Gophers' slower pace not a problem to Pitino

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"At his introductory news conference on April 5, Gophers coach Richard Pitino barely let 30 seconds slip by before bringing up his style.

He spoke of a fun-to-watch, fast-paced system, waving off preconceptions that it’s tough to play up-and-down in the grinding Big Ten.

Perhaps now he’s getting a glimpse of just how hard it is.

One year after running his Florida International squad into one of the faster-playing teams in the nation, Pitino has struggled to find that same pace with his new team. The Gophers rank 223rd in nationwide pace of play heading into Saturday’s game against Northwestern, the slowest team in the league, according to the website of college basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/243031761.html
 

From early October 2013:

LateNightHoops.com said:
Ever since April when Minnesota named Richard Pitino head coach of its basketball program, the term “up-tempo” has been used when describing the team’s expected style of play.

At some point during the 2013-14 season, certain media and fans will note that the team’s pace of play isn’t all that fast compared to the universe of D-I squads.
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Gold Vision said:
Nailed it.

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan State
3. Wisconsin
4. Iowa
5. Michigan
6. Indiana
7. Minnesota
8. Purdue
9. Illinois
10. Northwestern
11. Nebraska
12. Penn State
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It's early and must be put into context.

re: Northwestern, for example... who is a team people are "surprised at":

We really like this team. Sure, they’re slotted at #10 in the conference, but a climb from 10 to 7 isn’t insurmountable.
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...or how about Minnesota at #7? It was unusually high compared to the masses.

It’s a very close call between Ohio State and Michigan State, but we’re giving the Buckeyes the nod.
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OSU has been disappointing. There was a big risk in their offense, but most people had them at #2.

...and when McGary went down the masses said Michigan is done. LNH's pregame said...

Our thoughts on these two teams haven’t changed: Minnesota has a chance to be a tournament team and Michigan should be a tournament team.

McGary’s plan to have back surgery is a big headline item, but the impact on the Wolverines is overdone by some. Jordan Morgan is expected to start against the Gophers. He’s a senior who has almost 100 career starts.

Along with the 6’8”, 250 pound fifth year man Morgan, 6’10” junior Jon Horford gives Michigan veteran guys who can do a good job of filling in for McGary’s minutes. They’re not as good as McGary, but they can rebound and play solid, efficient basketball.
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You gonna be down at the game today? Maybe hurl some insults at the coaches for wearing Autism Awareness pins? I know you like to make light of those with autism.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
It's early and must be put into context.

re: Northwestern, for example... who is a team people are "surprised at":



...or how about Minnesota at #7? It was unusually high compared to the masses.



OSU has been disappointing. There was a big risk in their offense, but most people had them at #2.

...and when McGary went down the masses said Michigan is done. LNH's pregame said...



You gonna be down at the game today? Maybe hurl some insults at the coaches for wearing Autism Awareness pins? I know you like to make light of those with autism.
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If you're going to toot your own horn it's fair game to point out your picks.

Personally, I never read or pay attention to picks columns. I think they're a waste of time and utterly meaningless. It's simply a throw-away column that happens to be easy to write in hopes of generating buzz by readers.
 


Is there a "ball movement" statistic. If there were, I'd say ball movement under Dick Pit is much higher-paced than under Tubby. Draw your own conclusions. :D
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
If you're going to toot your own horn it's fair game to point out your picks.

Personally, I never read or pay attention to picks columns. I think they're a waste of time and utterly meaningless. It's simply a throw-away column that happens to be easy to write in hopes of generating buzz by readers.
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Yep, it's fair - but to whine about something unrelated to the topic just to show you're on my jock is a sucker move.

I agree - unless picks/rankings/etc are coupled with true analysis they're of little value. Just conversation starters for the masses. (That's true about most sports columns/TV&radio discussion, etc. though - not just rankings/predictions/etc - mindless drivel.)

And actually the preseason picks at LNH were quite good. There is a usually a very small difference between, say, 3rd & 5th place in the conference.. sometimes it's the same record or within a game.. so again, what were the reasons, the analysis, etc... that's what is key.

PS - (just an example I found now - not picking on anyone!) In early January - just one month ago - an updated Big Ten prediction from a Twin Cities paper said the following...

2. Ohio State (14-0): Buckeyes coach Thad Matta needs LaQuinton Ross (13.8 ppg) to raise his play to replace last year's leading scorer Deshaun Thomas, but the team is just as stifling defensively behind senior Aaron Craft.

3. Wisconsin (13-0): The Badgers are off to a surprising start. They have the best all-around team in the conference, but can sophomore Sam Dekker continue to be the go-to player the team needs?

5. Illinois (12-2): The Illini were a surprise NCAA tournament team last year after firing coach Bruce Weber, but it would be more impressive if newcomer of the year candidate Rayvonte Rice (19 ppg) can get them back there.

7. Michigan (8-4): Without injured Mitch McGary, the Wolverines drop from contention, but Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III are two of the Big Ten's top perimeter players.

12. Northwestern (7-6): Wildcats coach Chris Collins wasn't left with enough talent to make much of a splash in Year 1.
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GopherJake said:
Is there a "ball movement" statistic. If there were, I'd say ball movement under Dick Pit is much higher-paced than under Tubby. Draw your own conclusions. :D
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Couldn't have been very good under Monson that year he had Humphries either.
 

GopherJake said:
Is there a "ball movement" statistic. If there were, I'd say ball movement under Dick Pit is much higher-paced than under Tubby. Draw your own conclusions. :D
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I don't ever want to see anyone's Dick Pit.
 



According to the article, the Gophers are 16th in the nation and 4th in the conference in offensive efficiency. The whining and griping must cease.
 

Bad Gopher said:
According to the article, the Gophers are 16th in the nation and 4th in the conference in offensive efficiency. The whining and griping must cease.
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Absolutely. The issues are on the other side of the ball. I have enjoyed watching this team offensively outside of a few prolonged shooting slumps.
 





Can someone fill me in on why GW gets soo much flack? Is it all about the 2% prediction on Mbakwe... While he was quite passionate about that one, and was dead wrong, we are talking about the NCAA here.... There could be a .00001% chance of something and it still could happen just for sh1ts and giggles....

Edit: Nevermind, I don't want to know....
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Can someone fill me in on why GW gets soo much flack? Is it all about the 2% prediction on Mbakwe... While he was quite passionate about that one, and was dead wrong, we are talking about the NCAA here.... There could be a .00001% chance of something and it still could happen just for sh1ts and giggles....

Edit: Nevermind, I don't want to know....
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I wasn't dead wrong. Had I said "no chance" then I would have been wrong.

Instead, I said something was very unlikely (and fans and the media alike also thought it was unlikely), however with the U and the NCAA involved it's still possible. The NCAA's process and decisions have at times made people shake their heads in disbelief.

So, saying "he was dead wrong" is more appropriate described as "he said the unexpected could happen and it did".

BTW - today against Northwestern, possessions were just short of 55... slowest of the season.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
I wasn't dead wrong. Had I said "no chance" then I would have been wrong.

Instead, I said something was very unlikely (and fans and the media alike also thought it was unlikely), however with the U and the NCAA involved it's still possible. The NCAA's process and decisions have at times made people shake their heads in disbelief.

So, saying "he was dead wrong" is more appropriate described as "he said the unexpected could happen and it did".

BTW - today against Northwestern, possessions were just short of 55... slowest of the season.
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Thanks for repeating what i said about the Nc2a, someone gives you a lil support around here and you critique their words, maybe that's why you get the flack?

So you were 98% dead wrong then?
 

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