Scoggins talks to four coaches anonymously about the Gophers job

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We have the best high school academics of any state yet the U is an also ran school whose sports suck and will not ever be better. Whatever we do in basketball and football, other schools will do more. We spend 50 million, Michigan spends 250 million. We have humongous advantages in hockey and academics. Yet we try to keep up with the Jones’s in football and hoops. With all the fixation on two sports we lose our edge and our smart in state kids go to other schools and our hockey team flounders. Time to focus on education and hockey and join the patriot league for all athletics.
 

bott12 said:
We have the best high school academics of any state yet the U is an also ran school whose sports suck and will not ever be better. Whatever we do in basketball and football, other schools will do more. We spend 50 million, Michigan spends 250 million. We have humongous advantages in hockey and academics. Yet we try to keep up with the Jones’s in football and hoops. With all the fixation on two sports we lose our edge and our smart in state kids go to other schools and our hockey team flounders. Time to focus on education and hockey and join the patriot league for all athletics.
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If we don't have the money to buy out Pitino, we don't have the travel budget to go to Colgate and Bucknell for conference games.
 


MRJ said:
Not sure how much I agree with the argument of needing a brand new arena to fix things. For example, Nebraska by all accounts has a really nice arena to play in and they still suck. Once upon a time, Penn State viewed the Bryce Jordan as a game changer for their program and they're still awful.

Bottom line when it comes to facilities is that they don't mean jack if you don't get a coach who can actually coach. Nice and flashy perhaps, but they don't guarantee a damn thing. With that said, the Barn is old and maybe it is time to seriously consider some new alternatives.
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Upgrade. Not a new arena. Remodel it.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Call me cynical, but I bet those other coaches recruit against MN by telling kids, "you don't want to go play in that old gym with the raised floor."

And of course, Justin Gaard immediately started tweeting out that "I told you so. This is a tough job with a lot of disadvantages." Of course, the underlying message is that you can't blame Pitino for not winning.

Shoot, I think the U should just drop basketball, or go down to DII, because clearly nobody can win at MN. It's impossible. (sarcasm).
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There was an article I posted in another thread interviewing coaches and player in the tournament asking them if the liked the raised floor.

coaches response: great views for fans

players response: i'm not playing at 100% on that, I dont want to hurt myself by falling off
 


The worries about a $1.75M buyout are laughable, but doing a major renovation (~$30M+) or replacing the Barn (~$225M+) is just not in the cards right now. Capital projects donations for basketball have been non-existent in the past 5 years. The athletic department is getting a ~$40M loan from the university.

The Barn will be what it is for the foreseeable future unless Jeff Bezos has an unathletic child who wants to play basketball for the Gophers.
 


It's incredible the amount of time that's spent discussing the bare bones of the U's athletic department when we've been given numerous examples of a coach coming in and shifting the trajectory of a program. Good recruits and fans will follow a good coach, I don't think the best recruit in the country is going to Gonzaga because they have some cool facilities. They could be playing at the local YMCA in Spokane and good players are still going to flock out there. When the Gophers have a good coach, everything else will fall into place as we're seeing with Drew at Baylor and Beard at Texas Tech from a facilities standpoint...money trees start growing around campus when you win games. Indiana's got every advantage imaginable and it doesn't matter.

We're overcomplicating things.
 

MennoSota said:
Yet Cameron Indoor is a bigger dump...
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Yeah it’s a dump that just got a decent renovation and has real history and legacy. It also has nice locker rooms and amenities for the players. We also are not Duke. I’m not saying the arena is the biggest issue. A great coach is a bigger need, but the it is 93 years old and kids won’t find the same charm we all do. That’s just a fact
 



I think you start small. Do a study and figure out if players see the raised floor as a positive, negative or are neutral.

Then go to the locker rooms.

Start by improving the experience for the players, build it out from there if needed
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
There was an article I posted in another thread interviewing coaches and player in the tournament asking them if the liked the raised floor.

coaches response: great views for fans

players response: i'm not playing at 100% on that, I dont want to hurt myself by falling off
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The same guys are probably worried about 5G giving them COVID.

What was the last injury due to the raised floor? I feel like I watch a lot of Gopher basketball, but I must have missed some of these.
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
I think you start small. Do a study and figure out if players see the raised floor as a positive, negative or are neutral.

Then go to the locker rooms.

Start by improving the experience for the players, build it out from there if needed
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These can be done relatively easily. The idea of finding ways to have all the Fortune 500 companies buy into Gopher basketball is a different story. Luxury boxes help a ton with revenue. I don’t know what specifically can be done, but something to make it’s friendly for that clientele would be beneficial too.
 

forever a gopher said:
I think this type of feedback has value for sure. But to ask coaches about other coaches (even if anonymous) is silly. Just listen to any color guy on a radio or TV broadcast that was a former coach. They all endlessly gush about “how good of a coaching job” coach X is doing at whatever school they are broadcasting. It’s happened many times this year during Gopher broadcasts, and most here would agree the coaching has been suspect at best. The coaching fraternity is deep and very few speak bad of others, even if anonymous.

There is no way you can claim after giving Pitino 8 years that we are impatient. Most aren’t expecting the world, either. Just competency.
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100%. If Pitino finished in the top half of the Big 10 every 2-3 years, he'd be a legend here. We are a pretty realistic fan base.
 



WoodburyTim said:
If it is a reality as sure as you say it is, you better start rallying your network of donors. Getting buy in for an arena that looks like the Target Center with the promise that we will be competitive in this conference is gonna take some work.
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It's nearing 100. At some point in the next decade, it either needs a massive renovation or a rebuild. Even Fenway Park and Wrigley Field had hundreds of millions in renovations. Doesn't mean it can't be a replica instead of a sterile copy of Kohl Center.
 

bizzle22 said:
The worries about a $1.75M buyout are laughable, but doing a major renovation (~$30M+) or replacing the Barn (~$225M+) is just not in the cards right now. Capital projects donations for basketball have been non-existent in the past 5 years. The athletic department is getting a ~$40M loan from the university.

The Barn will be what it is for the foreseeable future unless Jeff Bezos has an unathletic child who wants to play basketball for the Gophers.
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The state helped with TCF and every pro stadium, they can help with this.
 

forever a gopher said:
I think this type of feedback has value for sure. But to ask coaches about other coaches (even if anonymous) is silly. Just listen to any color guy on a radio or TV broadcast that was a former coach. They all endlessly gush about “how good of a coaching job” coach X is doing at whatever school they are broadcasting. It’s happened many times this year during Gopher broadcasts, and most here would agree the coaching has been suspect at best. The coaching fraternity is deep and very few speak bad of others, even if anonymous.

There is no way you can claim after giving Pitino 8 years that we are impatient. Most aren’t expecting the world, either. Just competency.
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I will always remember Pat Fitzgerald's glowing quotes about Tim Brewster about a week before he got fired.
 

WoodburyTim said:
If it is a reality as sure as you say it is, you better start rallying your network of donors. Getting buy in for an arena that looks like the Target Center with the promise that we will be competitive in this conference is gonna take some work.
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Precisely.

It takes a great coach to win, and a great coach wins anywhere. Facilities don't do squat.

Daddy Pitino has won at 5 schools.

Duke was nothing before Coach K. That arena is a dump

How has UCLA faired post Wooden?

Finding a hall of fame caliber coach is what it takes to win. That's extremely hard to do. Everything else is BS.
 

WoodburyTim said:
The same guys are probably worried about 5G giving them COVID.

What was the last injury due to the raised floor? I feel like I watch a lot of Gopher basketball, but I must have missed some of these.
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Injuries? none, perception of potential injury. That's real. I had no idea, but as you walk onto the court, there is a warning sign letting you know you could fall and hurt yourself lol.

I'd rather have players say nothing about a normal court than having even one potential recruit say they are not comfortable going 100% on a raised court.

“You’ve got to be careful,” former Gopher guard Terrance Simmons told the The News-Gazette back in 2000. “I remember last year, Kevin Clark dove for a loose ball and went flying off the edge and hit his head on the floor.”

ftw.usatoday.com

This Indiana player falling off Minnesota's raised floor shows it's pointlessly dangerous

Get rid of the raised floor.
ftw.usatoday.com ftw.usatoday.com
 

howeda7 said:
The state helped with TCF and every pro stadium, they can help with this.
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There were significant financial contributions from private donors and corporations to make TCF Bank stadium happen. Nowhere near that level would be possible in the current economic climate. Not to mention the donors for basketball are not nearly as plentiful as those for football. Major upgrades to Williams Arena will not happen soon (in the next 3-5 years). That’s just a fact
 

bizzle22 said:
There were significant financial contributions from private donors and corporations to make TCF Bank stadium happen. Nowhere near that level would be possible in the current economic climate. Not to mention the donors for basketball are not nearly as plentiful as those for football. Major upgrades to Williams Arena will not happen soon (in the next 3-5 years). That’s just a fact
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Ding ding ding. Good example of why this is a tough job. More to it than many think
 

bizzle22 said:
There were significant financial contributions from private donors and corporations to make TCF Bank stadium happen. Nowhere near that level would be possible in the current economic climate. Not to mention the donors for basketball are not nearly as plentiful as those for football. Major upgrades to Williams Arena will not happen soon (in the next 3-5 years). That’s just a fact
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I agree. I said above it won't be in the next 3-4 years. If the next coach gets us to where we want to be, they should strike at that time.
 

Bryce Drew was fired after 3 years by Vandy. Call that impatient. I will not be surprised if Richard Pitino gets better as an in-game tactician and with all the movenent these days among players/xfers coupled w International which his dad is leveraging, he finds some success. But 8 years w Gophers was enough. The facilities, have to find a way to tap that deep corp HQ market in Twin Cities but it won't happen right away.
 

Just curious as to how basketball might look at Mariucci? I think the place holds 10K or so and maybe could be renovated and add some seats. I know this wouldn't be a popular idea but look at the Badgers and the Kohl Center, aka multi-purpose sports facility. There is certainly nothing wrong with the seating at Mariucci but they probably could use about 5K more in capacity for BIG10 basketball.
 


Tvans022 said:
It’s almost as if they’re spending your money the way it has you fired up.

There are ways to build and modernize an arena without making it corporate and stale. They asked anonymous coaches (who are in the industry) and they gave you an honest answer. Recruiting matters. If a coach tells you that’s the biggest blemish or obstacle than I believe them. Have you ever been to The Barn when it’s literally empty? It is old and smells like stale popcorn and urine. I LOVE that place when it’s electric and packed, but let’s be honest those have been few and far between. The last great memory I have is knocking off #1 Indiana when Mbakwe was on the team and we rushed the floor.
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Now that the practice facility is used, how often are they using Williams outside of games?
The Barn is one of the best places to be at a game when the place is full. A place like Carver or Kohl center just don't cut it for atmosphere, even when those teams are great.
 

TruthSeeker said:
Spend $100 plus million for some soulless, corporate arena in order to finish 8th. LMAO!

That Athlete's Village sure improved our recruiting! What a con job.

Good lord. These coaches are delusional. It's not and has never been about spending obscene amounts of money to win. It's about having the right coach and a supportive administration.

My god, anyone who thinks building a new arena is the answer is an idiot.
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What do you mean by "the answer"?

I don't get this post, at all. As if, building an amazing practice facility for our teams ... they don't deserve that because they don't win (enough)??? Silly thing to say. Hopefully you didn't mean it like that.

Well, it's the same thing though with the arena. Don't our teams, coaches, and fans deserve something nice?

More suites/clubs would potentially generate more big donor/corporate money, as well.
 

PMWinSTP said:
If Gophs were competitive and a top 5-6 team in the B1G, nobody would be talking about the need to replace the Barn.
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... but they addressed this.

They completely agree with you. And probably most people do.

***IF*** they were winning.

But they're not.


Can't two things, which may seem to be opposing, both be true??
1) if they were winning, then it wouldn't need to be replaced (like Duke)
2) but since they're not winning, maybe it would help (like many other places, Wisc for example)
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
I think you start small. Do a study and figure out if players see the raised floor as a positive, negative or are neutral.

Then go to the locker rooms.

Start by improving the experience for the players, build it out from there if needed
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Switching sports for a moment, Northwestern football is a great example of this. Had a burst of completely unexpected success in the mid-90s, then fell back to its norm before they found a great coach in Fitzgerald, who started to build the program into what it is now. Money started flowing, but they smartly focused dollars on the parts that really impact recruiting, first on a new game-day locker room, then as the wins continued and the REALLY big money came in, on the practice facility. Beyond the home team locker room, Ryan Field is a dump and isn't remotely close to any other stadium in the Big Ten, but their practice facility is by all accounts among the best in the country. Bottom line is their strategic bet is paying off in a program that is improbably one of the better ones in the conference. We have a top-notch basketball practice facility, now we need a great coach that will build a program, with some immediate tweaks to the Barn in the places that matter most to players (although that feels like a short-term fix. I still am in the camp of the inevitability of needing a replica Barn as a long-term solution).
 

manderson1984 said:
Yeah it’s a dump that just got a decent renovation and has real history and legacy. It also has nice locker rooms and amenities for the players. We also are not Duke. I’m not saying the arena is the biggest issue. A great coach is a bigger need, but the it is 93 years old and kids won’t find the same charm we all do. That’s just a fact
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Show them the home court advantage.
Truth is...winning makes Williams a moot point. Get a coach who has a plan to win and executes that plan and the rest will fall in place. Clem showed you could win here. He just forgot to tell his tutors to only do their job and not the job of the players when it comes to academics.
 

MRJ said:
Nice and flashy perhaps, but they don't guarantee a damn thing. With that said, the Barn is old and maybe it is time to seriously consider some new alternatives.
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Is anyone proposing a new arena guarantees wins?

What about just having nice things and keeping on level with the rest of the league?


Twolves got a nice arena renovation (and new practice facility downtown). Not like they earned that by winning a bunch of titles.
 

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