Poll: Should the ophers move on from Pitino after season

[Hates Monikers]

It reminds me of when Striker took over from the autopilot, and the plane immediately started going all over the place. He did end up landing it, though. And yes, I know it was only a movie, and a nonsensical one at that.

Ha - right. And how did the guy in the tower respond as Striker's altitude rose and fell? "What and a$$hole." Kind of like the reaction we've seen here this year. But it's important to remember the plane ultimately landed, despite the bumpy ride.

 

[Ewert86PC]

It reminds me of when Striker took over from the autopilot, and the plane immediately started going all over the place. He did end up landing it, though. And yes, I know it was only a movie, and a nonsensical one at that.

"I picked the wrong week to give up sniffing glue."

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[underground629]

He has convinced me that he can coach and that his is learning to coach better. He adapted as the season went on and we saw improvement in the guys that wanted to learn. He has proven that he can recruit and I think he will be a good recruiter going forward if he can have a good year next year. Getting rid of him this year due to many, many reasons- would be insane. If next year looks anything like this year in terms of off court trouble or W/L record then he's probably toast. He needs to win 7 or more Big Ten games at a minimum next year. I think the team has a chance to go to the NCAAs. Make a big run the following year. If he succeeds over the next few years- I think there is a possibility he's in for the long term.

I agreed with all of this until the 7 or more wins. I just don't understand blanket statement like that. What if we win 6 games with Murphy and Mason injured for chunks of the season and he has another top 25 recruiting class coming in?

 

[underground629]

He gets next year. But if he is as great as you say he would win 10 conference games by year 4. My firm represented 27 coaches who have won conference championships and they had one thing in common ; they built great defenses from day one. That led to winning no later than year three.. Top shelf , i am not seeing it and he was not hired here as the first choice. None of the top 25 programs would touch RP. He does have his best class next year but people should tread cautious as it is no where near top 25. Still, the U is in no position to attract a Archie Miller so give RP one more year to see if he can grind out 10 conference victories, play a meaningful non con. . play defense every possession every game and have dignified players who are tough enough mentally to abide by team rules. Please share with me why he is so obviously going to be great.

What a rigid post filled with straw man arguments and incorrect/misleading information. My favorite parts were probably about the recruiting class being nowhere near top 25 and the fact that Pitino wasn't the first choice when he was hired.

 

[rivergopher]

Umm he was not even close to the first choice he was closer to 10 than 1. It was a bad hire then and it is has played itself out. Dont blame him, hired ny a bad guy with an agenda.

What a rigid post filled with straw man arguments and incorrect/misleading information. My favorite parts were probably about the recruiting class being nowhere near top 25 and the fact that Pitino wasn't the first choice when he was hired.

 

[underground629]

Umm he was not even close to the first choice he was closer to 10 than 1. It was a bad hire then and it is has played itself out. Dont blame him, hired ny a bad guy with an agenda.

You missed the point there. Very few schools are able to hire their first choice when they look outside the program, and if they do, they're either a really great program or they probably aren't aiming high enough. The fact that Pitino wasn't our first choice is completely meaningless.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

You missed the point there. Very few schools are able to hire their first choice when they look outside the program, and if they do, they're either a really great program or they probably aren't aiming high enough. The fact that Pitino wasn't our first choice is completely meaningless.

Exactly.

For a school like MN, I think it's actually a good sign that we didn't get our first choice.

Our first choices were likely the Shak's, Fred Hoibergs, Greg Marshalls of the world. . .we weren't getting any of them, but it was worth a shot. We took the shot, I'm glad we did, and then we moved on to more realistic goals.

I am not sure that we got the right guy and I think it's time to move on. I am not like adamant about it and I don't come on here and bash Pitino, but I think now is the best time to move on.

 

[rivergopher]

Got it, I interpreted this different. Yes I also think it is time to move on. I don't get the fear of starting over this is the worse team/situation of my lifetime how does it get any worse than 2-16 with 3 guys suspended and likely 1-2 of those transferring. This is it this is the bottom. Pitino is clearly not a guy ready for this challenge and you can have this top 25 class next year he simply can't coach and more than likely 1 of those guys is gone by jan1 of next year if history repeats itself. Bad hire by a bad guy. 40-15 at half not even included.


QUOTE=Bob_Loblaw;1186979]Exactly.

For a school like MN, I think it's actually a good sign that we didn't get our first choice.

Our first choices were likely the Shak's, Fred Hoibergs, Greg Marshalls of the world. . .we weren't getting any of them, but it was worth a shot. We took the shot, I'm glad we did, and then we moved on to more realistic goals.

I am not sure that we got the right guy and I think it's time to move on. I am not like adamant about it and I don't come on here and bash Pitino, but I think now is the best time to move on.[/QUOTE]

 

[DeathClutch]

Exactly.

For a school like MN, I think it's actually a good sign that we didn't get our first choice.

Our first choices were likely the Shak's, Fred Hoibergs, Greg Marshalls of the world. . .we weren't getting any of them, but it was worth a shot. We took the shot, I'm glad we did, and then we moved on to more realistic goals.

I am not sure that we got the right guy and I think it's time to move on. I am not like adamant about it and I don't come on here and bash Pitino, but I think now is the best time to move on.

Don't forget Flip. He was going to take the job, but he had second thoughts about working with Teague and Ellis. This according to Jim Dutcher.

 

[bga1]

I agreed with all of this until the 7 or more wins. I just don't understand blanket statement like that. What if we win 6 games with Murphy and Mason injured for chunks of the season and he has another top 25 recruiting class coming in?

In that case I'd stick with him. Many would not. People don't analyze. They tend to look at the surface and criticize because the results were not what they wanted. So I don't know what would happen in the situation you state but there would be a lot of people calling for his scalp regardless of how promising it looked or what the extenuating circumstances are.

 

[cncmin]

It's nice to see the emotion flying regarding the future after another bad loss. We were only missing almost all of our starters, along with a bigtime recruit who couldn't play because of health reasons. If Pitino can't turn it around next year after this dust settles, then, and only then IMO, should be begin to concern ourselves with getting a new coach. Some things you just can't control. His passion is not lacking, unlike the previous coach, and the talent is improving; therefore hope for a much better future should remain.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

It's nice to see the emotion flying regarding the future after another bad loss. We were only missing almost all of our starters, along with a bigtime recruit who couldn't play because of health reasons. If Pitino can't turn it around next year after this dust settles, then, and only then IMO, should be begin to concern ourselves with getting a new coach. Some things you just can't control. His passion is not lacking, unlike the previous coach, and the talent is improving; therefore hope for a much better future should remain.

Emotion? What are you referencing?

 

[dtrain19]

It's nice to see the emotion flying regarding the future after another bad loss. We were only missing almost all of our starters, along with a bigtime recruit who couldn't play because of health reasons. If Pitino can't turn it around next year after this dust settles, then, and only then IMO, should be begin to concern ourselves with getting a new coach. Some things you just can't control. His passion is not lacking, unlike the previous coach, and the talent is improving; therefore hope for a much better future should remain.

Agree with 99%. That's a compliment. Can't go through all this crap without seeing the end game. Not changing that opinion.

 

[1997vacatedfinalfour]

Agree with 99%. That's a compliment. Can't go through all this crap without seeing the end game. Not changing that opinion.

After the complete debacle this year, they have to be at least a tourney bubble team next year....I don't care who the AD is, there will be too much pressure to pull the trigger if they are not(media, fans, alumni, boosters,..etc).

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

Very simple poll to gauge the fan base.

OBVIOUSLY not.

- We knew coming in that Pitino would be the youngest (or was it second youngest?) coach in D1 hoops and would have to do some on-the-job training and he has. That was always the deal, so accept it for what it is.

- He has recruited some very talented players.

- We have a nice nucleus to build on.

- His players are getting better as the season progresses.

- The team never quit on him.

- The reason we hired Pitino is because our 1st, 2nd, 5th and 10th choices passed on the job. Point blank, Minnesota is not a job quality coaches want at this point.

- We fire a young coach after only three years, after firing a HOF coach after six, with three NCAA appearances, we have the worst facilities in the B1G, no AD, are coming off sex scandals...if no one wanted this job last time around, who wants it this time?

- No, we ride with Pitino for five years. Next year we should be better but it won't be a finished product as we integrate transfers and freshmen. What we need to see is improvement. Year five is the real litmus test.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

OBVIOUSLY not.

- We knew coming in that Pitino would be the youngest (or was it second youngest?) coach in D1 hoops and would have to do some on-the-job training and he has. That was always the deal, so accept it for what it is.

- He has recruited some very talented players.

- We have a nice nucleus to build on.

- His players are getting better as the season progresses.

- The team never quit on him.

- The reason we hired Pitino is because our 1st, 2nd, 5th and 10th choices passed on the job. Point blank, Minnesota is not a job quality coaches want at this point.

- We fire a young coach after only three years, after firing a HOF coach after six, with three NCAA appearances, we have the worst facilities in the B1G, no AD, are coming off sex scandals...if no one wanted this job last time around, who wants it this time?

- No, we ride with Pitino for five years. Next year we should be better but it won't be a finished product as we integrate transfers and freshmen. What we need to see is improvement. Year five is the real litmus test.

I am shocked that anyone would argue that we OBVIOUSLY should not fire Pitino.

This team is a disaster. It's a disaster for a lot of reasons and some (not all) of those fall at his feet. The makeup of this current roster is, at least, partially his fault. He is in his third season.

The people that want Pitino to stay also seem to be giving him a pass for next year too. You're asking for "improvement". We are atrocious, mere improvement should not be enough for a coach in his 4th season after taking over a program that made it to the round of 32. He did not take over a putrid team/program.

When we hired Pitino, if someone would have said, "In the next four seasons, you won't make the NCAA tournament, you will have one of the worst seasons in school history, and you won't finish above .500 any season in the Big 10", people would say that the coach should be fired. He should not get the benefit next season of setting the bar so low this season.

It almost feels like if we had gone 6-12 this season in the Big 10 and 7-11 next season in the Big 10, the Pitino backers would be more likely to want him fired than if he goes 7-11 in the Big 10 next season following this dumpster fire.

 

[woozee]

No we should not move on from Pitino after this year.


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[bga1]

I am shocked that anyone would argue that we OBVIOUSLY should not fire Pitino.

This team is a disaster. It's a disaster for a lot of reasons and some (not all) of those fall at his feet. The makeup of this current roster is, at least, partially his fault. He is in his third season.

The people that want Pitino to stay also seem to be giving him a pass for next year too. You're asking for "improvement". We are atrocious, mere improvement should not be enough for a coach in his 4th season after taking over a program that made it to the round of 32. He did not take over a putrid team/program.

When we hired Pitino, if someone would have said, "In the next four seasons, you won't make the NCAA tournament, you will have one of the worst seasons in school history, and you won't finish above .500 any season in the Big 10", people would say that the coach should be fired. He should not get the benefit next season of setting the bar so low this season.

It almost feels like if we had gone 6-12 this season in the Big 10 and 7-11 next season in the Big 10, the Pitino backers would be more likely to want him fired than if he goes 7-11 in the Big 10 next season following this dumpster fire.

This is his third season not his fourth. It is a season in which he should still be working with 6-7 players left from Tubby. But guess what- Tubby left him one guy-Charles Buggs. So, what a shock that this would be a difficult year. To add to it Pitino did whiff on his first full class other than Mason and possible Konate who is not yet ready.

The players have gotten better through the year and were it not for the incident, we would probably be talking with optimism about a team that had won 4 of it's last 5 with all of the crucial parts except King returning.

 

[ethomasp31]

This is his third season not his fourth. It is a season in which he should still be working with 6-7 players left from Tubby. But guess what- Tubby left him one guy-Charles Buggs. So, what a shock that this would be a difficult year. To add to it Pitino did whiff on his first full class other than Mason and possible Konate who is not yet ready.

The players have gotten better through the year and were it not for the incident, we would probably be talking with optimism about a team that had won 4 of it's last 5 with all of the crucial parts except King returning.

Are you saying we should have 6 or 7 seniors this year? He is finishing his 3rd year...the junior that should be on this team that Pitino recruited was dismissed because of a domestic abuse case. The only sophomore really worth mentioning is currently suspended because of a sex video that just came out. There are other recruits of his that should be on the team (Martin, Morris, Lofton) that either left or were dismissed. He botched the Macura and Illikainen recruitments...and I'm not saying they would have come here for sure...but we should have been more in the running with a good chance that they would be playing here.

BTW, this will surprise some people but I voted no....mainly because of the buyout and AD situation. I'll give him another year to see if he can get us out of this mess....not because I think he's earned it. I'm sure I'll get accused of being too negative and that I shouldn't be allowed to post on this message board anymore. But at least I've never cheered for the Gophers not to make it to the Sweet 16 so we could get rid of a coach like some people on here.

 

[bga1]

Are you saying we should have 6 or 7 seniors this year? He is finishing his 3rd year...the junior that should be on this team that Pitino recruited was dismissed because of a domestic abuse case. The only sophomore really worth mentioning is currently suspended because of a sex video that just came out. There are other recruits of his that should be on the team (Martin, Morris, Lofton) that either left or were dismissed. He botched the Macura and Illikainen recruitments...and I'm not saying they would have come here for sure...but we should have been more in the running with a good chance that they would be playing here.

BTW, this will surprise some people but I voted no....mainly because of the buyout and AD situation. I'll give him another year to see if he can get us out of this mess....not because I think he's earned it. I'm sure I'll get accused of being too negative and that I shouldn't be allowed to post on this message board anymore. But at least I've never cheered for the Gophers not to make it to the Sweet 16 so we could get rid of a coach like some people on here.

No. I'm saying that they should have 6-7 juniors and seniors left over from the prior coach. Remember that Tubby's washout class of Ellis and Foster should be juniors here.The class before that was Buggs and Ellenson. When Clem started - he got handed a mess but he also got handed Dutch's last recruiting class which was Newbern , Schick and Burton. So by the time Clem was in his third year he had a nice core of veterans. That's the way it should be now. But it's not- so we have a young promising team not a good core of vets.

So let me repeat that for emphasis:

Tubby's last two classes were Buggs, Ellenson, Foster and Ellis. That's why he was fired and that's part of why Pitino is having more trouble in year 3 than he did in year 1 when he out performed expectations.

 

[dtrain19]

After the complete debacle this year, they have to be at least a tourney bubble team next year....I don't care who the AD is, there will be too much pressure to pull the trigger if they are not(media, fans, alumni, boosters,..etc).

100% fair statement and agree whole heartedly.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Are you saying we should have 6 or 7 seniors this year? He is finishing his 3rd year...the junior that should be on this team that Pitino recruited was dismissed because of a domestic abuse case. The only sophomore really worth mentioning is currently suspended because of a sex video that just came out. There are other recruits of his that should be on the team (Martin, Morris, Lofton) that either left or were dismissed. He botched the Macura and Illikainen recruitments...and I'm not saying they would have come here for sure...but we should have been more in the running with a good chance that they would be playing here.

BTW, this will surprise some people but I voted no....mainly because of the buyout and AD situation. I'll give him another year to see if he can get us out of this mess....not because I think he's earned it. I'm sure I'll get accused of being too negative and that I shouldn't be allowed to post on this message board anymore. But at least I've never cheered for the Gophers not to make it to the Sweet 16 so we could get rid of a coach like some people on here.

Do you have some inside knowledge the Gophers were not even in the running to land either one of these guys? What specifically did he "botch"?

 

[ethomasp31]

Do you have some inside knowledge the Gophers were not even in the running to land either one of these guys? What specifically did he "botch"?

Look at the Reuvers thread....I heard something similar to what a different poster had also heard...not about Illikainen other than to know he was attending a lot of Gopher games early in his high school career. I think Pitino has handled this last situation well....and the team was played better....up until the suspensions. I've also heard that the players like Pitino...but I heard that a couple of years ago.

 

[ethomasp31]

No. I'm saying that they should have 6-7 juniors and seniors left over from the prior coach. Remember that Tubby's washout class of Ellis and Foster should be juniors here.The class before that was Buggs and Ellenson. When Clem started - he got handed a mess but he also got handed Dutch's last recruiting class which was Newbern , Schick and Burton. So by the time Clem was in his third year he had a nice core of veterans. That's the way it should be now. But it's not- so we have a young promising team not a good core of vets.

So let me repeat that for emphasis:

Tubby's last two classes were Buggs, Ellenson, Foster and Ellis. That's why he was fired and that's part of why Pitino is having more trouble in year 3 than he did in year 1 when he out performed expectations.

Notice that I wasn't the one who brought up Tubby...but I need to respond because you are basically saying that this is Tubby's fault that we are in the position we are in now. It was Mike Ellis and Norwood who released Foster and Ellis from their LOI. That's fine, Pitino wanted to bring his own players in. Pitino should have Morris, Martin, McNeil and Lofton but he doesn't....is that Tubby's fault also? The thing I find ironic is that Tubby went into a situation that was so much worse than the one he left Pitino, yet his team is going to be going to the NCAA Tournament this year with a lot of young guys on his team. Have you seen them play? They have a lot of sophomores. They are about 200 spots higher in the RPI than the Gophers team....and my guess is that none of his recruiting classes were rated as high as the Gophers recruiting classes. Tubby might have had two bad recruiting classes in a row his last years with the Gophers, but it wasn't long ago when someone on here was saying it was part of the cycle when he was talking about Iowa and their team coming back next year. We don't know if Tubby would have been able to get Travis, Macura, Henry or Illikainen....some of you act like he was never going to have another good recruiting class if he stayed at the U. I don't think that was correct.

Now, Tubby is gone and he isn't coming back. That's fine....it's where we are. The question I have for you is when does it stop being Tubby's fault and start falling on Pitino's shoulders?

 

[ethomasp31]

And I voted no....and fully expect Pitino to be back next year and I'm not upset by it considering the circumstances.

 

[bobmartinfan]

I get very frustrated by the bloggers who say lets keep Pittino around, because we cant get a better coach. He has proven he isnt a very good coach and even tho he is a hard working recruiter it doesn't appear that the kids he brings into the U are worthy of the scholarships that we give to them. Thank god Murphy fell into his lap. Seems like a good kid and nice player. The situation is our U is a mess. There is not an AD so they cant fire Pittino. We are forced to one more year (and most likely only one more year) and then the new AD will be forced to fire Pittino. Pittino will have to lead the 2016/2017 team into the tourney or he is gone. I hope that the U of Minn. shows that they have some standard and pride. I am embarrassed to be a gopher basket season ticket holder.

 

[station19]

OBVIOUSLY not.

- We knew coming in that Pitino would be the youngest (or was it second youngest?) coach in D1 hoops and would have to do some on-the-job training and he has. That was always the deal, so accept it for what it is.

- He has recruited some very talented players.

- We have a nice nucleus to build on.

- His players are getting better as the season progresses.

- The team never quit on him.

- The reason we hired Pitino is because our 1st, 2nd, 5th and 10th choices passed on the job. Point blank, Minnesota is not a job quality coaches want at this point.

- We fire a young coach after only three years, after firing a HOF coach after six, with three NCAA appearances, we have the worst facilities in the B1G, no AD, are coming off sex scandals...if no one wanted this job last time around, who wants it this time?

- No, we ride with Pitino for five years. Next year we should be better but it won't be a finished product as we integrate transfers and freshmen. What we need to see is improvement. Year five is the real litmus test.

I'll go along with this.

Another thing to watch is, how the 2017 recruiting class looks next year about this time.

 

[Gold Vision]

I get very frustrated by the bloggers who say lets keep Pittino around, because we cant get a better coach.

Who has said this?? I have not read this once.

 

[bga1]

Notice that I wasn't the one who brought up Tubby...but I need to respond because you are basically saying that this is Tubby's fault that we are in the position we are in now. It was Mike Ellis and Norwood who released Foster and Ellis from their LOI.

Ellis and Foster were not real good recruits and Pitino had no say in that matter.

That's fine, Pitino wanted to bring his own players in. Pitino should have Morris, Martin, McNeil and Lofton but he doesn't....is that Tubby's fault also? The thing I find ironic is that Tubby went into a situation that was so much worse than the one he left Pitino, yet his team is going to be going to the NCAA Tournament this year with a lot of young guys on his team. Have you seen them play? They have a lot of sophomores. They are about 200 spots higher in the RPI than the Gophers team....and my guess is that none of his recruiting classes were rated as high as the Gophers recruiting classes. Tubby might have had two bad recruiting classes in a row his last years with the Gophers, but it wasn't long ago when someone on here was saying it was part of the cycle when he was talking about Iowa and their team coming back next year. We don't know if Tubby would have been able to get Travis, Macura, Henry or Illikainen....some of you act like he was never going to have another good recruiting class if he stayed at the U. I don't think that was correct.

Now, Tubby is gone and he isn't coming back. That's fine....it's where we are. The question I have for you is when does it stop being Tubby's fault and start falling on Pitino's shoulders?

It's not Tubby's fault. Tubby was a good coach. He lost his energy to recruit here, Texas has so many players that you can fall out of bed and recruit a team. You give Tubby decent talent and he will do well.

It is a pertinent part of the picture that is why we are at this stage in year 3. What the prior coach leaves, matters. It's on Pitino that we had a tough year. But because of the circumstances it is way too early to say it's a failure. Next year is all 100% Pitino. It will be all his guys (I think Buggs will probably be gone) and my hope is that the three who let us down come back and realize their potential. There could be some great years ahead..

But if someone says - hey we fired hall of fame coach Tubby Smith who did a great job here -I beg to differ because I aspire for a team that ONCE gets over .500 and once has a upper division finish. He is a HOF coach but he wasn't here. Will Pitino do better. I still have hope that he will and my plan is to support him until there is real evidence that he won't. What happened this year is not that evidence. Next year will tell a lot.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

I get very frustrated by the bloggers who say lets keep Pittino around, because we cant get a better coach. He has proven he isnt a very good coach and even tho he is a hard working recruiter it doesn't appear that the kids he brings into the U are worthy of the scholarships that we give to them. Thank god Murphy fell into his lap. Seems like a good kid and nice player. The situation is our U is a mess. There is not an AD so they cant fire Pittino. We are forced to one more year (and most likely only one more year) and then the new AD will be forced to fire Pittino. Pittino will have to lead the 2016/2017 team into the tourney or he is gone. I hope that the U of Minn. shows that they have some standard and pride. I am embarrassed to be a gopher basket season ticket holder.

I get frustrated when a bunch of blowhards get active on this board that can't spell the head coaches name right, or think we have juco players sitting out for ineligibility issues.

If you wanna be critical of Pitino and you don't know what you're talking about, try not to get fancy, stick with the obvious, really tough/frustrating year.