AP: Pitino Taking Gophers From Disaster To Dancing?

Donate To GopherHole
BleedGopher

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,752
Reaction score
16,102
Points
113
per the Associated Press:

This time a year ago, Richard Pitino was at the center of a storm in Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were a disaster on the court and a distraction off of it, on their way to a two-win Big Ten season in his third year on the job.

Now the 34-year-old coach walks around campus at the head of a 20-win team that is steamrolling toward an NCAA Tournament berth, and he admits with a tongue-in-cheek sheepishness that the sudden change in the way he is received has taken some getting used to.

“It’s weird. I’m used to everybody hating us and hating me and not talking to me,” Pitino said Tuesday with a chuckle. “It’s been uncomfortable, people coming up and saying nice things. I’m uneasy with it. It’s funny. But it is different. It’s a nice different obviously.”

Minnesota (20-7, 8-6 Big Ten) has won five straight heading into a game at Maryland on Wednesday night. The Golden Gophers’ strength of schedule and RPI are both in the top 25 in the country, making them a safe bet to get an invitation to the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2013.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for a team that went 8-23 last year and dealt with several off-the-court incidents involving players during Pitino’s tenure. The coach also came under scrutiny from the university for the way the program used athletic department resources on the recruiting trail, with the school going so far as to chastise him for not filling up the gas tank on his rental car before returning it.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/02/21/richard-pitino-minnesota-gophers-ncaa-tournament/

Go Gophers!!
 

Pitino at his core is so cocky. You know he's got as big an ego as any coach there is.

The level of vindication he must feel is something I can't even fathom.

Good for him. Now keep it going and take it to another level.
 

Doesn't this now just make the U look petty:
". . .with the school going so far as to chastise him for not filling up the gas tank on his rental car before returning it."
Even the way the AP writer wrote it makes their view on it evident. This is the kind of stuff that would drive me away, especially when things turn around.
 

Biggsohnasty said:
Pitino at his core is so cocky. You know he's got as big an ego as any coach there is.

The level of vindication he must feel is something I can't even fathom.

Good for him. Now keep it going and take it to another level.
Click to expand...

All division I head coaches have an ego, but I doubt his is an elite size. Coach K for one can eclipse it many times over, believe me.
 

The way this sports market is and the fan base.. pitino will run the second another reasonable job opens up.. you can tell he hates the pessimism in this city.
 


gopherdiehard said:
The way this sports market is and the fan base.. pitino will run the second another reasonable job opens up.. you can tell he hates the pessimism in this city.
Click to expand...

All the negativity in this town sucks.
 

gopherdiehard said:
The way this sports market is and the fan base.. pitino will run the second another reasonable job opens up.. you can tell he hates the pessimism in this city.
Click to expand...

Stupid comments like this annoy and humor me. Someone that knows nothing about Pitino, has never has a discussion with Pitino presumes they know what he thinks and what motivates him. I'm pretty sure Pitino is intelligent enough realize that fan optimism and pessimism are a part of coaching. In EVERY town.
 

watertown 1987 guy n said:
Stupid comments like this annoy and humor me. Someone that knows nothing about Pitino, has never has a discussion with Pitino presumes they know what he thinks and what motivates him. I'm pretty sure Pitino is intelligent enough realize that fan optimism and pessimism are a part of coaching. In EVERY town.
Click to expand...

I hope Gopherdiehard is like Pitino's wife or something and you just assumed he (she) didn't know him because its an internet forum. That'd be bad because it'd be true in this hypothetical and Pitino would leave but good because you'd be stuck eating crow - not that Gopherdiehard would stick around to tell you about it.

I have too much time on my hands.
 

gopherdiehard said:
The way this sports market is and the fan base.. pitino will run the second another reasonable job opens up.. you can tell he hates the pessimism in this city.
Click to expand...

Call me crazy but I hope he/Gophs are so wildly successful that he runs for another job. When was the last time that happened here? Um, let me run down the list... Clem... Monson... other guy who replaced Monson... Tubby... not to mention other sports like football. If he gets a better job that means we are WINNING.
 



Biggsohnasty said:
I hope Gopherdiehard is like Pitino's wife or something and you just assumed he (she) didn't know him because its an internet forum. That'd be bad because it'd be true in this hypothetical and Pitino would leave but good because you'd be stuck eating crow - not that Gopherdiehard would stick around to tell you about it.

I have too much time on my hands.
Click to expand...

This is EXACTLY what I was thinking.
Before commenting, one should always think through what they are saying and wonder if the person they are responding to might have more personal information that you assume they do.

PJ Fleck's wife is probably on this forum as well, so let's not mess up the football side.
 

Juicer said:
Call me crazy but I hope he/Gophs are so wildly successful that he runs for another job. When was the last time that happened here? Um, let me run down the list... Clem... Monson... other guy who replaced Monson... Tubby... not to mention other sports like football. If he gets a better job that means we are WINNING.
Click to expand...

Do you even pay attention to Gopher Basketball? Those coaches you say were so wildly successful and moved to better jobs ended up as follows:

1. Clem - Fired for tolerating biggest academic scandal in school history. Brought down by Ganglehoff and her leak to the press on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Hasn't coached since.
2. Monson - Fired for not winning. Moved on to California Bakersfield or Santa Barbera. Not exactly a move up.
3. Unidentified Coach who followed Monson - Jim Molinari - interim HEAD Coach who never got the job. The U hired, wait for it.....
4. Tubby - Ran from Kentucky (slightly better than Gophers) to avoid the wrath of Kentucky fans to adoring Minnesota. He was.....wait for it......FIRED! Too many DUIs from his kid. Too many incidents with players like Royce. Not enough recruiting or winning. Ran off to Texas Tech and then to Memphis.

So just which one of these guys was so successful here to move to greener pastures?
 

Otis said:
Do you even pay attention to Gopher Basketball? Those coaches you say were so wildly successful and moved to better jobs ended up as follows:

1. Clem - Fired for tolerating biggest academic scandal in school history. Brought down by Ganglehoff and her leak to the press on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Hasn't coached since.
2. Monson - Fired for not winning. Moved on to California Bakersfield or Santa Barbera. Not exactly a move up.
3. Unidentified Coach who followed Monson - Jim Molinari - interim HEAD Coach who never got the job. The U hired, wait for it.....
4. Tubby - Ran from Kentucky (slightly better than Gophers) to avoid the wrath of Kentucky fans to adoring Minnesota. He was.....wait for it......FIRED! Too many DUIs from his kid. Too many incidents with players like Royce. Not enough recruiting or winning. Ran off to Texas Tech and then to Memphis.

So just which one of these guys was so successful here to move to greener pastures?
Click to expand...

I think you misinterpreted his post. I'm guessing his point was that of all those coaches, none left for a better job. I took his comment of those coaches being "wildly successful" as tongue in cheek.
 

Otis said:
Do you even pay attention to Gopher Basketball? Those coaches you say were so wildly successful and moved to better jobs ended up as follows:

1. Clem - Fired for tolerating biggest academic scandal in school history. Brought down by Ganglehoff and her leak to the press on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Hasn't coached since.
2. Monson - Fired for not winning. Moved on to California Bakersfield or Santa Barbera. Not exactly a move up.
3. Unidentified Coach who followed Monson - Jim Molinari - interim HEAD Coach who never got the job. The U hired, wait for it.....
4. Tubby - Ran from Kentucky (slightly better than Gophers) to avoid the wrath of Kentucky fans to adoring Minnesota. He was.....wait for it......FIRED! Too many DUIs from his kid. Too many incidents with players like Royce. Not enough recruiting or winning. Ran off to Texas Tech and then to Memphis.

So just which one of these guys was so successful here to move to greener pastures?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they were using something in the English language called Sarcasm...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



Otis said:
Do you even pay attention to Gopher Basketball? Those coaches you say were so wildly successful and moved to better jobs ended up as follows:

1. Clem - Fired for tolerating biggest academic scandal in school history. Brought down by Ganglehoff and her leak to the press on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Hasn't coached since.
2. Monson - Fired for not winning. Moved on to California Bakersfield or Santa Barbera. Not exactly a move up.
3. Unidentified Coach who followed Monson - Jim Molinari - interim HEAD Coach who never got the job. The U hired, wait for it.....
4. Tubby - Ran from Kentucky (slightly better than Gophers) to avoid the wrath of Kentucky fans to adoring Minnesota. He was.....wait for it......FIRED! Too many DUIs from his kid. Too many incidents with players like Royce. Not enough recruiting or winning. Ran off to Texas Tech and then to Memphis.

So just which one of these guys was so successful here to move to greener pastures?
Click to expand...

Monson is at Long Beach State. Tubby's son had one DUI, which I suppose you could say is too many, but it's not like it was a recurring problem, and it's not necessarily Tubby's fault anyway. We currently have an assistant who has been in legal trouble, though it was before he got here.

Also I believe the poster you quoted was making the point that no one has left Minnesota because they were successful and had better offers in a long time, and thus it is not worth worrying about. I think both of you are in agreement.
 

Cayman said:
Monson is at Long Beach State. Tubby's son had one DUI, which I suppose you could say is too many, but it's not like it was a recurring problem, and it's not necessarily Tubby's fault anyway. We currently have an assistant who has been in legal trouble, though it was before he got here.

Also I believe the poster you quoted was making the point that no one has left Minnesota because they were successful and had better offers in a long time, and thus it is not worth worrying about. I think both of you are in agreement.
Click to expand...

If that was his point, he could have gone back much further! It's all good.
 

Otis said:
Do you even pay attention to Gopher Basketball? Those coaches you say were so wildly successful and moved to better jobs ended up as follows:

1. Clem - Fired for tolerating biggest academic scandal in school history. Brought down by Ganglehoff and her leak to the press on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Hasn't coached since.
2. Monson - Fired for not winning. Moved on to California Bakersfield or Santa Barbera. Not exactly a move up.
3. Unidentified Coach who followed Monson - Jim Molinari - interim HEAD Coach who never got the job. The U hired, wait for it.....
4. Tubby - Ran from Kentucky (slightly better than Gophers) to avoid the wrath of Kentucky fans to adoring Minnesota. He was.....wait for it......FIRED! Too many DUIs from his kid. Too many incidents with players like Royce. Not enough recruiting or winning. Ran off to Texas Tech and then to Memphis.

So just which one of these guys was so successful here to move to greener pastures?
Click to expand...

I really do like that you place the gophers near the level of Kentucky. We need more optimism around here.
 

gopherdiehard said:
The way this sports market is and the fan base.. pitino will run the second another reasonable job opens up.. you can tell he hates the pessimism in this city.
Click to expand...

Tell us where a coach can go and deal with fans that are reasonable, rational and ok with losing and I'll show you a town with garbage teams. MN fans actually deal with mediocrity better than most.
 

Gopher Teeth said:
Doesn't this now just make the U look petty:
". . .with the school going so far as to chastise him for not filling up the gas tank on his rental car before returning it."
Even the way the AP writer wrote it makes their view on it evident. This is the kind of stuff that would drive me away, especially when things turn around.
Click to expand...

I think it is disgusting!!!! How could he do something like that? Do you have any idea how much the rental car companies charge for gas if you do not fill the tank up? This could bankrupt the University. To me this negates the great season he has had so far and the heck with what already looks like a couple of extremely good recruiting classes coming in over the next couple of years. This scandal dwarfs the extra support that Clem provided for his guys.
 

Biggsohnasty said:
Pitino at his core is so cocky. You know he's got as big an ego as any coach there is.
Click to expand...

That's a ridiculous statement considering the competition. 90% of college head coaches are egomaniacs, I seriously doubt Pitino's ego rivals that of Coach K, Boeheim, Cryin' Roy, etc.
 

Otis said:
Do you even pay attention to Gopher Basketball? Those coaches you say were so wildly successful and moved to better jobs ended up as follows:

1. Clem - Fired for tolerating biggest academic scandal in school history. Brought down by Ganglehoff and her leak to the press on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Hasn't coached since.
2. Monson - Fired for not winning. Moved on to California Bakersfield or Santa Barbera. Not exactly a move up.
3. Unidentified Coach who followed Monson - Jim Molinari - interim HEAD Coach who never got the job. The U hired, wait for it.....
4. Tubby - Ran from Kentucky (slightly better than Gophers) to avoid the wrath of Kentucky fans to adoring Minnesota. He was.....wait for it......FIRED! Too many DUIs from his kid. Too many incidents with players like Royce. Not enough recruiting or winning. Ran off to Texas Tech and then to Memphis.

So just which one of these guys was so successful here to move to greener pastures?
Click to expand...

LOL love the sarcasm. You proved my point exactly in a much more articulate way.
 

Atl Gopher said:
I think it is disgusting!!!! How could he do something like that? Do you have any idea how much the rental car companies charge for gas if you do not fill the tank up? This could bankrupt the University. To me this negates the great season he has had so far and the heck with what already looks like a couple of extremely good recruiting classes coming in over the next couple of years. This scandal dwarfs the extra support that Clem provided for his guys.
Click to expand...

Damn it! You mean dpo won't count this season also?
 

Otis said:
Do you even pay attention to Gopher Basketball? Those coaches you say were so wildly successful and moved to better jobs ended up as follows:

1. Clem - Fired for tolerating biggest academic scandal in school history. Brought down by Ganglehoff and her leak to the press on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Hasn't coached since.
2. Monson - Fired for not winning. Moved on to California Bakersfield or Santa Barbera. Not exactly a move up.
3. Unidentified Coach who followed Monson - Jim Molinari - interim HEAD Coach who never got the job. The U hired, wait for it.....
4. Tubby - Ran from Kentucky (slightly better than Gophers) to avoid the wrath of Kentucky fans to adoring Minnesota. He was.....wait for it......FIRED! Too many DUIs from his kid. Too many incidents with players like Royce. Not enough recruiting or winning. Ran off to Texas Tech and then to Memphis.

So just which one of these guys was so successful here to move to greener pastures?
Click to expand...

Regarding the part in bold, you cannot be serious...

Oops! Nevermind. My sarcasm meter was not working for a moment.
 


gopherdiehard said:
The way this sports market is and the fan base.. pitino will run the second another reasonable job opens up.. you can tell he hates the pessimism in this city.
Click to expand...


Yeah, he may run off to Indiana when they fire Crean, because we all know how much more patient and supportive IU fans are.

And since some here need it labeled, I AM BEING SARCASTIC.
 

Atl Gopher said:
I think it is disgusting!!!! How could he do something like that? Do you have any idea how much the rental car companies charge for gas if you do not fill the tank up? This could bankrupt the University. To me this negates the great season he has had so far and the heck with what already looks like a couple of extremely good recruiting classes coming in over the next couple of years. This scandal dwarfs the extra support that Clem provided for his guys.
Click to expand...

I have a friend who legitimately thinks he should be fired for this. But he's also one of those "everybody who watches college basketball is stupid because the NBA is a superior product and college teams just pass the ball around the key until one of them jacks up a shot after 35 seconds" people. So nobody listens to him.
 

MissouriGopher said:
I have a friend who legitimately thinks he should be fired for this. But he's also one of those "everybody who watches college basketball is stupid because the NBA is a superior product and college teams just pass the ball around the key until one of them jacks up a shot after 35 seconds" people. So nobody listens to him.
Click to expand...

Maybe your friend will be much more interested in the NCAA game as the shot clock has been 30 seconds for 2 years now.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom