Pitino Press Conference - So many great tidbits, and a response to Tim Miles.

It's hard to pick one or 2 great quotes when Pitino speaks. He's so sarcastic, and honest. Here are my life notes, and the video to Tim Miles:

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• We've had 17 or 18 practices, our team is bigger and longer. What we are missing, is we lost some valuable leadership in the seniors, and now the new guys need to figure out how to get to that. Practices have been very good and competitive. Top to bottom, I think everyone will contribute.
• I'll take losing leadership over talent. You underestimate it until you don't have it.
• On Deandre - you don't want to reign him in, but I also don’t want him to turn the ball over. He's small, he knows that. Don't goes try to dunk on Ojo from Florida State like he did last year. I don't want him looking over at the bench scared to make decisions. Trying not to make the same mistake twice.
• From the newcomers we need leadership. We have really strong leadership at the top. Just the intangible part of it. We've got very good leadership from the older guys. I'm not expecting Nate Mason to be a leader right now.
• The young guys will be more fun for you guys (the media), Josh will be entertaining. Bakary always tries to prove he can speak English so he speaks for like 5 paragraphs. Morris…he doesn't have any personality (joking).
• Don't start opening your mouth in practice because you haven't earned the right.
• On Defense - I think when you try to figure out starters and I'm thinking starters….Squirrel and Daquein are very similar. When you sub a Joey King for a Josh Martin, Josh brings athletics, he doesn’t bring all that Joey does, but can do other things. Bakary is a guy I'm excited about, athletically, he can bring some things to the table.
• McNeil on most improved - well I don't know who else it would be. Mo and Elliott drastically improved already. So if you have to pick one, it's him. One of the reasons I did it was to send a message to give him some confidence.
• I don't know who I'm going to start, you guys love starting line-ups.
• We've got 5 newcomers, and 4 guys that will play. IT's nice now, for the returners to know what I'm talking about, so I don't need to explain that to them. IT's just easier.
• .Drastically different on the 2nd year, from everything that I do. I know all of you guys. I know the type of town of the questions you ask, Marcus saves his q's for last. For me as a coach, knowing the players that I have, Andre can go at MSU and perform, etc. We know what we need in recruiting.
• Carlos needed to come in May, he was so thin, he put on 15 pounds of muscle.
• On D - what I've seen more than anything, is our role guys, and the newcomers, Nate Mason could be one of the best defenders on the team, Morris too. Bakary is a great shot blockers. The energy that they bring is great.
• Louisville game gets people talking about MN, and that's your brand. That's good for us. It's all about recruiting.
• I don't live in the house. Everyone thinks I live here, and fly to Louisville, have a turkey dinner and fly back here.
• All of the guys can play different positions other than Elliott, Mo and DeAndre
• Konate is way further along than I expected.
• At the scrimmage, Nate Mason stood out the most to me. Things change when there are people around.
• What he's learned - you've got to win at home, I think we lost 3 home games last year. You really need to take advantage of that.
• Nate's the guy, right away, that's the ready the most. Guards are ready to go right away faster than bigs.
• Mo and Elliott are not fast. Elliott is fast running up and down the court, but it's not a track meet. Barkary is fast.

Was Buggs there? Coach never mentions him, it seems.

Thank GL. By the way, your life notes are heavily basketball-oriented..........

LOVE the comment about Bakary trying to prove he knows English by talking for 5 paragraphs. Definitely got a good chuckle out of that one

I Miss D.J. said:

Was Buggs there? Coach never mentions him, it seems.

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He was there, he was a great photobomber. (attached photo)

GopherJake said:

Thank GL. By the way, your life notes are heavily basketball-oriented..........

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What can I say, it's my 1st love?

Twinsfan007 said:

LOVE the comment about Bakary trying to prove he knows English by talking for 5 paragraphs. Definitely got a good chuckle out of that one

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So funny!

I am trying to temper my expectations for this season, but it's becoming more and more difficult. If some combination of Konate/Morris/Mason are really ready to contribute to a Big Team as freshman and McNeil is really improved...what is the ceiling for this team? That's a better team than last years group that went 8-10 with Andre Hollins missing games and being far less than 100% in others. At the top of the conference only Wisconsin and (maybe) Ohio State can claim to be as good or better on paper as they were last year. Illinois should also be on the rise, but there seems to be a great opportunity for both the Gophers and Illini to push out a perennial contender or two from the top of the conference standings.

I counter this argument with the fact that we are still starting Joey King at PF and have only five guards/wings (two of whom have yet to play a minute of D-1 basketball).

Coach Pitino seems pretty confident that he's got a better group than last year. It's kind of hard not to get excited about that.

EG#9 said:

I am trying to temper my expectations for this season, but it's becoming more and more difficult. If some combination of Konate/Morris/Mason are really ready to contribute to a Big Team as freshman and McNeil is really improved...what is the ceiling for this team? That's a better team than last years group that went 8-10 with Andre Hollins missing games and being far less than 100% in others. At the top of the conference only Wisconsin and (maybe) Ohio State can claim to be as good or better on paper as they were last year. Illinois should also be on the rise, but there seems to be a great opportunity for both the Gophers and Illini to push out a perennial contender or two from the top of the conference standings.

I counter this argument with the fact that we are still starting Joey King at PF and have only five guards/wings (two of whom have yet to play a minute of D-1 basketball).

Coach Pitino seems pretty confident that he's got a better group than last year. It's kind of hard not to get excited about that.

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I'm right there with you my man. I'm so goddamn antsy in my pantsy(super troopers reference) to see this team live.
Is Hollins really back to his Sophomore form? Will Mo take the next step and be downright unstoppable in the post consistently.
Will EE buy in and understand he's out there to wreak havoc and protect the rim and snag rebounds playing at 100% for his 4 minute stretches.
Can Carlos Morris and McNeil fill in the hole left by Austin?
Will the Andre, DeAndre and Nate and a sprinkle of McNeil rotation be enough to get us through the year at the 1 and 2?
Can we stay healthy!??!?
Will announcers figure out a way to continue the tradition of screwing up Austin and Andre Hollins' names and relation?

I think Joey King will be fine at the 4. Another year plus some added weight hes going to be a more serviceable player on the defensive end and rebounding. Offensively he is going to be all we need, a screen setter, a 3 point threat and if he gets a mismatch he can score in the post. Remember last year he was just a sophomore. And not like a normal sophomore who played in the Big10 the year prior, this was his first taste of Big10 ball. He's a hard working kid and will be more than adequate at the 4. Toss in Bakary and Josh in instances where we need more defense or rebounding and it'll all work out.

Goddamnit I'm so excited!

Hope we'll be good but I'm not all that amped yet. McNeal brought almost no offense to the table last year and Morris is an unknown. Offensively we have no idea what we're going to get from our backcourt other than the Dres.

oleboy41 said:

Hope we'll be good but I'm not all that amped yet. McNeal brought almost no offense to the table last year and Morris is an unknown. Offensively we have no idea what we're going to get from our backcourt other than the Dres.

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We have some unknowns and some veterans we are expecting to take steps (Primarily Mo, EE, Mcneil)

I'm excited about our unknowns though,

I have always thought Nate will be big-time, he just seems like a gamer to me. (even before the scrimmage)

Bakary was gonna sign with Louisville at one point, that alone makes me feel confident in him as a high caliber player.

Martin can jump out the gym and claims to have been a better dunker than Zach Lavine in high school.

I'm trying not to be amped, I'm trying to be realistic also.
but like guys have previously stated it's hard not to be a little excited.

The reality of the situation is the Big 10 is a very tough place to play and it usually takes a few years for coaches to really implement their style and culture, so even though I'm excited for the season and our recruits I'm even more excited to see how the next few years play out.

If we make the tourney this year and play tough in it, I'd consider this a successful season.

Jigga said:

We have some unknowns and some veterans we are expecting to take steps (Primarily Mo, EE, Mcneil)

I'm excited about our unknowns though,

I have always thought Nate will be big-time, he just seems like a gamer to me. (even before the scrimmage)

Bakary was gonna sign with Louisville at one point, that alone makes me feel confident in him as a high caliber player.

Martin can jump out the gym and claims to have been a better dunker than Zach Lavine in high school.

I'm trying not to be amped, I'm trying to be realistic also.
but like guys have previously stated it's hard not to be a little excited.

The reality of the situation is the Big 10 is a very tough place to play and it usually takes a few years for coaches to really implement their style and culture, so even though I'm excited for the season and our recruits I'm even more excited to see how the next few years play out.

If we make the tourney this year and play tough in it, I'd consider this a successful season.

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I think that was more of a tongue in cheek comment.

I remember watching the highlights on the new guys and like others have said there is something about Mason that really stands out, he seems so cool on the ball and in control, he has just an air about him that special guards seem to have.

I have a feeling he is the gem of an underrated class, time will tell. (I think a lot of us Gopher fans are excited about the class, but I think nationally it has largely gone unnoticed)

As always thanks for the notes GL, looking forward to what, at the very least, should be an exciting team to watch on the court.

gopherskynet said:

I remember watching the highlights on the new guys and like others have said there is something about Mason that really stands out, he seems so cool on the ball and in control, he has just an air about him that special guards seem to have.

I have a feeling he is the gem of an underrated class, time will tell. (I think a lot of us Gopher fans are excited about the class, but I think nationally it has largely gone unnoticed)

As always thanks for the notes GL, looking forward to what, at the very least, should be an exciting team to watch on the court.

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Ultimately the question with Mason is the same question with any guard prospect: can he consistently dagger you with outside shots? He has a nice looking shot, but by all accounts it's been inconsistent in high school. Beyond that, he's got very deceptive speed with long strides and looks like he can finish at the hoop. Glad to hear the coach say he can D it up.

The Louisville game will be an interesting early barometer of Gopher's depth against a high quality opponent. I too can't wait.