Reusse: it appears Teague lucked out with his first important hire for Minnesota.

[jamiche]

Maybe Patrick watches the games and forms an opinion? If you are basing your evaluation in large part on the loss to Arkansas then maybe your evaluation skills need boosting? It is clearly obvious to me that Pitinio can coach and evaluate talent. He scrounged 4 of his top 7 players out of
the leftover pile in April on a moments notice. We don't have any players! Look at the bodies FSU put on the floor and tell me you can't see Pitino
can coach? It's obvious to me he can coach and evaluate talent. He just needs the 2015 recruiting class...his first one in reality. Patience.

I was at Williams last night, looked at the FSU players during the intros and said to my daughter that we'd lose by 15-20. The FSU were bigger, faster, stronger...and largely disinterested. I'm not sure why. Before we proclaim Rich a miracle worker, I'd like to know what the hell was going on with Leonard Hamilton's team. They should have won that game, easily. As I said, they were bigger, faster and stronger. They also looked like they came to town to play a game and get to the airport. The body language says a lot and the only FSU folks with body language were the 8-10 FSU fans in the upper deck who were doing the seminole chant most of the night.

 

[howieramone]

So, you are saying 7 months to recruit two classes versus established Big Ten programs is a non factor? My point is at least November to November the starting line is now the same. To me, attempting to recruit two classes in 7 months is a bit of a handicap.

You and I are on the same side. It's a huge handicap and I'll never understand why Norwood made it worse by ignoring Ellis and Foster. But, when the boo birds show up, they will not accept the 19 months. That's my only point.

 

[bga1]

You and I are on the same side. It's a huge handicap and I'll never understand why Norwood made it worse by ignoring Ellis and Foster. But, when the boo birds show up, they will not accept the 19 months. That's my only point.

I was bothered by it as well-I was especially worried about the loss of Elis. But right now neither Ellis nor Foster would be logging big minutes here this year if you look at what they are doing now. So, if by next year Pitino can begin to bring in players that are as good or better-it's probably no big loss. The boo birds may not show up. If Pitino can get a solid Juco PF this spring we could have a very, very good club next year.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Reusse is really just a big fat turd.

Lets run through this list. . . .
Shaka: I really doubt Teague that we had a real shot at Shaka. He isn't going to leave VCU unless he gets he premier gig. I love my Gophers, but we aren't that kind of program. I hope Teague at least called (and I'm sure he did), but this was never a realistic option.
Hoiberg: Ha! His name was only brought up by that chinless worm Doogie. He was played like a fiddle to get Hoiberg a raise. Are the idiots over at 1500 still sticking by this nonsense?
Enfield: I have no idea if he was offered, I doubt Fat Pat does either. I would have been cool with his hiring, it would have made sense.
Flip: I have been a TWolves season ticket holder for years, pretty much everyone thought he was going to end up the GM. I really believe he never had an intention of coaching the U and I kind of doubt Teague was super interested. It never made sense. He's the Wolves problem now.
Grant: We heard his name a bit because of the VCU connection, but there didn't even seem to be "smoke" much less "fire".

All of that said, we don't know what we have in Pitino. So far, so good in books, but we have no way of knowing if we "lucked out" or stuck out. It's too early. Regardless, compiling a deep list of quality candidates is the AD's job. It isn't luck when you do precisely what you've been hired to do. It would only be "lucky" if Reusse is insinuating that Shaka wouldn't have been a good hire. Shaka would still have been a good hire, an absolute homerun!

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Exactly. What bothers me is that this article and other characterizations in the press paint a picture that is most likely not accurate. The picture is of a Shaka-Smart-infatuated Norwood firing Tubby, striking out on Smart and then throwing his hands in the air out of desperation.

Teague and Smart knew each other and knew each other well. Teague knew light years before Tubby was even fired of whether or not Smart would be remotely interested in ANY job, particularly the Gopher job. No call was necessary to be made. Teague knew what the answer would be.

To think Shaka Smart was ever a serious candidate is just plain stupid and ignorant.

 

[bemidjigopher]

He should've had a coach hired by late October? Pretty sure USC fired a coach midseason and hired a coach around two months later. UConn fired its coach midseason, has a game Saturday and doesn't have a head coach hired. It took Miami Ohio nearly two months to announce its head coach. FAU lost its coach at the end of October and hasn't hired a coach yet. In 2011 Arizona took nearly a month and a half to name a coach after firing Mike Stoops. The same year New Mexico fired its coach at the end of September and hired Bob Davies just under two months later.

You didn't address anything I said, Maturi didn't come close to a "Tubby Smith" type of hire, not that that is good, but his words, not ours. You can spin however you want, but the point is the coaching search was handle in about as piss poor of a matter as it could've been. From all his top choices turning down, to being caught flying to San Diego, in spite of himself Maturi settled for someone that hbe should've put out a feeler for from the beginning. Before you ask how do we know he didn't, Kill doesn't fit the criteria from Maturi's statement from the start. This is a guy who hired Brewster and claimed he did his homework, when he was really penny pinching, it was all luck. In this case, better lucky smart

 

[GopherHomer]

Aren't we jumping the gun a bit saying we got "lucky" to get Pitino? I mean, the early results have been fair at best.

 

[BballJones]

I was at Williams last night, looked at the FSU players during the intros and said to my daughter that we'd lose by 15-20. The FSU were bigger, faster, stronger...and largely disinterested. I'm not sure why. Before we proclaim Rich a miracle worker, I'd like to know what the hell was going on with Leonard Hamilton's team. They should have won that game, easily. As I said, they were bigger, faster and stronger. They also looked like they came to town to play a game and get to the airport. The body language says a lot and the only FSU folks with body language were the 8-10 FSU fans in the upper deck who were doing the seminole chant most of the night.

Based on this logic, Wisky would never win a game. Ojo is a freak of nature, but he has less basketball skills than several players at the Y.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Aren't we jumping the gun a bit saying we got "lucky" to get Pitino? I mean, the early results have been fair at best.

Agreed. As of right now. The only thing we got lucky with was finding a guy with a great work ethic. We still don't know if he can recruit or if his system works.

 

[zipsofakron]

I won't even expand on the fact that you can't decide if Pitino is a good/bad hire a mere nine games into the season, but the rest of this article is such garbage I want to throw my computer through a wall.

First, what is this bit about trying to tarnish Teague? I just don't get it. The man's done nothing but succeed since he started here. As for "lucking out" on hiring a coach, how can you discredit a guy who's KNOWN for hiring great basketball coaches? It's completely ridiculous and unfair.

Second, no one knows who Teague did and did not offer for the job. Did he offer Smart? Who knows. Maybe. Same for everyone else except Flip Saunders. To insinuate that Teague somehow struck out on more than one guy is completely asinine. "An extremely reliable reporter"? Get bent, Patrick.

This is the exact same problem I had with jackasses like Reusse during the coaching search itself; they couldn't wait to pile on Teague when it could be construed that things weren't going to plan. Not only is it irresponsible as a pillar in the media, it's just mean.

1500 has turned into the epicenter of awful takes and unintelligent commentary in this media market. Ordinarily I'd just ignore crap like this if it didn't actually make people dumber.

 

[Dr.Don]

zipsofakron says, "Ordinarily I'd just ignore crap like this if it didn't actually make people dumber."

Ya, even water seeks its own level.