Pitino on sports huddle

[short ornery norwegian]

Rich Pitino did a segment on the WCCO "Sports Huddle" show Sunday morning.

Not a lot of "news" to relate. Sid asked if he will use the remaining scholarships this year, and Pitino said they would consider it if they could find the right player. He did say they had "a few irons in the fire," so it sounds as if they are still pursuing players for next year. But Pitino also said he would have no problem with carrying some of the scholarships over to next year.

Sid also asked about Pitino's thoughts on the NCAA tournment - Rich mentioned Iowa State being upset as one of the biggest stories. Asked how his dad's team will do, Rich said Louisville was facing a tough game against Northern Iowa.

I thought the most interesting comments had to do with his outlook on the future of the program. If someone else heard the interview, feel free to chime in. But, as I heard it, Pitino said he inherited a team with a number of JR's and SR's, and said "we had to try to win" in consideration of the older players, which apparently impacted some of their decisions. But, going forward, I got the strong sense that Pitino feels that it will be more of "his" team - talked about the nucleus of Mason, Gas, & Konate with 4 incoming players. I could be wrong, but I don't remember him specifically mentioning Morris or Joey K. Anyway, that is how I read his comments - that he is excited about having his own players going forward, and may do things differently with this group than he did with the players he inherited.

 

[Dano564]

I only hear the last bit.

Agree with what you said about Scholarships. May used them... irons in the fire.

Also, he said good things about Mason.

 

[howieramone]

Do You Roll the Dice?

Rich Pitino did a segment on the WCCO "Sports Huddle" show Sunday morning.

Not a lot of "news" to relate. Sid asked if he will use the remaining scholarships this year, and Pitino said they would consider it if they could find the right player. He did say they had "a few irons in the fire," so it sounds as if they are still pursuing players for next year. But Pitino also said he would have no problem with carrying some of the scholarships over to next year.

Sid also asked about Pitino's thoughts on the NCAA tournment - Rich mentioned Iowa State being upset as one of the biggest stories. Asked how his dad's team will do, Rich said Louisville was facing a tough game against Northern Iowa.

I thought the most interesting comments had to do with his outlook on the future of the program. If someone else heard the interview, feel free to chime in. But, as I heard it, Pitino said he inherited a team with a number of JR's and SR's, and said "we had to try to win" in consideration of the older players, which apparently impacted some of their decisions. But, going forward, I got the strong sense that Pitino feels that it will be more of "his" team - talked about the nucleus of Mason, Gas, & Konate with 4 incoming players. I could be wrong, but I don't remember him specifically mentioning Morris or Joey K. Anyway, that is how I read his comments - that he is excited about having his own players going forward, and may do things differently with this group than he did with the players he inherited.

If Coach P. and staff want to go into next season with just 10 players on scholarship, they probably could. They currently breakdown at 2 per position, with several able to play multiple spots. I really like the idea of Hurt, plus 4 additional fall recruits in the 2016 Class.

 

[rivergopher]

Could not disagree with this more. 10 guys? Did this year not teach us anything. This is college sports chances are that one player will be off the team/injured for the year if not two then what go through the big ten with 8 or 9 guys. The gophers could have been an even more of a disaster if they would have had injuries. Banking one would be fine but they need two more players especially with so many unknown players returning. I know some on the board are sold on konate i am really not and feel they need 1 maybe two frontcourt players. This year there were multiple times that morris should have benched but they did not have any wing players off the bench.

 

[howeda7]

It would be irresponsible not to use at least 1 and probably 2 of the open scholarships.

 

[GophersInIowa]

My guess is we will take at least one JUCO and maybe two. Besides it hopefully making us better, it will even out the classes a bit. Right now Buggs will be the only junior next year.

Ideally we are able to find a senior transfer if we have a scholarship left over.

 

[howieramone]

Coach P. and staff have been in Dinkytown just under two years and have signed 7 spring recruits. The current 3 scholarships did not just recently become available. My guess also is that they will take at least one JUCO, but I'm not going to lose any sleep if they don't. I'm favorably inclined towards fall recruits.

 

[DeathClutch]

Hopefully we get Boucher, one of Ellison/Walton/Kohl, then either grab a senior transfer or save the last scholarship for next year. I would definitely look into bringing in Marcus Marshall as a Senior transfer. Other than him, it may be hard to get an impact senior transfer to come here.

 

[howeda7]

Hopefully we get Boucher, one of Ellison/Walton/Kohl, then either grab a senior transfer or save the last scholarship for next year. I would definitely look into bringing in Marcus Marshall as a Senior transfer. Other than him, it may be hard to get an impact senior transfer to come here.

Are we in on Marshall? I see he is from St. Paul. Is he eligible for Fall?

 

[DeathClutch]

Are we in on Marshall? I see he is from St. Paul. Is he eligible for Fall?

I'm not sure if we are or not. He is probably finishing up classes so we won't know until the spring semester is over. If he graduates he should be eligible right away. If he doesn't, he could apply for a hardship waiver, and coming to play closer to home would help his cause if that is the case.

 

[scools12]

If you buy Pitino's "we had to try and win" because of the roster he inherited the best plan might be to use only one of the scholarships this spring and bank the others.

Some on GHole won't like it but based on where the team is and if the "reset" starts next year using the scholarships for another win or two next year isn't going to fit into the nucleus he mentions which doesn't appear being built for a win now scenario.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

I think the staff has only a few targets right now that they have offered and if they land them great they will use a couple of the scholarships but I believe if they miss on them they aren't gonna reach and offer a guy they either don't think is the right fit or don't feel has the talent to warrant a scholarship. Ideally I'd like to add a SF and PF but if we miss on a couple of our targets at those spots and only go into next year with 11 scholarship players I would be perfectly fine with that rather than reaching on a player and tying up a scholarship that will be even more valuable next fall.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I think the staff has only a few targets right now that they have offered and if they land them great they will use a couple of the scholarships but I believe if they miss on them they aren't gonna reach and offer a guy they either don't think is the right fit or don't feel has the talent to warrant a scholarship. Ideally I'd like to add a SF and PF but if we miss on a couple of our targets at those spots and only go into next year with 11 scholarship players I would be perfectly fine with that rather than reaching on a player and tying up a scholarship that will be even more valuable next fall.

Solid take. There will already be plenty of newcomers next year, and the class is already highly regarded. No need to reach.

 

[howieramone]

IMO the Class of 2015 has been put together extremely well, and Hurt takes care of the most glaring hole in the Class of 2016. If the Class of 2016 ends up roughly equal to 2015, I think we can take the big step forward.

 

[golfing18now]

I think the staff has only a few targets right now that they have offered and if they land them great they will use a couple of the scholarships but I believe if they miss on them they aren't gonna reach and offer a guy they either don't think is the right fit or don't feel has the talent to warrant a scholarship. Ideally I'd like to add a SF and PF but if we miss on a couple of our targets at those spots and only go into next year with 11 scholarship players I would be perfectly fine with that rather than reaching on a player and tying up a scholarship that will be even more valuable next fall.

I thought it was interesting that Pitino mentioned he would have at least 8 freshmen or sophomores on the team next year. To my knowledge, we only have seven as of today. It would seem to suggest he feels pretty good about landing at least one of our remaining targets and not just going the JUCO route. It's also possible, I'm reading way too much into a comment on his blog.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

I thought it was interesting that Pitino mentioned he would have at least 8 freshmen or sophomores on the team next year. To my knowledge, we only have seven as of today. It would seem to suggest he feels pretty good about landing at least one of our remaining targets and not just going the JUCO route. It's also possible, I'm reading way too much into a comment on his blog.

I noticed that as well I'd guess he is pretty confident in landing either Malik Ellison or Tyler Kohl to compete for the SF spot.

 

[cjbfbp]

Ideally I'd like to add a SF and PF but if we miss on a couple of our targets at those spots and only go into next year with 11 scholarship players I would be perfectly fine with that rather than reaching on a player and tying up a scholarship that will be even more valuable next fall.

Pitino went into the past season with 13 scholarship players (12 eligible) and was down to 9 eligible scholarship players after the Western Carolina game. My guess is that he won't take a chance on beginning the year with 11 scholarship players. One transfers and one gets injured and you're down to 9 again.

 

[howieramone]

Best case scenario is signing Ellison or Kohl, with Lofton added without using a tender. That would leave us with Hurt and 3 scholarships for the Class of 2016, with PF being the position we need to address. Continuing to bury the program by signing multiple spring recruits is just masking the inevitable. The program needs a break right now and I'm hoping it's Lofton.

 

[StCroix]

Rich Pitino did a segment on the WCCO "Sports Huddle" show Sunday morning.

Not a lot of "news" to relate. Sid asked if he will use the remaining scholarships this year, and Pitino said they would consider it if they could find the right player. He did say they had "a few irons in the fire," so it sounds as if they are still pursuing players for next year. But Pitino also said he would have no problem with carrying some of the scholarships over to next year.

Sid also asked about Pitino's thoughts on the NCAA tournment - Rich mentioned Iowa State being upset as one of the biggest stories. Asked how his dad's team will do, Rich said Louisville was facing a tough game against Northern Iowa.

I thought the most interesting comments had to do with his outlook on the future of the program. If someone else heard the interview, feel free to chime in. But, as I heard it, Pitino said he inherited a team with a number of JR's and SR's, and said "we had to try to win" in consideration of the older players, which apparently impacted some of their decisions. But, going forward, I got the strong sense that Pitino feels that it will be more of "his" team - talked about the nucleus of Mason, Gas, & Konate with 4 incoming players. I could be wrong, but I don't remember him specifically mentioning Morris or Joey K. Anyway, that is how I read his comments - that he is excited about having his own players going forward, and may do things differently with this group than he did with the players he inherited.

There was a stretch, I believe in the Ohio State game, when there were no rements of the Tubby recruits on the floor and they were running and playing D...THAT was the Pitino team I expect them to be. If I remember right, it was a 7-0 run and I remember saying to my wife that this is the future of what coach wants to do.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

It seems unusual to try to paint being left with an experienced veteran roster as a handicap.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

It seems unusual to try to paint being left with an experienced veteran roster as a handicap.

What if Shaka Smart took over for Nebraska tomorrow. Could he struggle implementing his system given a completely different style and roster composition?

Not saying I buy it 100% but to completely ignore that our veterans were guys Pitino likely would not have recruited is a lil goofy.

 

[Woodville Legend]

Could not disagree with this more. 10 guys? Did this year not teach us anything. This is college sports chances are that one player will be off the team/injured for the year if not two then what go through the big ten with 8 or 9 guys. The gophers could have been an even more of a disaster if they would have had injuries. Banking one would be fine but they need two more players especially with so many unknown players returning. I know some on the board are sold on konate i am really not and feel they need 1 maybe two frontcourt players. This year there were multiple times that morris should have benched but they did not have any wing players off the bench.

Good points, but this is one of those coaching decisions that he will be held accountable for. Konate is okay, I think he needs a redshirt year to work on his entire game. While you do need at least twelve scholarship players in the Big Ten, you also have to be careful not to burn one or two on someone who would benefit from a year in prep school or JC. Though I am not expecting anything but the same next season it will be interesting to see what he does, but he HAS to concentrate on the front court, he's already recruited some very nice PGs, SGs, and SFs.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

What if Shaka Smart took over for Nebraska tomorrow. Could he struggle implementing his system given a completely different style and roster composition?

Not saying I buy it 100% but to completely ignore that our veterans were guys Pitino likely would not have recruited is a lil goofy.

I'm not saying I think they were a good fit for Pitino's system. I am saying it is bizarre to act like them being juniors and seniors was a bad thing. If I were Pitino, I would absolutely want the core I inherited to be upper classmen. That way, they are at their best, they can offer experience and leadership even if their skillset wasn't exactly what he wants for his style, and he gets to replace them with the kind of players he wants quickly. He was put in a much better position than if the core he inherited were freshman and sophomores. If that were the case, he would still be staring down the barrel of two more years of square pegs and round holes. The players he got from Tubby weren't going to be right for his system no matter what, I think Pitino was lucky to at least get older guys rather than younger ones.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

I'm not saying I think they were a good fit for Pitino's system. I am saying it is bizarre to act like them being juniors and seniors was a bad thing. If I were Pitino, I would absolutely want the core I inherited to be upper classmen. That way, they are at their best, they can offer experience and leadership even if their skillset wasn't exactly what he wants for his style, and he gets to replace them with the kind of players he wants quickly. He was put in a much better position than if the core he inherited were freshman and sophomores. If that were the case, he would still be staring down the barrel of two more years of square pegs and round holes. The players he got from Tubby weren't going to be right for his system no matter what, I think Pitino was lucky to at least get older guys rather than younger ones.

Good points. However, did you see experience and leadership as things we benefited from these veteran holdovers, Austin notwithstanding?

 

[cjbfbp]

I'm not saying I think they were a good fit for Pitino's system. I am saying it is bizarre to act like them being juniors and seniors was a bad thing.

Agreed. Furthermore, Draft Express rated Andre Hollins as the twenty-eighth best senior and Mo as the #34 senior. Both of those players frustrated the hell out of us at times and we can quibble about those ratings but I'm pretty confident that we would have had a worse record with two Pitino freshman recruits taking their minutes this year.

 

[goldy93]

Agreed. Furthermore, Draft Express rated Andre Hollins as the twenty-eighth best senior and Mo as the #34 senior. Both of those players frustrated the hell out of us at times and we can quibble about those ratings but I'm pretty confident that we would have had a worse record with two Pitino freshman recruits taking their minutes this year.

Yep, I am not buying the whole argument that it is the players. Good coaches develop good players. Hollins, Walker and little Dre all had the tools to be at least 3rd team B1G players. We can blame them solely for not making it, but why does the coaching staff get a pass?

 

[cjbfbp]

Yep, I am not buying the whole argument that it is the players. Good coaches develop good players. Hollins, Walker and little Dre all had the tools to be at least 3rd team B1G players. We can blame them solely for not making it, but why does the coaching staff get a pass?

My instinct about why some people choose to attribute underachievement largely to players instead of coaches has to do with trying to maintain a sense of optimism about the future. If the underachievement was due to Tubby's players, then the sources of that underachievement will not be weighing down the program in the future. If Pitino flubs his next two years here and departs, then I suspect you will see the same people swinging in the opposite direction in claiming that the existing players will be better with a new coach. And then if a new coach takes over, you'll hear the same claims about how much better he will do when he gets "his" players. Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[corcoran1]

I would like to see a good defensive and rebounding PF for sure. A skilled bigger SF would also be great, but that is definitely a position where they should not reach. I agree 10 players is not enough, we will have to recruit walk-ons just to practice well, but reaching for freshmen at this point makes no sense, they'll just sit and not play much behind other freshmen and transfer in about a year.
He is right, none of the seniors fit his system and he had an obligation to fans to try to win games so he had to make adjustments to what they would like to do. That is just life in the basketball turnaround business. But he has no constraints now. He should only take players who fit his system.
I think next year should be fun. I don't expect a tournament team, but they will be a lot more fun to watch than this team was.

 

[scher215]

I think all of this focus on needing a "defensive and rebounding PF" is a bit over blown. At least the PF part. The Gophers were abused down low because neither the PF nor the C could defend. You replace either of those spots with a defensive minded, rebounding player and you are significantly better off. Could also be via the C position.

I've said this time and time again, but King's weaknesses were much more glaring when you put him next to Mo who has the exact same weaknesses. Mo just made fans like him more by typically trying to out score his poor rebounding and defense. As soon as King did that too, less people were critical.

If I had to guess, Pitino would rather have more of a stretch 4 paired with a defensive center (Noah, Patric Young, Dieng, etc.)

 

[cjbfbp]

I think all of this focus on needing a "defensive and rebounding PF" is a bit over blown.

If I had to guess, Pitino would rather have more of a stretch 4 paired with a defensive center (Noah, Patric Young, Dieng, etc.)

That's funny. If we had a Noah, Patric Young, or Dieng, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Let me know when Pitino recruits the next Joakim Noah.