Pitino quote from Marcus Fuller

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Johnnyboy18 said:
1. I don't love Tubby you weirdo.
2. No, I hope his goals are higher than not making the tournament his whole time here.
3. The NCAA tournament should be the expectation next year with 3 and a half starters returning.
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There are no serviceable front court players other than Ellott, Saul! We'll be hearing a lot from the peanut gallery next year!
 


So Tubby shouldn't be fired for making the tourney 3/6 years, yet Pitino will be a disappointment if he doesn't make it after one year with 2 starters and 2 reserves departing and no known replacements? D'ok.

I love the way those with agendas can move the bar up and down to suit their needs.
 

Maroon Shower said:
So Tubby shouldn't be fired for making the tourney 3/6 years, yet Pitino will be a disappointment if he doesn't make it after one year with 2 starters and 2 reserves departing and no known replacements? D'ok.

I love the way those with agendas can move the bar up and down to suit their needs.
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There is one way to describe those with agendas.... Bob Dylan's Idiot Wind
 


I don't think this has anything to do with "accepting mediocrity". The arrow on the Gophers under Tubby Smith was definitely pointing down in terms of future prospects for the team. Tubby Smith wasn't "fired" for winning a tournament game, he was fired for going 6-12, 6-12, 8-10 in the conference AND having a less talented group of players returning for 2013-14. If we expected to go to the NCAA tournament (with the current roster) in 2013-14, there would not have been a coaching change.

Richard Pitino inherits four players that we know can play: Andre, Austin, Joe, and Elliott. Of those four, Elliott may not be an ideal fit for his system. Pitino also inherits 3 players who need to improve greatly to play roles on a good B1G team: Maverick, Oto, and Mo. We can debate if it's even realistic to expect any of those 3 to be good players. Finally, Pitino inherits two wildcards that we don't whether or not they can play: Wally and Charles.

What we KNOW we don't have:
A Pure PG- 'Dre's a very good player, but could benefit from being able to play off the ball at times
A B1G PF- Nobody on the team has the requisite combination of size/strength/athleticism to fill this position
A knockdown shooter- Even if Oto shoots great in practice, it's quite a leap to expect him to grow from atrocious to something resembling Hoffarber

I've always maintained that this team would be picked no higher than 8th (and more likely 9-10) in the B1G without a significant addition or two. This has been coming for years and it's a major knock on Tubby that Mbakwe got a 6th year and we still were not prepared to replace him and that Mav has been the backup PG for 3 years now.

My only issue with what Pitino said is I don't know how re can be going after Tarik Black at the same time publicly saying that the NCAA tournament is unrealistic. I would guess Black wants to be a major piece on a team that's going to the dance.

I do understand those who are weary of the whole Jerry Kill thing of trying to set low expectations, but I think Pitino is a different type of guy.
 

I'd be disappointed if we don't make the tourney next year just because I think Andre Hollins has the talent to be an All-Conference player and lottery pick, and I think Austin Hollins is a better player (specifically shooter) than he showed late in the season last year. It wouldn't be a huge letdown by any means but I think we have the talent to win 9 conference games, especially with the Big Ten being down a little compared to this year.
 

GopherInPittsburgh said:
@GophersNow (Fuller): Richard Pitino on sophomore PG Andre Holllins: "I think he’s probably going to be one of the best guards in college basketball." #Gophers
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I think he's right. Andre was flat out awesome against UCLA and Florida, it was fun to watch. He's just got to be more consistent throughout the whole season.
 

Certainly it is unusual for a coach to be so honest in a negative way at this point. But some coaches are that way. Urban Meyer often makes negative comments publicly to motivate his team. Not a big deal at this point.

It is rarer to see a coach admit defeat toward the end of the season about not making the tourney - the last home game of Gene Keady's last year at Purdue he was on the court at Mackey Arena telling all the Purdue fans that they were going to win the Big Ten tourney and make the tournament even though they had an awful team. You always have a chance until you lose in the conference tourney.

Truth be told, this upcoming Gopher team probably won't be a tournament team. Could they be if Pitino has a Groce-like effect on the team? Yes, but that is not usually what happens.
 



GophersInIowa said:
I'd be disappointed if we don't make the tourney next year just because I think Andre Hollins has the talent to be an All-Conference player and lottery pick, and I think Austin Hollins is a better player (specifically shooter) than he showed late in the season last year. It wouldn't be a huge letdown by any means but I think we have the talent to win 9 conference games, especially with the Big Ten being down a little compared to this year.
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You just named a total of 2 players Iowa. Takes more than that.

13 scholarship players on a team.
-2 players that did not contribute as first year players(Wally and Buggs)
-4 OPEN SCHOLARSHIPS.
7 players left.....3 of them have shown not to be B1G contributors(Mav, Oto and Mo)

That is not the makings of a NCAA tournament team.

I think it would be wise to see what happens with the open scholarships before we make any projections.
 

So he didn't say it would be unrealistic to go to the NCAA Tournament. He said it would be unrealistic to EXPECT it. There's a difference.
 

station19 said:
You just named a total of 2 players Iowa. Takes more than that.

13 scholarship players on a team.
-2 players that did not contribute as first year players(Wally and Buggs)
-4 OPEN SCHOLARSHIPS.
7 players left.....3 of them have shown not to be B1G contributors(Mav, Oto and Mo)

That is not the makings of a NCAA tournament team.

I think it would be wise to see what happens with the open scholarships before we make any projections.[/QUOTE

Scout never updates stuff since they were bought and sold but this link is nice other than they still have us as having two 2013 recruits...

http://minnesota.scout.com/a.z?s=176&p=9&c=16&cfg=bb&yr=2012
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GophersOnTheRise said:
So he didn't say it would be unrealistic to go to the NCAA Tournament. He said it would be unrealistic to EXPECT it. There's a difference.
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Ya the power of the press to take a few words and twist it into a negative for our new coach. Embarrassing.
 

station19 said:
You just named a total of 2 players Iowa. Takes more than that.

13 scholarship players on a team.
-2 players that did not contribute as first year players(Wally and Buggs)
-4 OPEN SCHOLARSHIPS.
7 players left.....3 of them have shown not to be B1G contributors(Mav, Oto and Mo)

That is not the makings of a NCAA tournament team.

I think it would be wise to see what happens with the open scholarships before we make any projections.
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I know that. Was just pointing out that we have an extremely strong back court. I also believe Coleman could do well in a more uptempo gameplan. Look at most of his good games. Almost all of them were games in which we were able to run the floor a bunch.

Our front court will be weaker than last year but our back court should be stronger. We'll obviously have to wait and see, but I don't think the "cupboard is bare" or anything either.
 



dpodoll68 said:
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I wonder what everyone blathering about "accepting mediocrity" has to say about this.
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I've been saying this for a while now. Trevor is a much bigger loss than people realize. We have no frontcourt.
 

Say it like it is...don't bullsh$t with the fans to sugar coat it. He knows the goal is to make the tourney but when you don't have a true PG or dominant C, its hard to compete. That's why this year was a disappointment. You can't deny this as fact. Add Tarik Black and a healthy Rakeem Buckles to the frontcourt and then we can talk. The current roster will NOT win 7 B10 games next year as currently constructed. Don't tell us what you think is possible, show us. I believe in Rico...
 



Wow, I can't believe the dribble and ridiculous speculation that has gone on for 6 pages on just a simple comment. This is not a continuation of last year. You have a new coach and a new style of play that we do not know how well the players will adopt. As some have suggested, a few players may not be able to play at that pace. Couple that with losing the seniors, and Pitino learning the coaching styles of the B1G and you have some question marks about next year. I suspect that they will make the tournament, but he has too many question marks about the team for him to set that as an expectation.
 

Gold Vision said:
6 conference wins would be a massive disappointment for the veteran back court we have returning. Especially if we bring in a little help in the PF position.
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Well said and spot on
 

I am in total support of Pitino and the coaching change. but I don't believe for a second that if Tubby were still here as coach and if he made the comment Pitino made about it being unrealistic that the
team would make the ncaa tourney that half this board wouldn't be ripping on him.
 

Former Goofer said:
I've been saying this for a while now. Trevor is a much bigger loss than people realize. We have no frontcourt.
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Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher said Pitino's team should be expected to make it back to the NCAA tournament because the Big Ten will lose some talented players.

"I don't think the Gophers will contend for the Big Ten title, but they should be able to do what they did last year," Dutcher said. "Looking at the rest of the league, you take Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo away from Indiana and Trey Burke away from Michigan. Ohio State loses Deshaun Thomas. A lot of the all-conference players won't be back. It's not my intention to put pressure on (Pitino), but I think this is an NCAA tournament team."
 


Jon said:
Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher said Pitino's team should be expected to make it back to the NCAA tournament because the Big Ten will lose some talented players.

"I don't think the Gophers will contend for the Big Ten title, but they should be able to do what they did last year," Dutcher said. "Looking at the rest of the league, you take Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo away from Indiana and Trey Burke away from Michigan. Ohio State loses Deshaun Thomas. A lot of the all-conference players won't be back. It's not my intention to put pressure on (Pitino), but I think this is an NCAA tournament team."
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+1 Thank you Dutcher, voice of reason. I can't believe the "rubes" on this Board already setting expectations as 6 or 7 wins.

Yes these other teams have benches and incoming freshmen, but you can't just replace guys like Burke, Zeller, Oladipo, Deshaun Thomas, etc. and that's not even the complete list. Half a dozen other B1G players will probably be on the NBA list by the end of next week. Plus all these other teams have seniors graduating just like we do.
 

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