So we might be mediocre for several more years, so what?
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WolfontheProwl
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This isn't football where it takes several years to build a program it's basketball. Two good recruiting classes and maybe even one is all it takes to get on the right track. As frustrating as last season was we still won over 20 games and return 3.5 starters. Things are not nearly as bad as some want to make it out to be.
Rashon Burno Fever, Beeg. Catch it. We'll get him a cool nickname like 'Tubby' 'Flip' or 'Mitt.' You'll come around.
howieramone
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I tend to agree. But it could be rough given who is on the bench returning now. Not bare but thin. But I thought it would be anyway.
THE SCOUT!
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yeah give away 2.5 million dollars and end up with more of the same...Brilliant
What, did many people think that hiring a new coach would bring immediate success to the program, really? Teague and Ellis have l o n g term goals for the bb team. To have our team a consistent contender for the BIG championship vs non-existent which = NCAA Big Dance appearances. Let's not be short sighted and instead see the whole picture. GO GOPHERS
Scoreboard
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We need a coach with a lot of energy. A LOT! Find that guy!
gophmeister
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First off Flip isn't exactly an elite coach by any stretch of the imagination. Also, even if Flip were hired there's no guarantee he'd sign any of the Big 3. It's almost too late to get those kids. Furthermore it's totally stupid proposition to hire a coach because you think he has a better chance of signing them. It's been almost 30 years since Flip was a college coach and a lot of things have changed since then. A washed up old NBA coach isn't going to be able to handle the challenge.
So given the talent on the team this year, and the incredible talent available in 2014, if this team is not ELITE in 2-3 years, it represents a huge blown opportunity. With the coaches we've already missed on, it seems as though that's very likely what's going to happen. And given the state of the program when tubby was fired (and make no mistake, I thought he should go) it isn't out of line for a lot of fans to think NT had that in mind when he made his move. It now seems obvious that either he didn't consider that, or he was wrong about the coach he thought he had coming in.
THE SCOUT!
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Yup Brewster and Wacker had a lot of energy...Yup thats we need a lot of energy is the answer
goldengophers
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Is THESCOUT! Doc?
THE SCOUT!
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Yes he is Doc's alter ego manifested here
Bob_Loblaw
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And we all know that Flip meant we were getting the Big 3. In fact, the only thing that matters is the Big 3, lets offer the job to Tyus's dad, let him hire his wife as an assistant, these next three years are the ONLY thing that matters in Gopher basketball.
It's the end of the program that Flip Saunders and his championship pedigree won't be coaching the Wolves. We need a guy who was able to constantly rip off 6 and 7 seeds in the NBA before our annual bounce from the playoffs. We need that pedigree that brought a championship caliber Pistons team down to mediocrity, and we need that pedigree that groomed and developed those young Wizards into the great team they are today.
The Flip supporters have everyone thinking that Flip meant the Big 3 and he was THE only ticket out of mediocrity. . . so the sky is falling, the sky is falling.
It's the end of the program that Flip Saunders and his championship pedigree won't be coaching the Wolves. We need a guy who was able to constantly rip off 6 and 7 seeds in the NBA before our annual bounce from the playoffs. We need that pedigree that brought a championship caliber Pistons team down to mediocrity, and we need that pedigree that groomed and developed those young Wizards into the great team they are today.
The Flip supporters have everyone thinking that Flip meant the Big 3 and he was THE only ticket out of mediocrity. . . so the sky is falling, the sky is falling.
It's not just flip. The big 3, combined with the talent we already have, were/are a rare window of opportunity for this program to become elite. A marquee coach along the lines of Shaka, buzz or even possibly flip, could have made that happen. Regardless of if Teague is able to find the next Shaka, this is an opportunity we're not going to get back for a long time. A great up and coming assistant could turn this team into a contender in a few years, and that would be great. But when NT fired tubby, a number of fans thought there was a good chance he was going to get us someone who could make this a championship team in two years. It's now obvious he will not. If you don't get why that's very disappointing you're oversimplifying that perspective
westcoastgopher11
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This program won't be elite overnight. Teams have their time in the sun and fade away when the fundamentals aren't there. Baylor might be the best example of this.
Get the fundamentals in place and make good hires.
Get the fundamentals in place and make good hires.
tinyarch
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Even if we end up .500 in the B1G, we haven't dropped from what we've done in the past 6 years. Teague could go out and hire an up and coming coach that doesn't attract the big 3 recruits, go .500 in the league and cost the U of MN less money than Tubby's contract. From that perspective, Teague can't lose with his coaching hire. We currently have .500 level talent on the team (Dre is a second team B1G level player). We'll be, at minimum, on a level playing field with where we have presently been.
I appreciate that Stocker. Happy Easter- I'm optimistic about that! At this point, I'm in wait and see mode- I hope they land a good coach. I have been sold out for Gopher buckets for many many years and would love to see a nice run here. The opportunity is there given the right guy. I thought we had him and that's disturbing at the moment.
Bob_Loblaw
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But a lot of the Flip supporters seem to think that Flip gives us a great chance at those guys.
Do you really think a lot of people saw this program as a championship level program in two years, with the right hire? I disagree with that. In fact, if Flip were hired that would be putting impossible expectations on him (even if he does a fantastic job). John Bielein is a great coach and he is going to his first Final 4 in YEAR 6.
I'd like to get the Big 3, but Flip doesn't mean we are getting them. You might argue he gives us the best chance, it seems like a guess, but I have no idea, maybe he does, I'd like to know why people think that's true, but I'm sure it's because Flip goes to Tyus's games.
We aren't in a rare window to become elite, we are a long ways from becoming elite. Maybe Flip could be the guy who gets us there, but the U of MN basketball program is a long ways from being elite.
You're completely right about it being a guess. I'm far from super-knowledgeable about the recruiting situation/relationships with these kids and with Flip. I'm basically going off of what I've heard other (presumably more knowledgeable) people say about Flip. Also, the idea that a big name, be if Flip, Shaka or any other high-profile coach, would catch the interest of a high school kid (not to mention the fan base in general) more than an unknown who hasn't proven anything. So I'll concede that point somewhat.
I disagree that we're a long way from being elite (or rather, that we need to be...I think now we certainly are.) A couple of kids like the ones in MN right now could easily turn a team that already has a decent core and a good, experienced coach into a championship contender, basically over night. And I'm fairly confident that not only would a big-name established coach make it more likely that those type of kids would decide to come here, he'd also be better positioned to take advantage of it because of his history of head coaching that would likely not only bring big-game/tourney experience, but avoid the adjustment period of figuring out how to run a program, run a practice, install a system, etc.
Again, this doesn't just apply to Flip. But it seems like he was our last best chance at a coach that fits those parameters.
That's right RP - it's a calculated guess. But if Flip was the guy with the best chance at B3 then that's where I would have like to gone with it. You take a senior Andre Hollins with Vaughn and Jones and you have a nucleus of something amazing right there. I don't see anybody else coming in cold with a shot to put that together. but I have been told we don't need the B3, they are a dime a dozen.....
Bob_Loblaw
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I'm not disagreeing with you, but would you support the MSU assistant and Antigua who both have been recruiting Tyus really hard for awhile? Those guys are noted recruiters and while Flip might know these kids, he doesn't know them as a recruiter, he hasn't been recruiting them. These guys have built relationships with Tyus and have been recruiting him for years.
No. Every time I hear of someone coming in to see Rashad or Tyus the name I hear coming in is Tom Izzo. I think I could get known as a good recruiter if I am recruiting under Izzo- nice door opener. Does he know Stephens - sure? But Stephens is about as qualified for a BT head coaching job as Ryan Saunders is for a minor assistants job. You told me yourself that the progression has to be at a lower level first. Remember that?
At the end of the day- I'll support whoever they hire - as I have all of my life. Now is the chance for fans to voice and opinion. Starting soon I'll be supporting the new Gopher coach even if the AD has put him on the hot seat the day he arrives because of the botched process.
I know that I'm not bga1, but I will accept any coach that our AD hires. The problem that I would have with these assistants, even though they may turn out to be excellent coaches, is that the building of the practice facility would be put on the back burner. If the boosters could not support our previous coach, who was having a very successful year at one time, I don't think that they will open their wallets for a top flight assistant coach. I'm not sure that is a route that we should go.
NOT A FRIKKING CHANCE!!! THE DR.DON
BTW, Gopher fans. It's not like we are looking at a returning team with nothing to start the season with. We have Dre, Austin, Joe, Mo, EE, and others. The tank is not empty for a new coach coming in. Let's look ahead to the influence of a new coach, support him, wish him well, as he leads us all into frenzies galore at the Barn.
GO GOPHERS!!!
march madness
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Would anyone like to bet on Tyus or Rashad chosing the gophers no matter if John Wooden comes back from dead to coach them? Now I wouldnt bet a four year college player like Reid woudn't chose them. For every Rickert, Pryzbillia, and Humphries who stayed home their were El Amin, Aldrich, Beggren, Taylor, who left. In today's game it would be hard to see Tyus and Rashad turning down top 5 programs to play in the home state. Not unheard of, but pretty unlikely. I would be impressed if the new coach could get Reid, JP, and follow that up with Illikanen the next year. Just don't lose players to transfers and this team can have success and depth.
Maybe, but the difference between those two guys and the first names people went to (including but not limited to Flip) could very well be the difference between Tim Brewster and Urban Meyer. We know the other guys can coach because they've done it before. Recruiting is great, and very important, but the job is still "head coach" not "lead recruiter."
And if a guy is hired because of a perceived relationship with a recruit and he doesn't get that kid AND can't coach, it would be an absolute disaster for the program. If a guy like Flip is hired, even in part because of a perceived relationship with a recruit, and doesn't get that kid, at least we still know he can coach...the floor is almost as important as the ceiling in hires like this.
Gopher in Texas
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Gophers could be a lot worse than mediocre. The B1G is getting tougher, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois are improving.
I am willing to give NT a chance to make a good hire, but it better be a good hire. I am fine with an unknown Shaka Smart II. I would not be happy with another Monson.
I am willing to give NT a chance to make a good hire, but it better be a good hire. I am fine with an unknown Shaka Smart II. I would not be happy with another Monson.