Pitino post Michigan game: That Akeem injury really hurt us with one day prep

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Just a few comments from 1500:

itino post Michigan:
• We ran out of gas, we didn't sub a lot of guys, that Akeem injury really hurt us with one day prep.
• Nate fouled, I'm not sure why, but they just made some plays
• We're going to have to re-group with Akeem's injury because that really hurt us
• Nate battled, he didn't come out of the game
• It's challenging, our guys fought, we've got to be proud of them
• We knew what they were going to run, we just didn't have a sense of urgency. It's not that we weren't prepared, just no urgency.
• We need a day off, it was a great win to beat MSU, but then to have a starter go down…
 

It seems sacrilegious here, but I think we'll be a trendy upset pick in the first round, particularly if we're matched up with a good-shooting mid major. We are gonna struggle mightily with a six-man rotation.


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Gopher07 said:
It seems sacrilegious here, but I think we'll be a trendy upset pick in the first round, particularly if we're matched up with a good-shooting mid major. We are gonna struggle mightily with a six-month rotation.
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Probably. But you can win playing the starters the majority of the game.

Had the Gophers not gotten down by so much so early, I think Hurt and maybe Gilbert would have played more, giving those guys more of a break.
 

Indeed, lack of prep was a key. Nobody on this board had an easy answer how to make up for Springs' absence, and that's because there is no good answer. But give the staff a few days to scheme and practice... Richard is a heck of a game planner, so I like their chances in the Tourney. They will not lose their first round game.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Indeed, lack of prep was a key. Nobody on this board had an easy answer how to make up for Springs' absence, and that's because there is no good answer. But give the staff a few days to scheme and practice... Richard is a heck of a game planner, so I like their chances in the Tourney. They will not lose their first round game.
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+10000
 


Springs injury was huge. Now they will get 3 to 4 days once their 1st round opponent is set to game plan and figure out a rotation.

Have to get some solid minutes from either Hurt, Gilbert or both.


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scools12 said:
Springs injury was huge. Now they will get 3 to 4 days once their 1st round opponent is set to game plan and figure out a rotation.

Have to get some solid minutes from either Hurt, Gilbert or both.


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It might be an opportunity to give opponent something they have not seen and can't game plan for. We had tons of dribble penetration today; need a spot of shooter (I am thinking Hurt) whose sole job is to float around the 3 pt line and knock the open jumper down.
 

More Pitino quotes:

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It was a winnable game...Curry needs to make his lay ups and play with some intensity. Everyone is high on him but he still makes too many Freshman mistakes on D and plays soft on O.
 



Remember the Iron 5??? Where is Dave Winfield when we need him?
 

GopherinPhilly said:
It was a winnable game...Curry needs to make his lay ups and play with some intensity. Everyone is high on him but he still makes too many Freshman mistakes on D and plays soft on O.
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Correct - a game that we still could have won. We need to make the bunnies and also could have used a foul or two on the drives to the basket where we ended up on the floor. The day off will probably be a benefit for us. I really feel that we may have been physically beat up after playing Michigan State. Just really looked slow early in the game. But, they fought back and make it a contest. Look forward to watching them next weekend and think a sweet 16 run is very possible.
 

The 97 team was the only one I can remember having 10 guys that played. Every position had a backup that could contribute. The backups were less experienced, but capable. Not much flexibility with a thin bench (the game today was not one for Konate, and 6 wasn't enough).
 

goldenboy said:
The 97 team was the only one I can remember having 10 guys that played. Every position had a backup that could contribute. The backups were less experienced, but capable. Not much flexibility with a thin bench (the game today was not one for Konate, and 6 wasn't enough).
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I didn't want to, but I couldn't help when we were losing by 10 in the second half thinking about how next year will be nice with an extra wing and the option of moving Coffey around.

Also fast forward to Murphy and mcbrayer a senior season will be one hell of a team depending on the freshman class and how much they contribute.
 



Depth was concern prior springs injury
 

Winasota Gopher said:
I didn't want to, but I couldn't help when we were losing by 10 in the second half thinking about how next year will be nice with an extra wing and the option of moving Coffey around.

Also fast forward to Murphy and mcbrayer a senior season will be one hell of a team depending on the freshman class and how much they contribute.
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Who's the extra wing? Fitz? Hard to count on a guy coming 1 year off his second knee surgery.
 

I assume the 6 man rotation had a lot to do with being behind but was surprised that Hurt and Konate didn't really play at all. Neither of those guys really helps in regards to Springs being out but could have at least given others some rest.

Wonder if Coffey takes on more of Springs role as a 2 guard? Might not be ideal but he would seem like one of the best ball handlers left that could move into a role like that. Tough to lose a key player so late in the year, hopefully they can come up with a good rotation by the time we play again on Thursday or Friday. This team wasn't likely to win the Tournament this year anyway but would be awesome to win a few games.
 

I hope they end up playing on Friday night. Give the staff as long as possible to try and figure things out.
 

Konate just can't play against a team that plays 5 out. He'd be a complete liability. Truth is the missed layups are what cost us the game. We missed a ton of bunnies. But as far as depth is concerned, the issue is that we NEED to be able to give Mason a short break each half meaning either Coffey or Gilbert need to be able to steal a few minutes at the 2. This is a byproduct of the Jarvis issue and the Dorsey transfer. As much progress as we've made this year we still only have about 8 serviceable scholarship players.
 

Gold Vision said:
Who's the extra wing? Fitz? Hard to count on a guy coming 1 year off his second knee surgery.
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I'm not counting on him other than 5-10 minutes per game. I know that's even a stretch, but between the 3 guys someone has to step up right?
 

I don't like the excuse ( we only had 1 day to prep). They had all season to prep if someone went down. Coach should always have a backup plan.
 

manny77 said:
I don't like the excuse ( we only had 1 day to prep). They had all season to prep if someone went down. Coach should always have a backup plan.
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The lack of prep time hurts, but make no mistake, Michigan is on a roll right now and we were short a critical piece. Prep time may have helped, but that game would have been a tough one even before the injury. There's no shame in saying that the lack of prep time hurt though, because it is just a fact, and no amount of prep earlier in the season is going to change that.
 

He is protecting the confidence of his team regarding prep time. We lost not because we played 6, but because we missed so many shots around the basket. Not a day for Curry not to perform.
 

does the extra game hurt a lower seed like Michigan more than the extra 2.5 hours of rest/prep they had over the gophers between games? less rest and prep time for both the gophers and the badgers vs Michigan.

that said, the gophers didn't look ready to play in that first five minutes against Michigan
 

Looks like a battle of their skilled 6'-8" guys versus Murphy, Lynch and Curry. Coffey should be a difference maker and a huge matchup problem for MTSU. I thought I read they start 3 guards under 6-3.
 

Gopher07 said:
It seems sacrilegious here, but I think we'll be a trendy upset pick in the first round, particularly if we're matched up with a good-shooting mid major. We are gonna struggle mightily with a six-man rotation.


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If we both get that far, we'll need O2 against Wichita State. They play 10 guys fairly evenly and wear out their opponents.
 

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