Joey King on Pitino: We love him to death. He inspires us to go out and give our best

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BleedGopher

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per Shama:

On the court Pitino, the Gophers 31-year-old first year coach, is passionate with his players and sometimes doesn’t hold back his displeasure. “Anything he may say, it’s just to build you up and make you a better player,” King said.

The Gophers sophomore forward from Eagan is already a Pitino admirer. “We love him to death. He’s a great person and a great coach. He inspires us to go out and give our best.”

Outside expectations are for the Gophers, 7-2 in nonconference games, to finish toward the bottom of the Big Ten but the players expect success. “We really believe in ourselves,” King said. “We do everything we can to avoid negativity. Look to each other for support and that’s what gets us through things.”

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 

I can't help but be extremely excited about the future of this program. Everything we are hearing is suggesting that Pitino is on the right track.

There is ample evidence that:
  • the players love playing for him
  • Pitino is a good in-game coach and is capable of making adjustments
  • recruits are taking note and there is a real "buzz" about and around the program
  • the national media has taken note
As a lifelong Gopher fan, I am waiting for the crash to earth. But things look up!
 


King (or others) wouldn't be expressing their faith in him if Pitino hadn't won their confidence by demonstrating his coaching abilities. This is more than just Richard's youth, intensity and energy.
 

katze019 said:
Examples?
Click to expand...

Recruiting websites said last summer that Minnesota is becoming the "it" school in recruiting, because so many good players were listing us and had good things to say about us. There was at least one article from a recruiting site based on the east coast that said he has never seen this much interest in the Gophers before from high level players in that area, and according to him it wasn't even close.
 


katze019 said:
Examples?
Click to expand...

Talking about since the season has started. Would like some examples, would be good to see, because I have not seen much since recruits have gotten to see his team on the court.
 

katze019 said:
Talking about since the season has started. Would like some examples, would be good to see, because I have not seen much since recruits have gotten to see his team on the court.
Click to expand...

Just saw a tweet re: Jarvis - who thinks Pitino's style reminds him of DeLaSalle
 


katze019 said:
Talking about since the season has started. Would like some examples, would be good to see, because I have not seen much since recruits have gotten to see his team on the court.
Click to expand...

FWIW Elijah Thomas was tweeting about Minnesota's offense during their game against Syracuse.
 




BarnBoy said:
I can't help but be extremely excited about the future of this program. Everything we are hearing is suggesting that Pitino is on the right track.

There is ample evidence that:
  • the players love playing for him
  • Pitino is a good in-game coach and is capable of making adjustments
  • recruits are taking note and there is a real "buzz" about and around the program
  • the national media has taken note
As a lifelong Gopher fan, I am waiting for the crash to earth. But things look up!
Click to expand...

What examples has he shown that he has made game time adjustments? Seems like he shortens his bench when he is in trouble. I'm hoping you are right, but i have been disappointed with how he approaches "adjustments."
 

...kinda like Tubby adjusted to zone defenses... :p

woozee said:
What examples has he shown that he has made game time adjustments? Seems like he shortens his bench when he is in trouble. I'm hoping you are right, but i have been disappointed with how he approaches "adjustments."
Click to expand...
 




Joey King on Pitino: We love him to death. He inspires us to go out and give ...

tinyarch said:
...kinda like Tubby adjusted to zone defenses... :p
Click to expand...

Mr. Archibald I wasn't expecting zingers from you! --- off the court that is.

Pitino is going to need to find 3-4 star complete package kids that can demonstrate not only shooting talent but defensive IQ and the ability to play multiple rolls in order for his high tempo game style.

I still do not understand why Tubby moved away from a more traditional half court style offense where he could recruit role specialists and get away with imperfection. There is a far greater recruiting pool and you aren't going to compete with all these other teams now buzzing about a high tempo general athlete approach Pitino is going for.

If Pitino can pull this off I will be thrilled. But he could find himself in a dicey place if he falls short in his recruiting investment.

The fact that Pitino is young and can speak the language of youth is going to help him a ton though. He gets what the players want to play.

What do you think Arch?
 

woozee said:
What examples has he shown that he has made game time adjustments? Seems like he shortens his bench when he is in trouble. I'm hoping you are right, but i have been disappointed with how he approaches "adjustments."
Click to expand...

Have you seen how many different defensive sets we've run? Switching the defense is definitely an adjustment, based on what the opponent is doing.
 

woozee said:
Mr. Archibald I wasn't expecting zingers from you! --- off the court that is.

Pitino is going to need to find 3-4 star complete package kids that can demonstrate not only shooting talent but defensive IQ and the ability to play multiple rolls in order for his high tempo game style.

I still do not understand why Tubby moved away from a more traditional half court style offense where he could recruit role specialists and get away with imperfection. There is a far greater recruiting pool and you aren't going to compete with all these other teams now buzzing about a high tempo general athlete approach Pitino is going for.

If Pitino can pull this off I will be thrilled. But he could find himself in a dicey place if he falls short in his recruiting investment.

The fact that Pitino is young and can speak the language of youth is going to help him a ton though. He gets what the players want to play.

What do you think Arch?
Click to expand...

Coach Pitino is already recruiting the types of players he wants. He looks for kids with strong fundamental skill sets who can play multiple positions. This implies that they also will have a strong basketball IQ. The thing about basketball is that it's always easier to teach a kid to play defense, but it takes a ton of work to build and teach offensive skills once they are college age. The defensive IQ is the easiest part of the game and I'm not too worried about his players learning it. Watching this years team I have seen Coach Pitino use a number of different defensive sets and mask zone with a match-up. The great thing is that the kids have bought into the concept and he's only had 8 months to work with them. I am excited to see what results with a year or two of recruitment and implementation of his plan. The one thing I have noted already is that the ball moves around much quicker on the offensive end and the kids are getting good looks. Also, Pitino has implemented "one-hitters" off set plays, which we rarely saw last year. Finally, what I notice is that in every game so far this season we have seen a lower turnover rate. This is a fantastic turnaround, which will bode well as the season progresses. Ultimately, I see Pitino getting more out of less than anything Tubby did in the last 3 years of his tenure here at MN. We can count the number of kids who either underperformed as Gophers or left early in the past 5 years. If quality starters flee coach Pitino like they fled Tubby, then your concerns may have merit, but I don't see that happening at present.
 

woozee said:
Mr. Archibald I wasn't expecting zingers from you! --- off the court that is.

Pitino is going to need to find 3-4 star complete package kids that can demonstrate not only shooting talent but defensive IQ and the ability to play multiple rolls in order for his high tempo game style.

I still do not understand why Tubby moved away from a more traditional half court style offense where he could recruit role specialists and get away with imperfection. There is a far greater recruiting pool and you aren't going to compete with all these other teams now buzzing about a high tempo general athlete approach Pitino is going for.

If Pitino can pull this off I will be thrilled. But he could find himself in a dicey place if he falls short in his recruiting investment.

The fact that Pitino is young and can speak the language of youth is going to help him a ton though. He gets what the players want to play.

What do you think Arch?
Click to expand...

I don't see it this way at all. The elder Pitino took Providence to the Final Four running this defensive system without four-star talent.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I don't see it this way at all. The elder Pitino took Providence to the Final Four running this defensive system without four-star talent.
Click to expand...

+19

I was going to add more but decided not to.
 


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