BleedGopher
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per Marcus and Louisville Courier Journal:
Here’s what Rick Pitino said about the Gophers at an NCAA tournament press conference March 21 (per Louisville Courier Journal):
“Well, he pretty much had the same record close to as he did the first year. I gave him a lecture, which he doesn’t always agree with me, I said, ‘Richard, I don’t know why you haven’t had for two years an all-conference player, first, second or third team in the Big Ten. So I’m not sure why you’re putting so much pressure on yourself thinking you should be in the tournament. I said, ‘We had two all-ACC second team players this year. You don’t have one on the third team. So why aren’t you like the rest of us in this world that have to build the right way by recruiting guys who can make All-Big Ten.’”
“‘So, if you went to Minnesota, thinking this is a quick turn around; the school probably has only been in nine (actually 12) NCAA tournaments if they got released of a few, in the history of the school.’ So that’s what I tried to do, build him up a little bit but to get him to understand that it really is — you’re only as good as your players and if you don’t have a first, second or third team All-Big Ten, you’re probably not going to compete. Same thing in the Big East, same thing in the SEC. There are some teams that can surprise you and have teams get great runs, win close games. When I was at Providence I’ll never forget this as long as I live, I lost six, six games within two seconds. My first year. And I said to the guys back then, because I was a day dreamer, ‘you just wait until next year, we’re going to win all these close games.’ And the following year, we won seven with one second to go on the clock. So, it does turn.
But we started getting all Big East players, Billy the kid became a first team All-Big East player. And you know we lost one game where Walter the ball was thrown to Walter Berry, we had a foul to give and he dropped the ball as we went to foul him and as he picked it up he just threw it from about 15 feet above the top of the key and they called the foul on the shot. And that’s okay, I said, no problem, he’s a 58, 59 percent free throw shooter. He makes them both and we lose in overtime. So, you remember all those tough losses, but then the following year it comes back.
Once you get better players, you win those games. So, there are a lot of teams and I talked with the Louisville media today and I said to them, you watch, everybody’s second guessing UCLA, they’re going to go to the Sweet 16. And sure enough, it happens every year, the one team that everybody picks out doesn’t belong, goes to the Sweet 16. So that’s what makes this thing so great. It’s you really can’t — with the exception of a Kentucky or a Wisconsin this year or maybe even a Duke, very, very tough to say who is going to advance. You don’t know. That’s what makes it so much fun.”
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...with-louisville-before-win-to-reach-sweet-16/
Go Gophers!!
Here’s what Rick Pitino said about the Gophers at an NCAA tournament press conference March 21 (per Louisville Courier Journal):
“Well, he pretty much had the same record close to as he did the first year. I gave him a lecture, which he doesn’t always agree with me, I said, ‘Richard, I don’t know why you haven’t had for two years an all-conference player, first, second or third team in the Big Ten. So I’m not sure why you’re putting so much pressure on yourself thinking you should be in the tournament. I said, ‘We had two all-ACC second team players this year. You don’t have one on the third team. So why aren’t you like the rest of us in this world that have to build the right way by recruiting guys who can make All-Big Ten.’”
“‘So, if you went to Minnesota, thinking this is a quick turn around; the school probably has only been in nine (actually 12) NCAA tournaments if they got released of a few, in the history of the school.’ So that’s what I tried to do, build him up a little bit but to get him to understand that it really is — you’re only as good as your players and if you don’t have a first, second or third team All-Big Ten, you’re probably not going to compete. Same thing in the Big East, same thing in the SEC. There are some teams that can surprise you and have teams get great runs, win close games. When I was at Providence I’ll never forget this as long as I live, I lost six, six games within two seconds. My first year. And I said to the guys back then, because I was a day dreamer, ‘you just wait until next year, we’re going to win all these close games.’ And the following year, we won seven with one second to go on the clock. So, it does turn.
But we started getting all Big East players, Billy the kid became a first team All-Big East player. And you know we lost one game where Walter the ball was thrown to Walter Berry, we had a foul to give and he dropped the ball as we went to foul him and as he picked it up he just threw it from about 15 feet above the top of the key and they called the foul on the shot. And that’s okay, I said, no problem, he’s a 58, 59 percent free throw shooter. He makes them both and we lose in overtime. So, you remember all those tough losses, but then the following year it comes back.
Once you get better players, you win those games. So, there are a lot of teams and I talked with the Louisville media today and I said to them, you watch, everybody’s second guessing UCLA, they’re going to go to the Sweet 16. And sure enough, it happens every year, the one team that everybody picks out doesn’t belong, goes to the Sweet 16. So that’s what makes this thing so great. It’s you really can’t — with the exception of a Kentucky or a Wisconsin this year or maybe even a Duke, very, very tough to say who is going to advance. You don’t know. That’s what makes it so much fun.”
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...with-louisville-before-win-to-reach-sweet-16/
Go Gophers!!
