that wanted a grueling academic challenge, fundamentally strong and with the toughness and drive to play smart and play defense. Building that defense with high character kids meant every player would know what they were signing up for. The culture became what they could hang their hat on.
With all that said i am with Coyle on this one because he had all the money facts, the stability factor on timing with the present landscape and info with the financial restriction on who he could actually get. Most important he laid out specific expectations. This now has to be about showing that you can actually be fighting at the top of the conference. Pitino must show he can finish above UW just once. Had a wager on here that he would not do it this year and he was not close to that. He will not do it next year as UW is loaded. In his corner as he is our coach. Said i would keep my seats and i will . Now it is spelled out, win. Under .500 next year and he is gone.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
Not at face value, but if you know the circumstances of that record it isn't as bad as some think. I also said the last two years. He achieved nearly the same thing the last two years. Competitive bubble team.
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You do understand that nearly every team can play that card. The best coaches win a ton of those games, easy available data.
 


This is a bad time in the country, and the world. It puts everything in life in perspective.

For Coyle to let Richard Pitino go now is a bad omen. It is not a good time all around to fire a coach.

The next coach will also be handicapped recruiting-wise with all the restrictions and bans.

Richard is very likable. He's had eight years as head coach. The Gophers had some tough breaks along the way. But, those are just excuses. Pitino has to show some improvements next season.

More, importantly Pitino has to show improvements in recruiting. It will help recruiting drastically if they can make it far into the NCAA Tournament. Recruiting is the life line of the program and his coaching career. They very much need a recruiting coup.

For now, the success of Gopher Football, and the Coronavirus Pandemic is providing a canopy to both Coyle and Pitino against a rising storm.

I often wondered what would have happened had Amir Coffey stayed an extra season.
 
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WriterGoph said:
You really are an ignorant basketball fan (and person) aren't you? "Something called MTSU"? Yeah, the same something that beat the title favorites (Michigan State) in the tourney.

We also WAXED recent national champion Louisville in the first round. But you conveniently don't mention that and instead focus on us losing to eventual Final Four team (MSU) when one of the most productive players in Gopher history couldn't play.

You're very sad and transparent. Have fun crying all offseason. Also, you should move more than 100 miles away and find a new hobby. This one clearly isn't for you.
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Just a little context. That Louisville team we beat was 6th in the ACC at 10-8 right. recent UL team you reference was a totally different team. Lets tell the truth. We have to own that 48-82, it is ours. Read the bios of what other coaches and programs do, you will gain some perspective.
 



Pitino is surely granted a lot of privilege and I think it's due to his last name. I've never seen a coach that hasn't done squat for so long get so many chances to make things right w/out losing his job as Richard Pitino. His leash is as long as the Mississippi River. I've never seen anything like it in a power 5 job. Coaches are normally on the hot seat after 3 years if they don't produce. Ol' Rick Pitino must've found some dirt on Coyle or something.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I'm not saying it is, but I wonder how much easier this decision was considering the strange times we are in. It probably wouldn't be incredibly easy to conduct a thorough search and all of that. I'm not saying that is part of it, but I think if Coyle was on the fence about Pitino, the circumstances probably helped push him in a certain direction.

I think the best move is to remove Pitino this year, but it's awkward timing and I get bringing him back for another year, considering.
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This was absolutely the biggest factor as well as the quality of other options on the market.
 

John Galt said:
The MN job isn’t worth as much as many of us would like to believe. Coyle likes RP as a person and believes he runs a tight ship, which gave him years 7 and 8. It won’t be enough to give him year 9 unless there is significant improvement.
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Ah, so coyle liking rp as a person trumps what is best for the program. Rationalizing for coyle galty?
 

bizzle22 said:
This was absolutely the biggest factor as well as the quality of other options on the market.
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So the MN job isn't enough, even with new practice facility, etc, to attract top coaches? Is that still the one thing holding MN back from getting the top coaches?

So Craig Smith, etc aren't quality options now?

Wow, this soap opera is fun to watch.
 

Bad Gopher said:
If true--or even if not--hiring a new coach at a Power 5 school is something you need to get right at all costs. If the virus is at all inhibiting you from getting it right, don't proceed.
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Virus = excuses for Coyle.
 

builtbadgers said:
Just a little context. That Louisville team we beat was 6th in the ACC at 10-8 right. recent UL team you reference was a totally different team. Lets tell the truth. We have to own that 48-82, it is ours. Read the bios of what other coaches and programs do, you will gain some perspective.
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The conference record is not the point. We beat an elite program in the tournament - handily. Posters do NOT get to call us out for losing to MTSU, but conveniently overlook beating Louisville. Sorry.
 

John Galt said:
My rose colored glasses showed that we were going to land Tyus Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis in a single class.

I threw them away afterwards...
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Do you have a different pair for Gopher football?
 

bizzle22 said:
This was absolutely the biggest factor as well as the quality of other options on the market.
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All along I was of the opinion that unless you had someone lined up that was a sure-fire improvement over Pitino, that Pitino should be back. Maybe the virus helped Pitino's case.
 

NCAA announced that there are no recruiting visits or contacts until April 15. I assume that they can continue to phone and text. Looks like it is going to be a few months before rosters fill out and perhaps another reason for stability.
 

Word said:
Do you have a different pair for Gopher football?
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Don’t we all? Our football glasses just showed us an 11-2 season and top 10 finish. In year 3. When does Ricky have to finish in the top 25 for the faithful?
 

Thank goodness we have football to look forward to.
 

WriterGoph said:
The conference record is not the point. We beat an elite program in the tournament - handily. Posters do NOT get to call us out for losing to MTSU, but conveniently overlook beating Louisville. Sorry.
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LOL. Indignant over the one--one--NCAA tournament win in Pitino's career.

Sad, actually.
 

I was kind of against bringing him back.....but after a few days to cool down......I think it's probably the right move. Sure....we lose Oturu which is going to hurt....but we also lose Demir. Carr should take a step forward and Ihnen has the makings of an impact player. It's too bad that Pitino didn't get Freeman some more playing time this year....because we're going to need him to play major minutes. And who knows what Mashburn will do as a true freshman. But there's little doubt that he came here because of Pitino.
 

John Galt said:
Don’t we all? Our football glasses just showed us an 11-2 season and top 10 finish. In year 3. When does Ricky have to finish in the top 25 for the faithful?
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Did your football glasses also show you we would be lucky not to start the season 0-3 against the weak non-con teams and that our soft conference schedule would allow us to achieve that record. Just saying.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Everyone said the same thing after losing Murphy and Coffey. If this team doesn't choke at the end of games this season, they would have been better than last season's team.
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This is exactly right. With many of the posters on this board, there is no possibility the players on this team might actually improve....that is, until they actually improve. Demir is not a B1G worthy player after seeing him in the exhibition game, Ihnen is boobie soft, Carr is the worst point guard this team has ever had, the Gophers have two D1 players, on and on. It's possible some guys might actually improve, however far-fetched.
 

John Galt said:
Don’t we all? Our football glasses just showed us an 11-2 season and top 10 finish. In year 3. When does Ricky have to finish in the top 25 for the faithful?
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What is it with the "Ricky" shit, Johnnie? Does it make you feel bigger to call the coach a kid name? Or you're just out of actual substance?
 

jblass said:
Did your football glasses also show you we would be lucky not to start the season 0-3 against the weak non-con teams and that our soft conference schedule would allow us to achieve that record. Just saying.
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What was their record Blassie? And what was Pitino’s?
 

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