Shama: Sources say Coyle had decided to fire Pitino, reached out to possible replacements, "(probably) spared by the pandemic"


So what if Fleck leaves? If he leaves us with two or three of the best years of this century, his hiring would have been well worth it.
Some Gopher fans are so pathetic they would rather be below average with a coach that won’t leave instead of being great with a coach that might.
 

Yes.
What do you say about the cheaters?
I would hope that players go to school, to do their best there, and play basketball in exchange for room, board and tuition- and hopefully be prepared for bigger and better things after graduation.
Regarding the cheaters, I believe that coaches should be fired and programs should lose their eligibility to play in tournaments for a time related to the seriousness of their offenses. I’m not sure that the NCAA always does its job in this area.
 


I would hope that players go to school, to do their best there, and play basketball in exchange for room, board and tuition- and hopefully be prepared for bigger and better things after graduation.
Regarding the cheaters, I believe that coaches should be fired and programs should lose their eligibility to play in tournaments for a time related to the seriousness of their offenses. I’m not sure that the NCAA always does its job in this area.
You and I both know the ncaa does not do its job in this area. UNC still winning ncaa titles during the largest academic cheating in the history of college athletics - any questions? Do you need additional examples?

Pitino making education the first priority is job 1, correct? And not all coaches do that, correct?
 


The coronavirus might be the anti-dote that U Basketball needs.

If Oturu decides he isn't declaring NBA unless he has a reasonable certainty of being a 1st rounder, that will be a big plus.

It mayl make Pitino's Eighth season a happy surprise that saves his job.
Interesting thought. The virus intervened on a reset of the coaching position, but it lets us keep our best player.
 

I would hope that players go to school, to do their best there, and play basketball in exchange for room, board and tuition- and hopefully be prepared for bigger and better things after graduation.
Regarding the cheaters, I believe that coaches should be fired and programs should lose their eligibility to play in tournaments for a time related to the seriousness of their offenses. I’m not sure that the NCAA always does its job in this area.
Don't feed the troll. :)
 


We saw how good he is when he brought Fleck in here 3 years ago.
Whalen and Motzo also big time hires, both going into year 3 with rising programs and bigger expectations for the upcoming season. Coyle has been phenomenal. No reason to doubt him with the basketball hire.
 



What has Pitino, actually, done, that would make any person think he is a very good coach??

Just list those things, please. No commentary, from you, or me.
We have listed them on numerous occasions. Go back through the many "hate Pitino" threads and you can find all of the information. Sick and tired of trying explain it to you guys over and over again..
 

We have listed them on numerous occasions. Go back through the many "hate Pitino" threads and you can find all of the information. Sick and tired of trying explain it to you guys over and over again..
It is simply a difference of opinion. One side sees the body of of work as awful, one does not. Some see a upward trend, others see 8-12 and another year a mile behind UW . Some think the NIT title is awesome , others wish we would never even hang those banners. Neither side needs to think the other is somehow less intelligent, a better or worse fan or the ultimate non discussion of calling someone else a fraud or a troll when they actually can not contribute to a basketball discussion. Can you even imagine message board stalker, insecure, afraid to meet...
 

In the end, it all gets back to expectations - and specifically, the $64,000 question - what is a reasonable expectation for the Gopher Basketball program?

It's comparable to the debate on the Football board before Fleck was hired.

There were people who said the Gophers needed to have higher standards - that a 7-5 or 8-4 season wasn't a high enough ceiling. To paraphrase this argument, "if you don't demand conference titles, you are settling for mediocrity."

And then there were people who said you had to be realistic about the state of the program. to paraphrase this argument, "it's the Gophers. We haven't won a conference title in 50 years. So don't complain about a decent season. it could be worse."

And that's what I see with Gopher Hoops. There are people who think Pitino's performance is generally in line - or at least close - to historical standards for Gopher Hoops.

And then there are people who say the Gophers should set their sights higher, and if you're ok with a .500 record and sneaking into the NCAA's every couple of years, then you are "settling for mediocrity."

But - to be clear - there is not a "right" or "wrong" answer to this. It's like putting ketchup on a hot dog. Some people say it's OK. some people think it's a crime against nature. (as for me, mustard or death....)
 

Whalen and Motzo also big time hires, both going into year 3 with rising programs and bigger expectations for the upcoming season. Coyle has been phenomenal. No reason to doubt him with the basketball hire.
Huh. Big time hires.
Remains to be seen based on results.
 




In the end, it all gets back to expectations - and specifically, the $64,000 question - what is a reasonable expectation for the Gopher Basketball program?

It's comparable to the debate on the Football board before Fleck was hired.

There were people who said the Gophers needed to have higher standards - that a 7-5 or 8-4 season wasn't a high enough ceiling. To paraphrase this argument, "if you don't demand conference titles, you are settling for mediocrity."

And then there were people who said you had to be realistic about the state of the program. to paraphrase this argument, "it's the Gophers. We haven't won a conference title in 50 years. So don't complain about a decent season. it could be worse."

And that's what I see with Gopher Hoops. There are people who think Pitino's performance is generally in line - or at least close - to historical standards for Gopher Hoops.

And then there are people who say the Gophers should set their sights higher, and if you're ok with a .500 record and sneaking into the NCAA's every couple of years, then you are "settling for mediocrity."

But - to be clear - there is not a "right" or "wrong" answer to this. It's like putting ketchup on a hot dog. Some people say it's OK. some people think it's a crime against nature. (as for me, mustard or death....)

No, many of us that still support Pitino have expectations of going to the NCAA tourney most every year and competing for the B1G title. Don’t mistake our support for Pitino in accepting mediocrity. We understand that he has under performed at the U, hell he understands it. The point is that you are not comparing apples to apples. We all know that the prior AD hired Pitino very early in his career with the hope that Pitino would blossom into a very good coach. With that, we were “burdened“ with the fact that Pitino would suffer “learning on the job” mistakes. Pitino admits that he was fortunate to get a B1G job so early. Most of all the “good coaches” that you guys compare Pitino to learned to be a HC at a much lower level and many have had growing pains in there first 5-7 years. I mentioned a long time ago that even coach K went to less tournaments and was on the verge of being fired from Duke in his seventh year of being a HC. Has Pitino made recruiting mistakes that killed his roster for years, yes. Has he been able to develop players, yes. Has he been able to out coached legends, yes (he out foxed Larry Brown in the NIT). Has he gotten out coached, yes. Etc...

He now has his best assistants and has recruited a new group of very versatile, athletic, defensive minded and better perimeter shooting players. The new style had some high points this year and stayed very close in many others games with seven new players seeing the court. I see great potential in next year and look forward to seeing this new style progress. Many of you are so obsessed with historical milestones that you can’t enjoy you team. I expect next year to be in the tourney and be in the top pack of the B1G. I suspect that Coyle has similar expectations.
 
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