Richard Pitino Blog - Practice, Upcoming Scrimmages & More

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jaymil

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Another great blog post from Coach P:

"Next Friday, we will have another scrimmage open to the public. More info can be found here. This will be a good opportunity for us to see how our student-athletes perform in front of fans. It is important for us to open our doors and give our loyal fans a look at the progress of our program. Many people have asked me my expectations for the year. It's very difficult for to speculate on wins and losses. I hope that on Nov. 8, when we play Lehigh, our coaching staff and fans will see a group of guys that leave everything out on the court. We won't have a "two, three, or four year plan." We will focus on a one-day plan. There is no point in dwelling on the past or concerning ourselves with the future. The goal will be to get the most out of each other every day."

http://www.gophersports.com/blog/20...blog---practice-upcoming-scrimmages-more.html
 

Some serious recruiting going on in that post. Seems like it was targeted at the Big 3 and maybe specifically Reid Travis. Good stuff.

The portion I am referring to...

On the other side of the coin, it's been great meeting the former players that wanted to play in front of their hometown crowd and the reasons they wanted to stay "home." I have met and heard about several former players that grew up in Minnesota and are new in their careers - John Thomas at Lifetime Fitness, Jamal Abu-Shamala and Travis Busch in medical device sales, and Blake Hoffarber who embodies the full "Gopher Experience." He and his family are in the stands at Williams Arena for every game. He was an outstanding student at the Carlson School of Management, took advantage of the thriving business community in Minneapolis/St Paul by interning with Cargill in the summers, and then had several different job offers after college. He had a hard time deciding what job he wanted to take! Blake's basketball recognition, his popularity around the state of Minnesota, and his outstanding character are what we hope for in our student-athletes.

Several publications will come out with their official rankings of colleges each year. Certainly we are rated highly in a lot of those lists, especially our highly touted Carlson School of Management, but in my opinion what makes University of Minnesota so special is the amount of opportunities that the Twin Cities provide after college. With 21 Fortune 500 companies within miles of our campus, our guys will have great job opportunities when they are done playing basketball. We talk to our players all the time about "filming a commercial" on themselves every day. You never know who you may meet! It's my hope that several of our players will get internships with the likes of a Best Buy, Target or a 3M this summer. To have those opportunities at our doorstep is special and our guys need to take advantage of it!
Click to expand...
 

Some serious recruiting going on in that post. Seems like it was targeted at the Big 3 and maybe specifically Reid Travis. Good stuff.

+1 I was thinking the very same thing when I read it. This was a blog directed specifically at Reid Travis, trying to appeal to 1) the hometown kid who will be revered forever if he chooses to play at the U, and 2) Travis' academic and post-basketball goals by emphasizing the Twin Cities' robust business community and the Carlson School's excellent reputation in the business community. This is a genius approach by Pitino, IMO, and a great use of social media to drive home your unique selling proposition to the local talent.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Some serious recruiting going on in that post. Seems like it was targeted at the Big 3 and maybe specifically Reid Travis. Good stuff.

+1 I was thinking the very same thing when I read it. This was a blog directed specifically at Reid Travis, trying to appeal to 1) the hometown kid who will be revered forever if he chooses to play at the U, and 2) Travis' academic and post-basketball goals by emphasizing the Twin Cities' robust business community and the Carlson School's excellent reputation in the business community. This is a genius approach by Pitino, IMO, and a great use of social media to drive home your unique selling proposition to the local talent.
Click to expand...

Despite the fact that certain Gopher fans are afraid to even hope for landing one or more of the Big 3, our coach is not afraid, hasn't given up and thinks he is still in the game. Excellent.
 

I appreciate Richard's humor and how literate he is.

"Or as my assistant and loyal Big Ten traditionalist Ben Johnson calls it 'junk defense.'"

"The safe bet would be that Coach Dan 'Naismith' McHale comes out of a timeout with some defense that we have never worked on."

Good stuff. I imagine he's a fun guy to be around as well as someone who's good to work with and work for.
 


WindyCityGopher said:
Some serious recruiting going on in that post. Seems like it was targeted at the Big 3 and maybe specifically Reid Travis. Good stuff.

+1 I was thinking the very same thing when I read it. This was a blog directed specifically at Reid Travis, trying to appeal to 1) the hometown kid who will be revered forever if he chooses to play at the U, and 2) Travis' academic and post-basketball goals by emphasizing the Twin Cities' robust business community and the Carlson School's excellent reputation in the business community. This is a genius approach by Pitino, IMO, and a great use of social media to drive home your unique selling proposition to the local talent.
Click to expand...

Love it!!!!!!!!
 

jaymil said:
Another great blog post from Coach P:

"Next Friday, we will have another scrimmage open to the public. More info can be found here. This will be a good opportunity for us to see how our student-athletes perform in front of fans. It is important for us to open our doors and give our loyal fans a look at the progress of our program. Many people have asked me my expectations for the year. It's very difficult for to speculate on wins and losses. I hope that on Nov. 8, when we play Lehigh, our coaching staff and fans will see a group of guys that leave everything out on the court. We won't have a "two, three, or four year plan." We will focus on a one-day plan. There is no point in dwelling on the past or concerning ourselves with the future. The goal will be to get the most out of each other every day."

http://www.gophersports.com/blog/20...blog---practice-upcoming-scrimmages-more.html
Click to expand...

Love that attitude. We should be building, but always focused on the task at hand.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Some serious recruiting going on in that post. Seems like it was targeted at the Big 3 and maybe specifically Reid Travis. Good stuff.

The portion I am referring to...
Click to expand...

I in-visioned seeing a big "we want you" poster from the draft days with Pitino pointing at the big 3....

Photoshop skills anyone?
 

Win or lose, our new head coach is awesome.
 



Coach P exudes intelligence, moxie and energy. Reading this it is palpable why recruits listen and place MN on their final lists. Perhaps we get one or none of the big three in 2014, but the re-branded Gophers will land a top 20 class in 2015. Mark it down!
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Love that attitude. We should be building, but always focused on the task at hand.
Click to expand...

Agree. This was the quote that stuck out the most. Refreshing to hear a coach not talking about a "x-year plan." To me that's too often used as a crutch. Get better every day NOW and the rest will take care of itself.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Some serious recruiting going on in that post. Seems like it was targeted at the Big 3 and maybe specifically Reid Travis. Good stuff.

+1 I was thinking the very same thing when I read it. This was a blog directed specifically at Reid Travis, trying to appeal to 1) the hometown kid who will be revered forever if he chooses to play at the U, and 2) Travis' academic and post-basketball goals by emphasizing the Twin Cities' robust business community and the Carlson School's excellent reputation in the business community. This is a genius approach by Pitino, IMO, and a great use of social media to drive home your unique selling proposition to the local talent.
Click to expand...

He should be trumpeting that. Even if guys don't want to stay in MN after they graduate, the potential connections here are significant.

Minnesota is the #9 state in Fortune 500 companies. When you take into account population, which is probably a more meaningful indicator, Minnesota is #2 behind only Connecticut.

Fortune 500
 

WanderingGopher said:
He should be trumpeting that. Even if guys don't want to stay in MN after they graduate, the potential connections here are significant.

Minnesota is the #9 state in Fortune 500 companies. When you take into account population, which is probably a more meaningful indicator, Minnesota is #2 behind only Connecticut.

Fortune 500
Click to expand...

Per another thread, Des Moines is kicking our ass.
 




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