Pitino post game - Today was bigger than basketball...it's about doing what's right.

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This is Pitino's post game interview with Spencer and Mike Grimm. I'm not gonna lie, his job is on the line eventually and it would be really easy for him to just play guys regardless of any off the court issues, but he didn't. He played 7 (really 6) guys instead...

Richard Pitino
• I am proud, I thought we showed off some fight, we out rebounded them, we had 12 more attempts than they did. What got us was live ball turnovers and fouls. A lot wasn't our guy's fault, we had to make some tough decisions at the 11th hour, so we weren't really able to prepare with certain guys playing certain position that don't normally do that, it would have been nice to have a few days to figure that out. But, they fought, I'm very proud of the guys that played today, they showed great character and heart.
• This is like you said, Mike, I have so much respect for the opportunity that I've been given and never take it for granted, I wake up every single day and I'm proud and blessed, it's a dream job for me. It should be no different for our guys. There are standards that everyone needs to live up to. It's not about wins and losses anymore, it's making them understand how to do the right thing and the wrong thing and what the consequences are from it. It was tough, but hopefully our guys are better in the long run from it.
• On Murph in 1st vs 2nd - he had a couple of live ball TO's that got him, they trapped him. Steph was a little nervous initiating a pass on the wings, some if it was not great screens and coming to the ball.. He's got great great promise, he was the best player on the court in the 1st half.
• On Sharp - he's not a point guard, he plays the 2 and the 3 in practice, that was the hand we were dealt tonight. I thought he played, for 39 minutes, he didn't have a sub in the 2nd half, he gave us everything. Some of the TO's were not his fault, it was a matter of better screens and execution. We had a lot of trouble running offense because none of the guys knew any of the plays. Today was bigger than basketball, it wasn't about W's and losses, it was about doing what's right, and what's the best thing for our program moving forward.

We played 6 guys, Darrin hardly played. It was extremely difficult, Gilbert usually plays the 3, he was playing the 2, Steph was playing the 1 normally plays the 2, Jordan was playing the 3 and usually plays the 4 and 5, Charles at one point was playing the 2, he played the 3 and the 4 at practice…that was an obviously a challenging game to coach. The culture of this program is never something I never look at as not important, that's what we're all about, our program will always be about doing the right thing, it was tough to do tonight, but the right decision.
 


Details are going to come out, he likely should have been a little more forthcoming. I hope to God this doesn't blow up, because "it was a difficult thing to do" could, in hindsight, be a terrible thing to say.

I hope it was just a bunch of young kids having fun and accidentally posted something on social media, took it down, and paid the consequences. The Gopher fan in me tells me we'll hear a lot more about it in the near future.
 

Nice job. I heard the interview as well. He was very clear and emphatic about point #2, that being grateful about the opportunities you have been given is central. He said what needed to be said, and praised the guys that played.
 

How can guys not know the plays with 2 games left in the season? That seems crazy to me. These quotes certainly read like the 3 suspended players will be back, but I won't jump to that conclusion personally.
 


Winasota Gopher said:
Details are going to come out, he likely should have been a little more forthcoming. I hope to God this doesn't blow up, because "it was a difficult thing to do" could, in hindsight, be a terrible thing to say.

I hope it was just a bunch of young kids having fun and accidentally posted something on social media, took it down, and paid the consequences. The Gopher fan in me tells me we'll hear a lot more about it in the near future.
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Did you listen to the interview? I wouldn't start picking apart this non-verbatim recap. He was clear and concise. That was a difficult thing to do, to throw a bunch of kids out there and ask them to play on national TV out of position. No, he should not have been more forthcoming on a post-game interview.
 

EG#9 said:
How can guys not know the plays with 2 games left in the season? That seems crazy to me. These quotes certainly read like the 3 suspended players will be back, but I won't jump to that conclusion personally.
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They didn't know the plays because no one was playing their regular position.
 


EG#9 said:
How can guys not know the plays with 2 games left in the season? That seems crazy to me. These quotes certainly read like the 3 suspended players will be back, but I won't jump to that conclusion personally.
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I wonder if he meant the guys that were playing out of position?
 



EG#9 said:
How can guys not know the plays with 2 games left in the season? That seems crazy to me. These quotes certainly read like the 3 suspended players will be back, but I won't jump to that conclusion personally.
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I am surprised you find that crazy - Does a player know how to do all the positions when they learn a play? I would think there's a pretty big difference between knowing what the plays are, and being able to know how to do the part you're suddenly handed and haven't done before. An actor might know the entire play, but flounder if they have to change roles - am I missing something?
 

Come on man...

EG#9 said:
How can guys not know the plays with 2 games left in the season? That seems crazy to me. These quotes certainly read like the 3 suspended players will be back, but I won't jump to that conclusion personally.
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If you are a 2 guard who doesn't even play and at game time they ask you to play the point...you really think the execution and timing should be seamless? They know the plays...just not when, how or what to do at the appropriate time. If your responsibility is generally not to receive the first pass to initiate the offense...you think they just tell you how and it's all good now?
 

I sure hope that Murphy and Gilbert hang in there and stay with the program. Sharpe too as he earned a lot of respect for his effort. The guys were battling until the end which has been the situation the last month or so.

The leaders of the team will step up. I expect the team will give it all as they have in the past and give Wisky all they can handle.
 

60's Guy said:
If you are a 2 guard who doesn't even play and at game time they ask you to play the point...you really think the execution and timing should be seamless? They know the plays...just not when, how or what to do at the appropriate time. If your responsibility is generally not to receive the first pass to initiate the offense...you think they just tell you how and it's all good now?
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Big difference between executing seamlessly and not knowing the plays. You run through plays all the time, it's not very hard to understand what the 4 does on one play if you play the 2 or 3. Not saying that they can get all the nuances correct, but knowing that the 4 sets a screen at a certain angle on the wing even though you are a 2 guard and usually run the baseline on that play isn't much to understand/grasp.
 



Moonlight said:
Did you listen to the interview? I wouldn't start picking apart this non-verbatim recap. He was clear and concise. That was a difficult thing to do, to throw a bunch of kids out there and ask them to play on national TV out of position. No, he should not have been more forthcoming on a post-game interview.
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No I did not, good points and you're likely right.

I'm just very concerned about how big this will get. I just have no faith in the Minnesota media of blowing this out of proportion OR this actually being a bigger deal than I might think it is as of right now.
 


EG#9 said:
If anyone is interesting here is post game video from Pitino:

http://www.scout.com/college/minnesota/story/1646941-pitino-talks-illinois-loss-and-suspensions
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Thanks for posting this. For those of you that don't have time to watch it, when Pitino was asked about how long the suspensions would be, he said the part about the pride he has in coaching her and at his dream job and:

"We're going to do what we believe is right. Unfortunately, you may lose the battle, but you'll win the war."
 

I think there is a chance that all three transfer before the start of the next season, may want to start fresh somewhere else.
 


Moonlight said:
I am surprised you find that crazy - Does a player know how to do all the positions when they learn a play? I would think there's a pretty big difference between knowing what the plays are, and being able to know how to do the part you're suddenly handed and haven't done before. An actor might know the entire play, but flounder if they have to change roles - am I missing something?
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You are correct Moonlight.. a player does not know the details of all positions and their roles in the plays.. loosely, but not the details.
 

Unregistered User said:
Really interesting press conference. Not until about 4:40 in the video did a question come from the media about the suspensions. Pitino did bring it up earlier in the press conference...and no nibbles.

I'm not jumping to any concussions, but that is interesting.
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Neither paper sent their beat writer and relied on stringers instead.
 

Maximus said:
Neither paper sent their beat writer and relied on stringers instead.
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Wow - this is all one needs to know about the level of interest in Gopher basketball right now. This is the second time during Big Ten season this has happened with the STrib, and at least the second time with the Pioneer Press. I don't ever remember this happening before.

Go Gophers!!
 

Maximus said:
Neither paper sent their beat writer and relied on stringers instead.
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There is also a big difference in knowing how to run plays/defense from a certain spot and being comfortable/confident in that role. For instance, there is a world of difference in running the offense against pressure from the point and all the other positions. I think these guys did very well under the circumstances!

As for the outcome of the three suspended players: I really hope at least the two starters stay but who knows, our University may just boot them all if they are in this video. Feels like the "Iron 5" all over again. This time with proof.
 

Otis said:
As for the outcome of the three suspended players: I really hope at least the two starters stay but who knows, our University may just boot them all if they are in this video. Feels like the "Iron 5" all over again. This time with proof.
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Based on what we know about what happened so far, it would be a massive overreaction to kick them out of school. Bad judgement? Yes. Suspension worthy? Yes. But they didn't even commit a crime, and mostly likely didn't mean to post the video. To kick someone out of school for that would be asinine.
 




Er, after the Maryland game didn't someone on here post the "We're all gonna get laid" clip from Caddy Shack? Maybe the U should investigate this person as the cause of all of this...
 

Golden_Sloth said:
Based on what we know about what happened so far, it would be a massive overreaction to kick them out of school. Bad judgement? Yes. Suspension worthy? Yes. But they didn't even commit a crime, and mostly likely didn't mean to post the video. To kick someone out of school for that would be asinine.
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The crux of where Pitino and the U are right now is deciding whether these are essentially decent human beings who did something stupid and out of character or whether they are really bad seeds that could contaminate not only the team but the university. It is a discipline decision people working with teens and others face a lot more than we may appreciate. From my perspective, it is not a slam dunk decision either way, and there will be negative ramifications either way. One, we lose the base of the program and start from zero again next year. Two, we face an uphill PR/recruiting situation with opponents trashing the character of our players especially to recruits parents. It's a no-win. The program was at a similar place with the Mitch Lee fiasco in the mid 80's, when he was acquitted of something, let back on the team and then was the ring leader of the disaster that followed. No one wants that. Pitino and his bosses have some serious discussions in the near future to make these decisions.

Lots of assumptions about "no crime" on the board, but that is all they are: assumptions. None of us knows for sure and that obviously is the potential elephant in the room. My guess is that is what suits and decision makers are looking at most closely right now. Either way, there better be a clear explanation for whatever decision is made. As someone said in another thread, it would not surprise me if one or all voluntarily leave the program to limit shame and embarrassment.

Yuk.
 

Huge props to sharp. He played very well despite the circumstances.
 

Holy Man said:
The crux of where Pitino and the U are right now is deciding whether these are essentially decent human beings who did something stupid and out of character or whether they are really bad seeds that could contaminate not only the team but the university. It is a discipline decision people working with teens and others face a lot more than we may appreciate. From my perspective, it is not a slam dunk decision either way, and there will be negative ramifications either way. One, we lose the base of the program and start from zero again next year. Two, we face an uphill PR/recruiting situation with opponents trashing the character of our players especially to recruits parents. It's a no-win. The program was at a similar place with the Mitch Lee fiasco in the mid 80's, when he was acquitted of something, let back on the team and then was the ring leader of the disaster that followed. No one wants that. Pitino and his bosses have some serious discussions in the near future to make these decisions.

Lots of assumptions about "no crime" on the board, but that is all they are: assumptions. None of us knows for sure and that obviously is the potential elephant in the room. My guess is that is what suits and decision makers are looking at most closely right now. Either way, there better be a clear explanation for whatever decision is made. As someone said in another thread, it would not surprise me if one or all voluntarily leave the program to limit shame and embarrassment.

Yuk.
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As always Holy Man, you are the most rational & reasonable man in the room. This is a great summation of what goes into a decision involving something like this. It's never easy, and whichever way they go they're going to get ripped.
 

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