Pitino said he will tinker with the lineup

[scher215]

Either way, the bulk of the minutes aren't really going to change. I just wish this team had some depth. I think our end of the game problems have more to do with fatigue (and lack of a closer) than anything.

Had someone else point that out too and it's interesting. How much does being tired have to do with the mistakes at the end? Certainly a possibility.

*cue the post saying they are 18 year olds! When I was 18 I could play at full energy for 16 straight hours and a broken arm!!!!!!!*

 

[bga1]

Had someone else point that out too and it's interesting. How much does being tired have to do with the mistakes at the end? Certainly a possibility.

*cue the post saying they are 18 year olds! When I was 18 I could play at full energy for 16 straight hours and a broken arm!!!!!!!*

Last game our bench played 43 minutes and the Michigan bench played 33 minutes. I don't think being tired is the problem.

I re-watched the last 7 minutes last night. Wow. 2 wide open misses by Andre and a missed layup, plus a pass to Mathieu that was iffy but Mathieu should have gotten. Fumbled pass by Mo Walker on a sure dunk play plus two missed free throws by Mo. Joey King had an absolute highlight reel of errors + a short armed three pointer. Mathieu flew into the lane , could have shot and without looking chucked a pass into the stands and then there was the mid court pass by Mathieu for a turnover. Air ball three by Morris. There were just so many bad plays by guys who were in a position to score or just made an unforced error.

Watching it, I got a lot more confident in the coaching staff- the guys were put in a position to win and just didn't. They are playing scared right now. I think that had they won the Purdue game they would be 3-1 right now. That loss snowballed.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

Last game our bench played 43 minutes and the Michigan bench played 33 minutes. I don't think being tired is the problem.

I re-watched the last 7 minutes last night. Wow. 2 wide open misses by Andre and a missed layup, plus a pass to Mathieu that was iffy but Mathieu should have gotten. Fumbled pass by Mo Walker on a sure dunk play plus two missed free throws by Mo. Joey King had an absolute highlight reel of errors + a short armed three pointer. Mathieu flew into the lane , could have shot and without looking chucked a pass into the stands and then there was the mid court pass by Mathieu for a turnover. Air ball three by Morris. There were just so many bad plays by guys who were in a position to score or just made an unforced error.

Watching it, I got a lot more confident in the coaching staff- the guys were put in a position to win and just didn't. They are playing scared right now. I think that had they won the Purdue game they would be 3-1 right now. That loss snowballed.

That's precisely where I am right now. Our 1-3-1 PLAN was sound, execution was not. Some have seen it as blind support for Pitino, but I think these kids he's got on this team are just a bunch of simple minded mental head cases that are either reeling from the coaching change, destroyed by Tubby or Pitino's style or the fact that they are (on the surface) polar opposites. I really like some of the things Pitino does on the court, its some bright stuff, and technically sound thoughts. The execution is just sh1t. Yes you could point to thats on the coach, and you could also point to the fact that Pitino has 4 of his own recruits playing major minutes, but I look at Mason, and I feel that he is the type of recruit we should come to expect. Calm, cool, collected, efficient and effective. Morris is talented, versatile, fearless and athletic. I can live with their mistakes. Hopefully Pitino takes his lumps coaching and learns while his roster is being turned over and by the time he has 3 full recruiting classes under his belt he's ready to hit a home run.

 

[Otis]

I saw him shooting around before practice today and he was working on 20 foot jumpers from the top of the key area. That was not what i expected from all previous reports of him being a big physical rebounder kind of guy. The shot did look ok but i can just imagine the groan from the crowd if that is his first shot tomorrow night.
Then again, Buggs kind of snuck up on Iowa last year too.

Maybe, just maybe, he is working on what he doesn't do well. Improving on things you do poorly would b refreshing.

I'm hoping he starts Mason, Hollins, Morris, Gaston and Mo. I think Deandre needs to hit the reset button on his season cause he is playing like crap compared to last year. Give Mason a chance to blossom. And aside from missing a few jumpers, how much worse could Gaston be than a guy who averages 1.8 rebounds a game. Joey King, 6 foot 9 inches, plays like he is 5'9"! Terrible.

 

[Bad Gopher]

It's always interesting being a Gopher fan. Nothing is ever safe. The coach is either on his way to being fired or we are certain he will get snatched away by someone else. We are a perennial bubble squad - unless the coach is about to be fired- so we are on the edges of our seats as every game is a must win. The lineup is always in question because the players we have are never quite good enough. Everyone has a theory about who might be great if they played and also about which starters should really be D2 players. We almost never have a player who anyone else would want but at times we think all of our guys should be All Big Ten and the coach should win every game. I cannot imagine the boredom of being a Duke fan.

Wow, what a darkly beautiful synopsis of Gopher BB fandom. This should be etched somewhere permanently.

Again, I hope he doesn't tinker too much with the starting lineup. I hope he tinkers with who he trusts in the last ten minutes of games. Whoever has been on the floor and making mistakes for the Purdue and Michigan meltdowns should not be seeing late game action until they prove they can handle the pressure.

Right on. Problem is, what if there's nobody who can? I've brought this up before, but don't try to stop me from bringing it up again. It's the Star Trek parody I read a number of years ago, where the Chekov character is fine until a battle situation, where his voice becomes high pitched and he starts throwing up. I mean, some guys just don't have it in them.

 

[Moonlight]

Can't get the hang of the multiple quotes. Anyway. 2 excellent posts, Bga. The first sure to become a gopherhole classic. "I can't imagine the boredom of being a Duke fan." fabulous! Honestly, it makes me curious to check out what they DO talk about.

And yes, the team was positioned to win, they just couldn't do it. The errors you observed, they will either be corrected or further deteriorate. Stay tuned, Gopher Fans - you won't want to miss it, but you might not want to watch!

 

[march madness]

Seems like buggs could match up well with Uthoff, similar built players. Worrying about Mo being able to compete on the boards with Olesani who can be a beast! White is a tough matchup. Iowa's guards are struggling. This would be the game for our guards to return to last years form. Iowa is slow in the backcourt. Iowa is also a horrible 3 pt shooting team.

 

[CentralGopher]

Starting a player that hasn't yet played in a college game sounds desperate to me. If he is good enough to be considered a starter tomorrow night, he should have seen game action before now.

This.