STrib profile: How Richard Pitino balances a growing family and Gophers basketball

BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

Here’s Richard Pitino — a 34-year-old father of three children 5 and under, husband to Jill and the youngest coach in a major college basketball conference, learning to balance the biggest things in his life.

The most public piece of his juggling act is a team he feels is his most talented yet but one that desperately needs to prove itself after an abysmal 8-23 season.

And the proving begins with this young father/husband/coach himself. To many, he’s a fledgling coach hired at Minnesota three years ago because of a Hall of Fame last name.

“It’s the reality of where I am,” he said. “But I believe in what I’m doing, and that’s never really changed.”

The most difficult moments for Pitino last season were during his team’s 14-game losing streak. He wasn’t just anxious about going home to hear Ava, now 5, ask about the games. He sometimes skipped the postgame greeting with an ornery Williams Arena crowd after the “Rouser,” and he was even skittish about walking into Starbucks.

Starting Friday, Pitino gets a chance to make going for coffee much easier, for with the opener against Louisiana-Lafayette comes optimism with a new-look team.

“We thought we were really going to reset in Year 3, and we did,” Pitino said. “It was challenging, but everybody understood we were starting over. I’ve always said I thought Year 4 was the year we would turn the corner. I feel like we can really compete now.”

http://www.startribune.com/how-rich...wing-family-and-gophers-basketball/400138531/

Go Gophers!!
 

per Marcus:

Here’s Richard Pitino — a 34-year-old father of three children 5 and under, husband to Jill and the youngest coach in a major college basketball conference, learning to balance the biggest things in his life.

The most public piece of his juggling act is a team he feels is his most talented yet but one that desperately needs to prove itself after an abysmal 8-23 season.

And the proving begins with this young father/husband/coach himself. To many, he’s a fledgling coach hired at Minnesota three years ago because of a Hall of Fame last name.

“It’s the reality of where I am,” he said. “But I believe in what I’m doing, and that’s never really changed.”

The most difficult moments for Pitino last season were during his team’s 14-game losing streak. He wasn’t just anxious about going home to hear Ava, now 5, ask about the games. He sometimes skipped the postgame greeting with an ornery Williams Arena crowd after the “Rouser,” and he was even skittish about walking into Starbucks.

Starting Friday, Pitino gets a chance to make going for coffee much easier, for with the opener against Louisiana-Lafayette comes optimism with a new-look team.

“We thought we were really going to reset in Year 3, and we did,” Pitino said. “It was challenging, but everybody understood we were starting over. I’ve always said I thought Year 4 was the year we would turn the corner. I feel like we can really compete now.”

http://www.startribune.com/how-rich...wing-family-and-gophers-basketball/400138531/

Go Gophers!!

I really like Marcus' writing. He is objectively positive when it is possible, without being too much of a homer.

I worry when I read the parts about the team needing a lot of TLC after they make mistakes.
 


Yeah, good story. But stop having kids. Remember how that worked for Monson?
 



Are you trying to say that Monson having a family contributed to his downfall as Gophers coach?

I think it might have. If I remember correctly, he had 4 kids in a span of 5 years while here. Are you a parent? If so, you understand the time and energy it takes to be a good father. There are only so many hours in a day and only so much energy to expend. Being a Big Ten coach is 24x7x365.
 

I think it might have. If I remember correctly, he had 4 kids in a span of 5 years while here. Are you a parent? If so, you understand the time and energy it takes to be a good father. There are only so many hours in a day and only so much energy to expend. Being a Big Ten coach is 24x7x365.
Plenty of salaried professionals have stressful jobs and have families.
 

Plenty of salaried professionals have stressful jobs and have families.

How many of these are:

1. Parents that are present?

2. Bring their kids to work with them?

Three kids under the age of 5? Something has to give.
 

How many of these are:

1. Parents that are present?

2. Bring their kids to work with them?

Three kids under the age of 5? Something has to give.

This is a dumb argument, plenty of successful coaches have had kids on their way to top and it seems like their kids turned out well. Richard seems like he turned out okay growing up in a basketball house, Coach K's daughters turned out alright. Me and my brothers were born with in five years, we all turned out fine and my dad had a successful career as a lawyer before retiring. Willing to bet Richard's wife is a stay at home mom, so I don't think the kids are hurting for attention if that's your concern. It's quite frankly a dumb argument to blame a bad season on having kids.
 



This is a dumb argument, plenty of successful coaches have had kids on their way to top and it seems like their kids turned out well. Richard seems like he turned out okay growing up in a basketball house, Coach K's daughters turned out alright. Me and my brothers were born with in five years, we all turned out fine and my dad had a successful career as a lawyer before retiring. Willing to bet Richard's wife is a stay at home mom, so I don't think the kids are hurting for attention if that's your concern. It's quite frankly a dumb argument to blame a bad season on having kids.

Hey, you are entitled to your opinion. I could be wrong. I just know that when you have 3 kids under the age of 5 with a 24x7x365 job, something is getting less attention. You have to at least concede this, if you are being honest. Did your dad let you run around his office while working with his team to prepare for court?
 

Hey, you are entitled to your opinion. I could be wrong. I just know that when you have 3 kids under the age of 5 with a 24x7x365 job, something is getting less attention. You have to at least concede this, if you are being honest. Did your dad let you run around his office while working with his team to prepare for court?

I couldn't agree more with all of your points. Monson is a great guy and is a great Dad...I do think the timing for him being here while starting a family was rough. I knew how hard he worked, but he always got slack for not putting in enough time. Demanding high paying jobs are completely different from being a head coach at a Big 10 school. Hard working people put in what, 12-16 hours a day...many of these coaches are putting in 16-20 hours a day. One of our coaches would even sleep in his office or the locker room so he could prep more and put in more time watching film. It's a totally different animal.
 

I couldn't agree more with all of your points. Monson is a great guy and is a great Dad...I do think the timing for him being here while starting a family was rough. I knew how hard he worked, but he always got slack for not putting in enough time. Demanding high paying jobs are completely different from being a head coach at a Big 10 school. Hard working people put in what, 12-16 hours a day...many of these coaches are putting in 16-20 hours a day. One of our coaches would even sleep in his office or the locker room so he could prep more and put in more time watching film. It's a totally different animal.

Most people overestimate the actual amount of time they work.
 




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