Post game press conference notes from Pitino, Austin, Andre, Dre, Oto and more...

GopherLady

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As always, these are not verbatim, just as fast as I can type!

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/309423?referrer_id=388419

Oto

One of our main goals in practice is to stop the 3, we've done w good job of that 6-22, that's a good.

On how his shot has improved since last year - Last year, every time I missed he'd (Tubby) tried to change something up, this year, coach just let's us shoot. Positive reinforcement.

Dre Mathieu
I think we are shooting really well, once Mav and Malik get it going.

I think our intensity, we hit teams in the mouth early and don't look back

We didn't get as many fast break points as we normally do, it worked effectively.*

Maverick

On the dealing with the zone more effectively - Our team chemistry is a lot better and we have shooters in every position. That really spaces our the floor for us, and lets us get rebounds.*

Austin Hollins

On the dealing with the zone more effectively - We attack the zone like we attack the man now. A lot of teams try to slow us down, we don't let them, we attack the basket and get some quick buckets.

Andre Hollins


I'm going to try to use the hand checking rule to my advantage

On being a Naismith finalist - I feel good about it, I have a lot if work to do, I haven't done anything yet. I believe in these guys, they're like family.

On the team - We can talk to each other, we can get on each other, compete, use constructive criticism.

I helped Dre out, I knew what it was like to be pg leading the team for the last 2 year

I'm always looking to score. It opens the rest of your game up. I'm definitive looking to score more than in the past. Now I'm a senior, looking to score.*

Richard Pitino:
• I was really happy with our guys performance tonight because I have a lot of respect for Montana, they have been to 3/4 NCAA tournaments, and 4 post seasons in a row.
• We didn't shoot it great in the 1st half, but we came back at 52% in the 2nd half. We didn't have a post presence in the 1st half because we were in foul trouble.
• Obviously, +16 on the glass would be great. I guess Austin had his 1st career double-double, and Oto did a good job, they all pulled together to make up for Mo Walker.
• When DeAndre is playing well, like he is, Andre is great on the perimeter. If we keep getting those guys to elevate their game, we're going to get a lot better.
• DeAndre played JUCO, but not used to this level, he brings it every single day at practice. He keeps putting pressure on the defense, that's the biggest thing, he does that more than any guy on the team.
• I don't think there's any guy on the team that can't shoot the ball, we're a very good shooting team.
• Overall we did a pretty good job of defending the 3.
• We emphasize it so much (defending the 3) - we had some issues in the exhibition games where we wouldn't even challenge him.
• Austin is really good at getting fouled, if he can shoot a good % from the line, he can steal a few points from the line.
• Andre Hollins - I challenged him, and his mentality, if you want to be a pro, you're a borderline pro, you need to have the mentality that every single day you come up and be a pro. His focus was great today. I think him and Austin Hollins. If we can get him to be as aggressive
• I had Austin at the 4, and he was playing an uncomfortable spot. I think that as we get into Richmond, but they're only going to get bigger and stronger. We can't rely on Austin playing the 4 all the time. Match-up wise, it is tough to guard him on the perimeter. I don't think we can rely on it too much.
• DeAndre hasn't done it on the road, in a hostile environment, that's something we have not seen.
 

Hey Andre- you are a junior. Don't get any ideas.....
 

Atta boy Oto! Getting dpdoll agitated and what not.. :clap:
 

Thanks GL for the recap.

The players really seem happier this year. I think Kill's success after 3 years has me very excited to see where Coach P will have this team in 3 years. It's going to be a fun ride.
 



Atta boy Oto! Getting dpdoll agitated and what not.. :clap:

LOL; Real Truth guy as well. The most notable part of that era (other than persistently throwing players under the bus) was evolving from "the Stare" to "the Nap" over the course of 4 years!!
 

I'm starting to think they may really need Wally come B1G time, he is the one player that really has the type of athletic skills to match up against some B1G talent, not there from a basketball level yet but down the line....
 

The most notable part of that era (other than persistently throwing players under the bus) was evolving from "the Stare" to "the Nap" over the course of 4 years!!

Hahahaha. Somebody needs to make a GIF for that.

Am I the only one who's a little concerned by Andre calling himself a "senior"? GL was that a typo???
 

LOL; Real Truth guy as well. The most notable part of that era (other than persistently throwing players under the bus) was evolving from "the Stare" to "the Nap" over the course of 4 years!!

"On how his shot has improved since last year - Last year, every time I missed he'd (Tubby) tried to change something up, this year, coach just let's us shoot. Positive reinforcement."
 



Hey Andre- you are a junior. Don't get any ideas.....

Haha - it could be my error, but I thought he said Junior...glad we do have him another year!

And yes - the players do seem happier. Who knows how they will deal with adversity and the Big 10 season, but as of now, just feels like a different vibe.
 

Haha - it could be my error, but I thought he said Junior...glad we do have him another year!

And yes - the players do seem happier. Who knows how they will deal with adversity and the Big 10 season, but as of now, just feels like a different vibe.

Just heard Souhan say on 1500 that the players hated playing for Tubby.

FWIW
 

Oto

On how his shot has improved since last year - Last year, every time I missed he'd (Tubby) tried to change something up, this year, coach just let's us shoot. Positive reinforcement.

Thanks GL. This confirms what many of us have been thinking for years.
 

Thanks GL. This confirms what many of us have been thinking for years.

He's only played for two full seasons, and his freshman year was statistically similar to that of Austin Hollins. He regressed last year from his freshman year, but as much as some people on this board love to hate Tubby, as evidenced by most of the comments on this thread, it always seemed to me that the general opinion on the board was that he was just a crappy player, not that he had potential but Tubby was holding him back. I saw less "Hopefully Pitino can get more out of Oto than Tubby could," and more "Oto flat out sucks and I hope he transfers."
 




He's only played for two full seasons, and his freshman year was statistically similar to that of Austin Hollins. He regressed last year from his freshman year, but as much as some people on this board love to hate Tubby, as evidenced by most of the comments on this thread, it always seemed to me that the general opinion on the board was that he was just a crappy player, not that he had potential but Tubby was holding him back. I saw less "Hopefully Pitino can get more out of Oto than Tubby could," and more "Oto flat out sucks and I hope he transfers."

I was one who thought the guy just lost all his confidence in his shooting ability. I wouldn't have said it was Tubby's fault or anything, but his comments seem to indicate that he thinks it was, and really, that's what matters in this case cause either way, the result was poor shooting. If he comes out this year and gives us 35, 40% from three, then clearly coaching was a factor for him. I really hope he blows up this year, cause by all accounts of practice and his career before he got here, the talent was in there to be a great shooter, so if Pitino brings it out of him, I'm all for it.
 

He's only played for two full seasons

It's not just him, over the Tubby era many players were scared to make a single mistake because they would be yanked way too fast. The Tubby doghouse didn't let these guys play basketball lose.
 

Anytime an up paced tempo, let the guys on the floor do their thing, there will be some errors and bad shots. The main thing is, to me, Coach Pitino is gonna turn them loose and let them feed off each other, on BOTH offense and defense.

I can hardly wait for our BB experts to start telling Coach Pitino who to play and when. Who gives a sh!t who the starters are. We need all of them, and we know some are more talented than others, to keep working on 94X50 feet of all billy hell. Will it work every game? I don't know. Will we have some off and on nights shooting? Definitely. Will we enjoy Coach Pitino's team? Absofuchinglutely.
 



I was very impressed with the Gophers last night. They are really executing offensively and defensively. It also appears that Pitino is getting more out of each player than in the past.
When Pitino came I expected that he would be a great recruiter and hopefully an average coach. I now believe he is a great coach. Let's hope the class of 2015 is a great one.
 

He's only played for two full seasons, and his freshman year was statistically similar to that of Austin Hollins. He regressed last year from his freshman year, but as much as some people on this board love to hate Tubby, as evidenced by most of the comments on this thread, it always seemed to me that the general opinion on the board was that he was just a crappy player, not that he had potential but Tubby was holding him back. I saw less "Hopefully Pitino can get more out of Oto than Tubby could," and more "Oto flat out sucks and I hope he transfers."

You're dead right Cayman & it was a lonely battle I fought last year. I tried to tell people all year long that he's an excellent passer, plays very good defense, plays physical, rebounds to the best of his ability, understands all the nuances of team basketball & that if his shot ever started falling he'd be a very solid player. It was an overwhelming sentiment of "No, he just sucks & I hope he transfers.". In fact as recently as 2 weeks ago people were posting that they hope he'd transfer out to clear up schollies for better players.

I also can't help but notice that Joey King didn't look very good. 5 fouls in 15 minutes. 2 rebounds. That's 3 rebounds total now in the first two games. Back to when Keith Van Horn was at Utah, they asked Rick Majerus if he should return for his SR season or if he was ready to go pro? Majerus said he needed to work on pretty much everything except scoring & said "His idea of a good game is outscoring the guy who's guarding him 32-30". I think this applies to Joey King to a lesser degree.
 

Regardless of why it's happening (and I think a lot of it has to do with confidence) I love that fact that Oto already has 4 3's this season, during all last season he only made 2. All I care about is progress, our players developing, and winning...clearly something is already working!
 

I'm starting to think they may really need Wally come B1G time, he is the one player that really has the type of athletic skills to match up against some B1G talent, not there from a basketball level yet but down the line....

Wally did OK last night. The in bounds pass was an oops. He needs PT and not try to do too much when he is out there. The OC games will help him a lot and I hope he can earn more PT.

We certainly can use his athleticism and hustle. His D did appear to be better.
 

Wally did OK last night. The in bounds pass was an oops. He needs PT and not try to do too much when he is out there. The OC games will help him a lot and I hope he can earn more PT.

We certainly can use his athleticism and hustle. His D did appear to be better.

I thought he did try to do too much in his first stint last night. When he got out there the second time he was more relaxed and let the game come to him.
 

Back to when Keith Van Horn was at Utah, they asked Rick Majerus if he should return for his SR season or if he was ready to go pro? Majerus said he needed to work on pretty much everything except scoring & said "His idea of a good game is outscoring the guy who's guarding him 32-30."

LOL, that's awesome. Majerus was a weird dude but always had a great quote.
 

Oto

I always saw the potential in Oto. Is it too bad he has to be a big ten starter and not a role player. He is what we got.

On Majerus, one of the best basketball minds around. On inbounds plays he doubled the best player in foul situations and left the worst shooter wide open, guess who the ball got passed to and the utah team fouled? He was also good at letting non shooters have shots at the top of the key, he would use junk defenses to smother good post players and 3pt shooters.
 




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