It hasn’t been that long since Richard Pitino arrived in Minneapolis. The Gophers basketball coach has already begun taking steps to put his unique stamp on his new team. Beyond merely changing the plays and improving the training regiments, Pitino has also worked to transform the philosophy of his new side, making alterations that, while unlikely to take the attention away from college football predictions, could raise a few eyebrows.
Chief among Pitino’s objectives is the effort he has been injecting into preaching about the value of recruiting in-state. Minnesota doesn’t exactly have the greatest track record. Not only is their recent history largely free of success but the weather tends to work against pitches to outsiders.
Pitino’s campaign for the home players has only gained momentum with the passing of time.
Of course, whether or not this philosophy can successfully manifest results remains to be seen; the next two classes of recruits will make Pitino’s efforts very demanding. The Gophers are not exactly lacking in talent as things stand.
It has been a while since the side had so many solid targets. There is a deluge of potential recruits that Pitino’s people will have to sift through, and more than enough intriguing players on hand for the Gophers to give all their expected scholarships to locals, though only if they desire to take that route.
Pitino agrees that he is in a fairly decent position, with all the opportunities at his disposal to put all his plans into action. Pitino has said as much in his most recent interviews, proclaiming the confidence he seems to have in the state of Minnesota basketball.
For Pitino, recruiting home is essential for his team. He thinks the Gophers have done a decent enough job so far; his objective at the moment is to keep the momentum going, maintain the new approach to recruitments and keep it up with future classes.
According to Pitino, there is every logical reason possible to prioritize recruiting in-state, especially when you take into account the distance between Minnesota and the various other major cities and recruitment grounds.
The talent pool outside Minnesota isn’t exactly enticing. For instance, South and North Dakota are sorely lacking in talent; certainly, there are a few exceptional players, but not enough to entice Pitino’s focus away from the talent within his own state.
Pitino thinks that every coach should make an effort to lookout for players within a four-hour radius of where they live. Once you get into the Big Ten Country and their states, getting players becomes a very difficult task, and Pitino wants to make it just as hard for other people to do as well.
The NCAA rules do not permit Pitino to discuss the details of specific recruits. However, he has admitted to keeping an eye out for a guard and a big man in a 2017 class. Pitino isn’t afraid to admit that he and his colleagues still have quite a lot of work to do.
Minnesota has five scholarships to give and they need to develop a big list, with a variety of options for every single position.