BleedGopher
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per Souhan:
Pitino was right to minimize the Louisville connection. He was right to emphasize the importance of the tournament to his players, the fans and the university. He was also within his rights to make a celebratory call to his father.
“I’m truthful with it,” Pitino said. “I’m really not being diplomatic. It really wasn’t about that. It’s very hard to get into the tournament, especially in our league. ... The focus was on preparing. It didn’t matter who we played.”
“He downplayed it,” Coffey said. “He made it about the game. But I’m sure he’s feeling pretty good inside.”
Pitino has gone through the usual Minnesota coaching cycle: Vocal Gophers fans questioned why he was hired, then at the first glimpse of success feared he’d leave for a more successful program, then wondered why he was still here after some scandals and failures.
Winning a tournament game with a young team moves Pitino into a new phase of his career. He just beat Mack and Louisville handily for a school that has enjoyed little unsullied basketball success.
He did so with his most accomplished player, Jordan Murphy, hampered by back spasms in the second half, and while playing three true freshmen and a point guard who was recruited as a wing.
Pitino is signed through the 2021-22 season. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle might want to add a couple of years. Minnesota doesn’t want to be the school that spent 10 years preparing Pitino to win somewhere else.
http://www.startribune.com/richard-...st-and-may-have-secured-his-future/507496812/
Go Gophers!!
Pitino was right to minimize the Louisville connection. He was right to emphasize the importance of the tournament to his players, the fans and the university. He was also within his rights to make a celebratory call to his father.
“I’m truthful with it,” Pitino said. “I’m really not being diplomatic. It really wasn’t about that. It’s very hard to get into the tournament, especially in our league. ... The focus was on preparing. It didn’t matter who we played.”
“He downplayed it,” Coffey said. “He made it about the game. But I’m sure he’s feeling pretty good inside.”
Pitino has gone through the usual Minnesota coaching cycle: Vocal Gophers fans questioned why he was hired, then at the first glimpse of success feared he’d leave for a more successful program, then wondered why he was still here after some scandals and failures.
Winning a tournament game with a young team moves Pitino into a new phase of his career. He just beat Mack and Louisville handily for a school that has enjoyed little unsullied basketball success.
He did so with his most accomplished player, Jordan Murphy, hampered by back spasms in the second half, and while playing three true freshmen and a point guard who was recruited as a wing.
Pitino is signed through the 2021-22 season. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle might want to add a couple of years. Minnesota doesn’t want to be the school that spent 10 years preparing Pitino to win somewhere else.
http://www.startribune.com/richard-...st-and-may-have-secured-his-future/507496812/
Go Gophers!!
