STrib: Why the Gophers are standing pat when the Timberwolves shouldn't

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Souhan:

There are two horrid basketball teams in town.

Last week I called for one of them to change coaches.

I didn’t mention the lesser of the two horrid basketball teams - the Minnesota Gophers.

I believe Sam Mitchell’s old-school offense and old-school thinking have destroyed what should have been a transition season for the Timberwolves. Since started 8-8, the Wolves are 5-23. That is the worst record in the NBA during that time.

Mitchell has been given two of the best young players in the game, plus a remarkably talented prospect in Zach LaVine, and has done as little as is humanly possible with them. That’s why I would like to see a change.

Richard Pitino’s program is in far worse shape than the Timberwolves’, and it’s all his fault. As he has admitted, he did a horrible job of constructing this roster. He has also done a terrible job of preparing this team for games, at least until a week ago. The Gophers’ performances against Indiana and Michigan were probably about as good as could have been expected under these circumstances.

Pitino has had an even worse season than Mitchell. But he is not an interim coach, and he works for an organization that doesn’t have an entrenched athletic director or a president who is sports-savvy. Unlike in Mitchell’s case, Pitino’s best players are not here yet. They will arrive next season, and they could combine with Jordan Murphy and Nate Mason and some of the other youngsters who are truly promising to attempt to build a winner.

http://www.startribune.com/why-the-...pat-and-the-timberwolves-shouldn-t/366096001/

Go Gophers!!
 

Vision and rationality from Souhan? I may now need to rethink my position.
 



I don't recall Pitino ever belittling his roster. Only a fool would do that. I have never gone to Souhan for his take on local sports. He is just another lousy journalist that regurgitates popular perception. The remarkalbly talented prospect Mitchell has done disservice to is Shabazz Muhammad. And as of late, he seems to have recognized that. Lavine's talent is overrated, it is expressed in his jumping ability, In almost 1 1/2 years, he has shown only some improvement. Not what one would expect from a supposed great talent. His learning curve is very shallow. The one point of accuracy in Souhan's article is that after a fairly good start, the Timberwolves, with more coaching, have gone 5-23. In contrast, Pitino is turning his team around. He will have a foundation with witch to add next years talent to.
 



He should stick to baseball. I couldnt care less what soupcan thinks.
 

Pretty accurate assessment. The Wolves should be better than they are. At this point of the season, the Wolves may be as bad as the Sixers and the Sixers were designed deliberately to be bad.

I agree that the Gophers probably have played about as well as they could be expected to play in the last two games. Unfortunately, for us as fans, about the best we can hope for this season is that the Gophers somehow steal 12th place in the conference. There just doesn't seem to be enough firepower on this team right now to have a chance to win more than two or three remaining games. The defense has been much better lately, though. We have one of our best chances with Illinois coming to town but Mike Thorne is back and that might make things more difficult.
 

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