Still have faith in Pitino?

why do I visit this site?

That's a rhetorical question, the answer is obviously to have some constructive conversation about Gopher Basketball with other Gopher fans. But there is nothing constructive with some of you. I wish we could just make threads that banned certain individuals from contributing, would make post game day's so much less frustrating.

The gross overreaction and irrational reasoning is at an all time high right now.

Anyone interested in having a level headed conversation about the gophs? PM me.
 

Playing time, system and the opportunity to come in with a good recruiting class. I am watching this game on tape right now- these guys are getting great opportunities to score- I just watch Mathieu twice, Hollins once, Walker once all miss easy opportunities in succession. Pitino will win here.

Moneyshot right there

If you cannot see that Pitino's system is solid, you're a terrible eye for basketball. We've lost like 4 games with absolutely stellar looks at winning the games and the guys failed. Some are going to scream that that is on the coach, which maybe it is to some extent. But I would put that on the coach that has been coaching the same guys for 4+ years and they were still making those mistakes, not the new guy taking over a bunch of kids he didn't recruit or that he settled for.

Sit back, enjoy the fact that we've got a young coach learning, and enjoy the ride. I still firmly believe this guy is going to get it done because I see the x's and o's and I feel the generation of kids he is recruiting he can speak to and get with.
 

why do I visit this site?

That's a rhetorical question, the answer is obviously to have some constructive conversation about Gopher Basketball with other Gopher fans. But there is nothing constructive with some of you. I wish we could just make threads that banned certain individuals from contributing, would make post game day's so much less frustrating.

The gross overreaction and irrational reasoning is at an all time high right now.

Anyone interested in having a level headed conversation about the gophs? PM me.

If you read this thread, it's one person way over-reacting and the rest having a good discussion. No reason to lump the irrationality of one, people love to do that. It's exactly what the local radio talking heads will do today. They'll find a single person taking a stand and then use that as the talking point for the fan base for the day, only to have the 99% then call in and argue the opposite.

Go Gophers!!
 

And they weren't THAT good if you think back to when we had NBA talent

They have no margin for error Tiny. If you want to think back on what talent looks like- think of Mbakwe and Williams. The great play that Morris made under the bucket blocking Shields- that's one of the few times I've seen an athletic and tough play like that all year. Williams and Mbakwe made three four plays like that every game.

We have no players. In my group, we were talking how Pitino should get votes for coach of the year. Yes, we have lost 5 of 6 or whatever it is. But by 5 points or less. I have been saying it all along...we have no players. Is that Pitino's fault? In part it is, but we have not been good for quite awhile. Tubby was never over 500. Monson had the aftermath. We are not a normal situation in the frozen north without facilities.

If you think a coach can shoot the free throws for these guys you are misinformed. All we have to do is make free throws and we have a winning record.
All we have to do is stop making unforced errors with the ball and combined with free throws we'd maybe be ranked. With nothing but smoke and mirrors.
Who can you count on in the last four minutes of a game for anything...night in, night out? Who? Each of them has moments, yes, but that's it. And two games in a row of effective play is a celebration and then it's who is this guy?, individually.

Do we often score OR get a good shot out of timeouts. Are we 2nd in the country in steals ? With several guys who can't play defense. Pitino does sooo
many things to even give us a chance to be in games. We should get blown out, night after night, but we don't. Pitino can coach!!!

Could he do some things better? Absolutely! But sometimes when you are so worried about being totally exposed and blown out you make more conservative decisions. I agree the two new big guys are projects. I agree Josh Martin literally wet his pants on the court and went home. I agree
Lofton was probably a mistake. But we don't know what the alternatives were. We missed on JP and Reid. If we had them we have a very different season. I am worried about the personnel and evaluation skills of talent. But Pitino can coach!

Remember Mathieu was cut from his first college team, went to JC and was unrecruited after his second college season. And Mathieu was superman, MVP last year. That's coaching. Unfortunately, he fell off the wall and so far nobody can put him back together again but to say he regressed is unfair. Mo was
sitting on the bench hiding hot dogs during games and Pitino made him into our leading scorer. We have gotten about 200,000 miles more out of Mo than
anybody ever thought possible. EE had a 10 game stretch last year midseason that he'll never duplicate. Joey King is better. He is just limited to begin with but likable and hard working with flaws. Buggs plays like he lost his car keys and he's afraid they are going to wash down the sewer if he doesn't find them RIGHT now. He never looks relaxed, confident and comfortable. His head is swimming. Those guys are all flea market finds. Hollins is a nice player.
He is just not consistent and can't play in the last four minutes.

Morris and Mason have potential! Pitino recruited them. I think it's going to get better. The seniors move on and now it's Pitino's team. We have athletic reinforcements coming. Let's wait until then to see what happens. We need a lot of things but a shut down defender would be a nice piece to have
along with a pure shooter. And__ and___

It's no fun to watch! It'll make the winning more fun.
 

If you read this thread, it's one person way over-reacting and the rest having a good discussion. No reason to lump the irrationality of one, people love to do that. It's exactly what the local radio talking heads will do today. They'll find a single person taking a stand and then use that as the talking point for the fan base for the day, only to have the 99% then call in and argue the opposite.

Go Gophers!!

You're right, and wrong. It's more than one guy and it's more than one thread and it's more than one game. But you're right that my response was formed after I read a couple people on the first page.

So I'm guilty of my own critique that I overreacted.

F-u Bleed, you pillar of perfection;)
 


Pitino needs more time to get the players he needs to run his system. Have some good recruits coming in next year. We've lost 6 games by 5 or less points. Could easily be 6-1 and the idiot who started this thread would have directed his anger elsewhere. Calm down.
 

You're right, and wrong. It's more than one guy and it's more than one thread and it's more than one game. But you're right that my response was formed after I read a couple people on the first page.

I get frustrated watching certain players on this squad but I'm not worried about PITINO at all. I'm going to get ripped for this but I have more faith in PITINO than I do in Kill.
 

You're right, and wrong. It's more than one guy and it's more than one thread and it's more than one game. But you're right that my response was formed after I read a couple people on the first page.

So I'm guilty of my own critique that I overreacted.

F-u Bleed, you pillar of perfection;)

Ha! Hardly. We're all frustrated, no doubt.

It's OK to question Pitino as this is a results based business and he'll be the first to say that. Right now we're 1-6 in Big Ten play regardless of how we got here. If he was asked if he thought we'd be at this point before the Big Ten season started, I have to think he would not think we would be. Therefore, the next step is to ask why? Ideally it would be done rationally, but sports are emotional when you are invested in the team. It can absolutely be done with more tact than the OP took, but clearly all is not golden in Dinkytown right now.

I have a lot of confidence that Pitino will be a very successful head coach. I hope its here, and I hope we're not the school that he looks back on in his career as the one where he "learned a lot." I want and expect us to be the school that he "accomplished a lot" at.

Bring on the Illini!

Go Gophers!!
 

I have a lot of confidence that Pitino will be a very successful head coach.

this is where I'm at too. Didn't think we were getting a fully baked coach. he would need time to develop his craft
 




Ha! Hardly. We're all frustrated, no doubt.

It's OK to question Pitino as this is a results based business and he'll be the first to say that. Right now we're 1-6 in Big Ten play regardless of how we got here. If he was asked if he thought we'd be at this point before the Big Ten season started, I have to think he would not think we would be. Therefore, the next step is to ask why? Ideally it would be done rationally, but sports are emotional when you are invested in the team. It can absolutely be done with more tact than the OP took, but clearly all is not golden in Dinkytown right now.

I have a lot of confidence that Pitino will be a very successful head coach. I hope its here, and I hope we're not the school that he looks back on in his career as the one where he "learned a lot." I want and expect us to be the school that he "accomplished a lot" at.

Bring on the Illini!

Go Gophers!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in the camp of Pitino is beyond reproach and it's none of his fault. He has obviously hit the wrong button with some players, and made some recruiting missteps. I'm all for critiquing those mistakes, but some of the sh1t being thrown out as evidence that Pitino's style doesn't work in the B1G 10 or he's too young or whatever the absurd knock on him is today, or that Andre Hollins should be benched, and Pitino should have a short leash with these guys and teach them a lesson. Those are the ones that just get me at my core because they are soooo blatantly wrong it's difficult to read after watching a game like that.
 

The Big Ten is not the place for on the job training.

We should have hired one of those fully baked coaches that was lining up to coach at our institution then....

Damnit, made a big mistake.

Was a calculated risk, everyone knows that.
 

We should have hired one of those fully baked coaches that was lining up to coach at our institution then....

Damnit, made a big mistake.

Was a calculated risk, everyone knows that.

So your assertion is that there were no veteran coaches willing to coach at the University of Minnesota?
 



So your assertion is that there were no veteran coaches willing to coach at the University of Minnesota?

I have no clue. I cannot prove either way.

I would assume not one that would have excited the fan base like the name and potential of a young/promising Pitino. I would hope everyone saw his inexperience and assumed we were getting more of a project coach than one that was ready to take on the likes of Izzo, Thad and Bo toe to toe.
 

I have no clue. I cannot prove either way.

Ergo, your previous snarky "fully baked coaches lining up to coach at our institution" comment was based on nothing, aside from your ego. I'm glad to see it confirmed.

I would assume not one that would have excited the fan base like the name and potential of a young/promising Pitino.

Do you want to be excited, or do you want to win basketball games?

I would hope everyone saw his inexperience and assumed we were getting more of a project coach than one that was ready to take on the likes of Izzo, Thad and Bo toe to toe.

So people expected that we would just get our asses handed to us by veteran coaches on the regular? That's a sad commentary on the state of the Gopher fan base if true. Fortunately for me, I believe the Gopher fan base in general doesn't have such a defeatist attitude.
 

John Wooden could not win with this group. Undersized guards, no slashing attackers; big men who play below the rim.

Recruiting will be the key.

Weird, because Richard Pitino won with this group last year. The 'we don't have the players' excuse is tiresome. I'll give you the 'we don't have the players for Pitino's system" excuse, but we do have players that can win. The same players won more last year. There is not one person that thought this team wouldn't at least be a fringe NCAA tournament team, with most thinking we would make it.

I also don't buy the Austin Hollins left a huge void argument either, because at this point last year, everyone couldn't wait for him to graduate. Mason/Morris have more than made up the difference offensively.

Good coaches coach to their players strengths. I thought Pitino did a good job with this last year. This year he is trying to instill his entire system, when the current players are still a better fit in a Tubby/Pitino hybrid system, similar to last year.

I'm not saying Pitino is a bad coach or will be a bad coach, but I do think some of this year's blame can be placed on him. The only thing I'm really worried about is his poor recruiting of big men - so far, and some of this is likely out of his control. He has to find at least one more that can play next year, otherwise it will be another long season.
 

Look at the difference between the men & women.

When the men need a clutch basket, no one steps up. 1-5 (0-5 in conference) in games decided by less than 2 scores

When the women need one; Wagner, Zahui & Kelley have all stepped up and made plays. 7-1 (3-1 in conference) in games decided by less than 2 scores.
 

Moneyshot right there

If you cannot see that Pitino's system is solid, you're a terrible eye for basketball. We've lost like 4 games with absolutely stellar looks at winning the games and the guys failed. Some are going to scream that that is on the coach, which maybe it is to some extent. But I would put that on the coach that has been coaching the same guys for 4+ years and they were still making those mistakes, not the new guy taking over a bunch of kids he didn't recruit or that he settled for.

Sit back, enjoy the fact that we've got a young coach learning, and enjoy the ride. I still firmly believe this guy is going to get it done because I see the x's and o's and I feel the generation of kids he is recruiting he can speak to and get with.

Nailed it. He has players, i.e. Mo Walker, that he never would have recruited for his team. The system is fine, getting players to play within the system is the story. He needs time and obviously some good recruiting classes. EVERY college coaches recruit for their system. Bo Ryan, as much as I hate the ass nozzle, doesn't even send out flyers on guys he don't think will fit.

Give coach 5 years to turn it around. If we are still in this quagmire then...it will be time to look elsewhere.

As much as these losses hurt for us fans...how much do you think it hurts the team? None of them want to lose! Lets give them the support then deserve, win or lose.

Ski-U-Mah
 

The Big Ten is not the place for on the job training.

but that is the decision NT made by going with a 31 year old with one year head coaching experience at a small school

as to the thread, I'm still behind Coach. I hope he learns faster.
 

The Big Ten is not the place for on the job training.

I hate to disagree but the "U" isn't Michigan State or Indiana. This is a great place for a young talented head coach to cut his chops. These guys aren't that far from being 5-2 or 4-3 and really the game plan keeps them close. If they can clean it up just a little and hit their stride they will put some victories together. It will get better. And having a young coach build his system here might be the only way to get the Gophers to the top tier and stay there a long time.
 

We should have hired one of those fully baked coaches that was lining up to coach at our institution .

Would you have considered Flip a fully baked coach? Cause he would have been the coach if they had allowed him to hire his boy as an assistant. (Is that really true? He can coach in the NBA but not for the Gophers?) Well, that's what I remember.

I think Flip would have energized the fan base more than Pitino. And the pregame warmups would have been better than some of the games! (He should get the Wolves to do that stuff!)
 

I still have a lot of faith in Pitino. I personally can't wait for next year. I think we'll be much better than this year's squad. We'll have a ton of guards to press and run. Our big guys will still be raw, but they'll also be able to run and block shots. We will no longer have players that don't fit Pitino's system (other than maybe King).
 

I don't think the small ball guards matter for this system. They will be fine. But we do need some wing players in the Joe Coleman or bigger frame set.
 

I don't think the small ball guards matter for this system. They will be fine. But we do need some wing players in the Joe Coleman or bigger frame set.

Agreed, I think we'll be alright going forward though. Next year we'll have 6'5 Carlos Morris, 6'4+ Dupree McBrayer, and 6'8 Charles Buggs available to log minutes at the 3. The following year we'll be adding Hurt and maybe even Coffey.
 

Anyone Else Tired of The Whiny Impatient "All Coaches Fault" Fan

We are all disappointed that the team doesn't have a better record and our own lofty preseason hopes of a Sweet 16 run were unrealistic. But come on, the nut-bags that want to throw in the towel on a coach that has been on the job for 1.5 recruiting seasons is pure lunacy. I wonder sometimes if some of these jokers on this board have never played basketball or may be another goof sports writers that get off on controversy and are trying to sell papers.

Here is how I see it: team has very good offensive movement, open court defensive pressure is outstanding, we don't have anyone that is a solid day-in day-out 8 rebound a game guy, no one that has a post defensive presence, and no "great" athlete that can hit the key shot consistently. "Some of these things are out of the control of a coach with limited recruiting time". If MN had won at Nebraska last night we would be raving about the defensive presure and forced turnovers and how the players did a pretty good job of slowing Petteway down and how we escaped with a win with another game of ridiculously bad free throw shooting. The team actually looked pretty good last night, again, played with good energy and was competitive but lost. The Patino offense works, our players are getting good looks at the basket, just didn't make em. We need better athletes.

There have been several of these games where MN is in it right up to the end of the game but for a handful of reason managed to not get it done. The NIT run last year we competed and got lucky in some games against inferior talent (to state the obvious, none of the NIT teams last year were consider top 64 teams). Like others have pointed out, this team has very little margin for error with the current talent - I agree. Last night, it was bad shooting, sometimes its turnovers, etc. While Coach P has made a few mistakes, what coach doesn't ? This team, the coaches, the recruits are moving in the right direction - I see the building blocks being laid for improvement - that's what I am focused on. It was great to see some of young big men get some minutes last night.
 

I am worried. He is clearly not getting improvement out of almost anyone. That said, this is a very incomplete batch of players. It is very hard when you have a significant number of players who have nowhere near the basketball IQ to play at this level:

Konate, Diedhue, and Buggs are completely out of their depth. Morris and sadly Eliason and Matthieu also seem unable to process the game a fair portion of the time. Walker is only a factor on O.

This leaves what? King, Mason and Hollins as the only "complete" Big players on the roster. Unfortunately of those three, King is not athletic enough, Mason is a freshman and Hollins is perhaps
injured.

Next year will be very interesting. They need two of Konate, Buggs, Diedhue and Morris to become strong Big players to be any kind of a factor.

Talent wise this seems to be the worst team since the late Monson years. Limer Wilson and Zach Puchtel would both get minutes for this team.
 

Typical do as I say not as I do from you.

Ergo, your previous snarky "fully baked coaches lining up to coach at our institution" comment was based on nothing, aside from your ego. I'm glad to see it confirmed.
While I'll agree that my comment was snarky, I don't think it's far from the truth. This wasn't going to be a highly desired job. Sure it was B1G 10, but it was one without facilities and a roster that wasn't looking too hot. We are also in an era where coaches are turning down power conferences left and right. While my comment likely included too much hyperbole, the fact remains, we wern't going to sign a high profile coach that brought recognition to the program, and we likely were not getting a successful proven midmajor. Like I admitted before, I cannot prove any of that, but I do recall the process being lengthy with a lot of conjecture that we struck out a few times.


Do you want to be excited, or do you want to win basketball games?
That's about as pointless and as stupid of a question as you've asked in a while. Whats the purpose here? Are they mutually exclusive? Did the program need some excitement?
So people expected that we would just get our asses handed to us by veteran coaches on the regular? That's a sad commentary on the state of the Gopher fan base if true. Fortunately for me, I believe the Gopher fan base in general doesn't have such a defeatist attitude.
Again, do as I say not as I do. Who said we should expect to get our asses handed to us by veteran coaches? And have we? And I certainly do not have a defeatist attitude nor do I think the fan base possesses one either.
 


Typical do as I say not as I do from you.

I don't even know what that means.

While I'll agree that my comment was snarky, I don't think it's far from the truth. This wasn't going to be a highly desired job. Sure it was B1G 10, but it was one without facilities and a roster that wasn't looking too hot. We are also in an era where coaches are turning down power conferences left and right. While my comment likely included too much hyperbole, the fact remains, we wern't going to sign a high profile coach that brought recognition to the program, and we likely were not getting a successful proven midmajor. Like I admitted before, I cannot prove any of that, but I do recall the process being lengthy with a lot of conjecture that we struck out a few times.

Key word in this rambling diatribe. The rest was word salad. That horrible roster managed to win an NCAA Tournament game, btw, and was the only Minnesota roster in over a generation to do so.

That's about as pointless and as stupid of a question as you've asked in a while. Whats the purpose here? Are they mutually exclusive?

Your post said nothing about winning. You said the point was to excite the fan base. I'll respond to what you write. If you want a different response, write better.

Did the program need some excitement?

Excitement can come with or without winning. I'd prefer that it come with winning, but perhaps that's just me. Exciting the fan base is about priority #1,356 for me, well down the list after #1, which is, of course, winning games. Excitement will go away very quickly without winning.

Again, do as I say not as I do.

Still not sure what this means.

Who said we should expect to get our asses handed to us by veteran coaches?

You did. And I quote: "we were getting more of a project coach than one that was ready to take on the likes of Izzo, Thad and Bo toe to toe". That is to say, can't take them on equal footing, i.e., getting our asses handed to us.

And have we?

Is 2-4 (with no road wins) acceptable to you? How else would you define a .333 winning percentage aside from getting our asses handed to us?
 

The overreaction on this board is beyond ridiculous. The record could easily be 6-1 had this team knocked down a few freebies and took care of the ball for short stretches, none of which falls solely on the coach. Granted this is a bottom-line wins and losses business, but sometimes you have to look at the game within the game. The adjustments are being made, kids just aren't executing at most important times Give the guy some credit. DeAngelo Russell was completely shut down in the second half against OSU, Terron Pettaway was pretty much held in check for the entire game. We are second in the nation in steals despite having personnel that isn't necessarily a fit for Pitino's system. The guy can coach but like every up and comer in any industry is going through some growing pains. Remember Coach K's first 3 seasons at Duke were 17-13, 10-17, 11-17 respectively. He was given time to recruit players that fit his system and the rest was history. I'm sure Norwood Teague has much more perspective than the average fan, for which I am thankful. The focus now should be on allowing some of the young guys to improve between now and season's end. In the words of a certain Green Bay QB, RELAX!
 




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