BleedGopher
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Pitino was on 1500 ESPN this evening. Here is a recap. This is not verbatim, but close:
Pitino on getting situated at Minnesota...It's bit of a whirlwind. It's a great thing but you have to get a bunch of things in place before we get it up and running.
Pitino on the process of the first couple of weeks on the job...I did it last year so its fresh on my mind. FIU was a lot more difficult than this. What's tough is through the recruiting rules is that we only get two more weekends this month and then I'm done until July. Then you have to reach out to your team now. You've got to work with them and establish what you want to do nad build a culture what you want to do. We have to make sure that they finish well academically and then we have to put at staff together. It's tough, but it's a lot of fun.
Pitino on how hard he is going to recruit Minnesota...I am amazed at the fact that I've never seen a State that supports a University like the entire state of Minnesota does. Not only have I ever seen this before, but we're not just a basketball, football or hockey school. They love every sport. With that much pride you have to recruit the State. There are so many Gopher fans. Certainly doing our part to recruit the State, but we have to recruit nationally because we have so much to offer.
Pitino on focusing on the positives at the U...It's a mind set. Ive been here for over a week and everyone talks about things we don't have. I have coached at places that have had it all. Those are all very nice but in the end is what matters to these players is the people they work with and that's my job. We have enough through a great home court advantage. We have a great degree at a great University. The pieces are there. We'll talk about what we do have and not what we don't have.
Pitino on being a stat geek...We chart a lot of things during the course of the game. A lot of different stats you don't see on the box score. When you press a lot you have to look at deflections, blow by, taking charges. We play a lot of different defenses. If you aren't charting those things during the game you don't have a great indication of that.
Pitino on deeper stats...We press on every make and we have more possessions per game. I got frustrated last year by our defensive numbers and our assistant coach told me that I'm looking at the wrong number because we have more possessions than most teams so I started to look at Kempom.
Pitino on working hard in recruiting...You have to live and die by this. We have to do this with work ethic alone. We can't take anything for granted. It has to be through an unbelievable work ethic from top to bottom. We hold each other accountable.
Pitino on first meeting with team...We talked about being a highly disciplined team. You have to be disciplined in every facet of life. Coach Smith laid a very good foundation, you can tell that.
Pitino on impressions of Gopher team...I am excited about it. I really am. You look at Austin and Andre and they are really good players, really talented. They will do really well in our system. I love Maverick's shooting ability. I think he has to lose a little weight. Joe Coleman is another guy who can play several positions. I'm excited to see Buggs play as I haven't seen him yet as he's sick. I also really like Oto. I see him as a pick and pop guy. His ability to knock down shots, really excites me. Wally is such a great athlete. Elliot and Mo, once they get in shape they'll be very good players. They need to get in shape which will take a while.
Pitino on conditioning...It's really important, from everything from individual instruction to team work. When we run instruction it's high volume. I do a lot of my teaching through film. I try not to stop practice too long. We watch a lot of film. We teach them through that (film). We try to get them to play through a certain amount of chaos.
Pitino on the best coaching advice he's received...I've received so much great advice. I lean on my Dad and Billy. It was helpful to me growing up seeing my Dad run a program.
Pitino on recruiting...We don't want to take the wrong guy. The tough part is through the evaluation rules we can only go to so many tournaments. You have to use your contacts, see who's available and make sure you take the right fit. You can't reach for a guy.
http://www.1500espn.com/
Go Gophers!!
Pitino on getting situated at Minnesota...It's bit of a whirlwind. It's a great thing but you have to get a bunch of things in place before we get it up and running.
Pitino on the process of the first couple of weeks on the job...I did it last year so its fresh on my mind. FIU was a lot more difficult than this. What's tough is through the recruiting rules is that we only get two more weekends this month and then I'm done until July. Then you have to reach out to your team now. You've got to work with them and establish what you want to do nad build a culture what you want to do. We have to make sure that they finish well academically and then we have to put at staff together. It's tough, but it's a lot of fun.
Pitino on how hard he is going to recruit Minnesota...I am amazed at the fact that I've never seen a State that supports a University like the entire state of Minnesota does. Not only have I ever seen this before, but we're not just a basketball, football or hockey school. They love every sport. With that much pride you have to recruit the State. There are so many Gopher fans. Certainly doing our part to recruit the State, but we have to recruit nationally because we have so much to offer.
Pitino on focusing on the positives at the U...It's a mind set. Ive been here for over a week and everyone talks about things we don't have. I have coached at places that have had it all. Those are all very nice but in the end is what matters to these players is the people they work with and that's my job. We have enough through a great home court advantage. We have a great degree at a great University. The pieces are there. We'll talk about what we do have and not what we don't have.
Pitino on being a stat geek...We chart a lot of things during the course of the game. A lot of different stats you don't see on the box score. When you press a lot you have to look at deflections, blow by, taking charges. We play a lot of different defenses. If you aren't charting those things during the game you don't have a great indication of that.
Pitino on deeper stats...We press on every make and we have more possessions per game. I got frustrated last year by our defensive numbers and our assistant coach told me that I'm looking at the wrong number because we have more possessions than most teams so I started to look at Kempom.
Pitino on working hard in recruiting...You have to live and die by this. We have to do this with work ethic alone. We can't take anything for granted. It has to be through an unbelievable work ethic from top to bottom. We hold each other accountable.
Pitino on first meeting with team...We talked about being a highly disciplined team. You have to be disciplined in every facet of life. Coach Smith laid a very good foundation, you can tell that.
Pitino on impressions of Gopher team...I am excited about it. I really am. You look at Austin and Andre and they are really good players, really talented. They will do really well in our system. I love Maverick's shooting ability. I think he has to lose a little weight. Joe Coleman is another guy who can play several positions. I'm excited to see Buggs play as I haven't seen him yet as he's sick. I also really like Oto. I see him as a pick and pop guy. His ability to knock down shots, really excites me. Wally is such a great athlete. Elliot and Mo, once they get in shape they'll be very good players. They need to get in shape which will take a while.
Pitino on conditioning...It's really important, from everything from individual instruction to team work. When we run instruction it's high volume. I do a lot of my teaching through film. I try not to stop practice too long. We watch a lot of film. We teach them through that (film). We try to get them to play through a certain amount of chaos.
Pitino on the best coaching advice he's received...I've received so much great advice. I lean on my Dad and Billy. It was helpful to me growing up seeing my Dad run a program.
Pitino on recruiting...We don't want to take the wrong guy. The tough part is through the evaluation rules we can only go to so many tournaments. You have to use your contacts, see who's available and make sure you take the right fit. You can't reach for a guy.
http://www.1500espn.com/
Go Gophers!!
