Eliason says there was a “lack of communication” between he and Pitino

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Shama:

Former Gophers center Elliott Eliason is working with Teddy Archer, the local agent who also represents Austin Hollins and Maverick Ahanmisi. Eliason is hoping to secure a contract in the near future from a European team. Hollins played this past season in France while Ahanmisi was in the Philippines. Both were teammates of Eliason but one year ahead of him at Minnesota.

Eliason started 35 games for the Gophers as a junior in 2013-2014 but played fewer minutes last season than he did as a sophomore. His playing time dropped to minimal minutes in the last several games and he told Sports Headliners there was a “lack of communication” between him and coach Richard Pitino. In retrospect both he and the coach could have done more to understand each other, Eliason said.

Eliason will graduate from the University of Minnesota with a marketing degree this spring. Eventually he hopes to play in the NBA. During his junior season he finished third among Big Ten players in blocked shots and his 6.6 rebounds per game was sixth best in the league.

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 


This normally means the listener did not like the message. In his case, "you don't score, you don't play". He refused to take responsibility for playing on the offensive end of the floor for whatever reason. With our scorers being challenged, and at least one of the freshmen needing minutes to develop, that meant Mo got the minutes, and Bakary got the rest.
Too bad, good kid and he could have been a better player if he was willing to play the whole game.
 

Hunch this thread isn't going to end well for Elliott. Am sure there's blame to be had on both sides.

Wish him nothing but the best. He's been a positive representative of the U and gave the Gopher program 5 years of his blood, sweat, and tears. That means something.
 

EE never really showed a strong desire to work on his game. He didn't improve at all from his freshman year. He never added the muscle necessary to hold his own in the post. He never learned how to dunk, which is ridiculous for a 3-4 star 7 foot recruit. He never developed a single post move. He never improved his jumper. He was essentially 5 fouls and an average rebounder and shot blocker for his size.
 


I was always back and forth on the Goose. On the one hand, I love the kind of guy who is able to find ways to produce with effort and grit despite not being blessed with a whole lot of traditional talent, so I appreciated him being a plumber for us in the paint. On the other, I can't stand the guys who whine to the refs about every call, and so that drove me up the wall. At the end of the day, he gave us his all when he was on the court, and other then whatever his "communication" issue was with Pitino, I don't recall him making the headlines for the wrong reasons. Hope he finds a home playing pro ball somewhere.
 

The most amazing piece of information in that note is that Mav is making money playing basketball. Good for him.

Elliott was a good kid, but I doubt communication hampered his performance. I won't my conclusions into this, but the reason he did not play near the end of the season was because of performance. Any of us who saw games saw that.
 

I love all those that seem to know that

1. EE didn't work on his game
2. Pitino told EE why he wasnt getting playing time
3. EE didn't listen/like the message


I'll summarize this thread. We don't know sh1t. EE gave a very nice comment in this article and laid blame on no one or on everyone however you look at it. Which leaves us with absolutely no answers other than Pitino didn't think he was the guy that should get the minutes.

End of story

EE was a great 4 year ambassador of the program and appears that wont change, at least publicly anyway. Good for EE for taking the high road.
 

BleedGopher said:
Eventually he hopes to play in the NBA
Click to expand...

Me too Elliott, me too.

Winasota Gopher said:
I love all those that seem to know that

1. EE didn't work on his game
2. Pitino told EE why he wasnt getting playing time
3. EE didn't listen/like the message


I'll summarize this thread. We don't know sh1t. EE gave a very nice comment in this article and laid blame on no one or on everyone however you look at it. Which leaves us with absolutely no answers other than Pitino didn't think he was the guy that should get the minutes.

End of story

EE was a great 4 year ambassador of the program and appears that wont change, at least publicly anyway. Good for EE for taking the high road.
Click to expand...

There was a poster who 'claimed' his roommate was a team manager posted about him being lazy in the weight room and not putting in the work. I tend to believe that (weight room wise) based on his lack of strengthen after 5 years with the team.

Never liked his pissing and moaning on the court, but overall seemed like a good kid.

The other stuff, no idea, don't care anymore either.
 



Winasota Gopher said:
I love all those that seem to know that

1. EE didn't work on his game
2. Pitino told EE why he wasnt getting playing time
3. EE didn't listen/like the message


I'll summarize this thread. We don't know sh1t. EE gave a very nice comment in this article and laid blame on no one or on everyone however you look at it. Which leaves us with absolutely no answers other than Pitino didn't think he was the guy that should get the minutes.

End of story

EE was a great 4 year ambassador of the program and appears that wont change, at least publicly anyway. Good for EE for taking the high road.
Click to expand...

This, none of us know how hard or not hard EE worked on his game.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
I love all those that seem to know that

1. EE didn't work on his game
2. Pitino told EE why he wasnt getting playing time
3. EE didn't listen/like the message


I'll summarize this thread. We don't know sh1t. EE gave a very nice comment in this article and laid blame on no one or on everyone however you look at it. Which leaves us with absolutely no answers other than Pitino didn't think he was the guy that should get the minutes.

End of story

EE was a great 4 year ambassador of the program and appears that wont change, at least publicly anyway. Good for EE for taking the high road.
Click to expand...

+1 Well stated
 

For his own sake, I hope he ends up playing in a country where the refs can't speak English. Far fewer technicals that way.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
I love all those that seem to know that

1. EE didn't work on his game
2. Pitino told EE why he wasnt getting playing time
3. EE didn't listen/like the message


I'll summarize this thread. We don't know sh1t. EE gave a very nice comment in this article and laid blame on no one or on everyone however you look at it. Which leaves us with absolutely no answers other than Pitino didn't think he was the guy that should get the minutes.

End of story

EE was a great 4 year ambassador of the program and appears that wont change, at least publicly anyway. Good for EE for taking the high road.
Click to expand...

+19

Maybe that's just as good as EE could be.
 



A lot of that

station19 said:
+19

Maybe that's just as good as EE could be.
Click to expand...

There is much more that he is never going to be able to do on the basketball court than the things he could do.
At some point it becomes evident it's just not there. There's not enough time left before the expiration date.

At least look like you think you could make a free throw. Don't be all smiley that you made one, finally...pretty telling.
As mentioned above, no offensive game whatsoever ever. Turnovers on defensive rebounds in crucial situations, stupid fouls situationally, turnovers again when you could least afford them on the half court.

EE had some surprising contributing moments that were chest beating good. You just never knew why they happened or if they'd ever happen again because of all the consistently annoying exasperating results that predominated his play.
 

There were reports under both Tubby and Pitino that EE didn't give a damn about lifting, conditioning and eating properly. Pitino even made fun of him because he could do more pushups.
 

MadtownGopher said:
EE never really showed a strong desire to work on his game. He didn't improve at all from his freshman year. He never added the muscle necessary to hold his own in the post. He never learned how to dunk, which is ridiculous for a 3-4 star 7 foot recruit. He never developed a single post move. He never improved his jumper. He was essentially 5 fouls and an average rebounder and shot blocker for his size.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's fair to say he didn't improve at all. He was playing really well until about half way through last season and then it went sideways for some reason. I feel the same way about him as RSIII. They came. They stayed all 4 (or 5) years and didn't cause any issues. All in all, commendable. But there was always a feeling they had another gear they never really bothered to engage, and that's a shame.
 

MadtownGopher said:
There were reports under both Tubby and Pitino that EE didn't give a damn about lifting, conditioning and eating properly. Pitino even made fun of him because he could do more pushups.
Click to expand...

Could we see a report instead of some sh*t you come up with? Pretty much read everything on the BB thread, and, if there had been reports like that, Elliot would have been ripped for that. There were't and he wasn't. He was ripped for his whining and his skills--not because he didn't train or eat his veggies.

Halfway through last year, he was a regular, valuable contributor for his rebounding and his defense. From there, it was downhill until by the end of this year he was an afterthought. How much was due to Mo's development, his attitude, hitting his ceiling, a youth movement by the end of this season, lack of communication, or personality clash, we don't know. Probably a combination of things but quit trying to come across like you have the answers, when you clearly don't.
 

Mulligan said:
Could we see a report instead of some sh*t you come up with? Pretty much read everything on the BB thread, and, if there had been reports like that, Elliot would have been ripped for that. There were't and he wasn't. He was ripped for his whining and his skills--not because he didn't train or eat his veggies.

Halfway through last year, he was a regular, valuable contributor for his rebounding and his defense. From there, it was downhill until by the end of this year he was an afterthought. How much was due to Mo's development, his attitude, hitting his ceiling, a youth movement by the end of this season, lack of communication, or personality clash, we don't know. Probably a combination of things but quit trying to come across like you have the answers, when you clearly don't.
Click to expand...

Elliott Eliason -- Currently studying abroad with Andre Hollins as part of the Carlson Business School. "I have a competition with him that I can do more pushups than him and I'm positive that I can do it right now. We did it the other day, I beat him 5 to 4 (joking) and he's going to continue to improve. I think Elliott is going to be a great player for us, he just has no muscle on him."

http://m.startribune.com/sports/blogs/210431621.html
 

2014 Elliot 5ppg, 7 rebounds 2 Blocks 51% from field for 34 RPI team....Replaced by Konate 2pts and 2 rebounds for 98 RPI team....Anyone with one functioning brain cell can see the Pitino threw Elliot under the bus this season,
 

The Brain Trust said:
2014 Elliot 5ppg, 7 rebounds 2 Blocks 51% from field for 34 RPI team....Replaced by Konate 2pts and 2 rebounds for 98 RPI team....Anyone with one functioning brain cell can see the Pitino threw Elliot under the bus this season,
Click to expand...

When do you think you'll get one?
 

Bakary was playing well towards the end of the year. He was giving the team better minutes than Elliott. Whenever you have a fifth year senior who used to start sitting behind a freshman, of course people are going to be upset and not see eye-to-eye. I don't think either side is really to blame.
 

The Brain Trust said:
2014 Elliot 5ppg, 7 rebounds 2 Blocks 51% from field for 34 RPI team....Replaced by Konate 2pts and 2 rebounds for 98 RPI team....Anyone with one functioning brain cell can see the Pitino threw Elliot under the bus this season,
Click to expand...

Well since there aren't any other variables between the two teams. How retarded are you?
 


The Brain Trust said:
2014 Elliot 5ppg, 7 rebounds 2 Blocks 51% from field for 34 RPI team....Replaced by Konate 2pts and 2 rebounds for 98 RPI team....Anyone with one functioning brain cell can see the Pitino threw Elliot under the bus this season,
Click to expand...

+1
 

Reusse: Eliason ended career as a forgotten Gopher

Presumably, Pitino’s reason for phasing out Eliason — 15 minutes in the final six games — was to get more time for 21-year-old freshmen Bakary Konate and Gaston Diedhiou.

“Maybe,” Eliason said. “Nobody told me that.”

He shrugged again and said: “I’d still come to Minnesota. Great school, great teammates. Andre Hollins … can’t find a better person. I could go on.

“I tried to continue to be a leader in practice. [Assistants] Dan McHale, Ben Johnson, they thanked me for that. The last thing this team needed, with the way the Big Ten went, with all the close games we lost, would’ve been me as a senior moping around.”

In the end, Richard Pitino determined that Eliason was close to the last player he needed on the court.

Reaching an opinion on the correctness of Pitino’s decision will be based on your view of how a player with value who has put five years into a basketball program deserves to be treated.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/300404371.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
 

EE Played Significant Minutes during the 0-5 Start

BleedGopher said:
Reusse: Eliason ended career as a forgotten Gopher

Presumably, Pitino’s reason for phasing out Eliason — 15 minutes in the final six games — was to get more time for 21-year-old freshmen Bakary Konate and Gaston Diedhiou.

“Maybe,” Eliason said. “Nobody told me that.”

He shrugged again and said: “I’d still come to Minnesota. Great school, great teammates. Andre Hollins … can’t find a better person. I could go on.

“I tried to continue to be a leader in practice. [Assistants] Dan McHale, Ben Johnson, they thanked me for that. The last thing this team needed, with the way the Big Ten went, with all the close games we lost, would’ve been me as a senior moping around.”

In the end, Richard Pitino determined that Eliason was close to the last player he needed on the court.

Reaching an opinion on the correctness of Pitino’s decision will be based on your view of how a player with value who has put five years into a basketball program deserves to be treated.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/300404371.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
Many of us have very different evaluations of EE and his abilities. Pitino had his and it's the only one that matters. We were 0 and 5 with him getting minutes and around 500 with him sitting.
 

Pitino's miscalculation with EE hurt the team's performance.

Life goes on.
 

MadtownGopher said:
EE never really showed a strong desire to work on his game. He didn't improve at all from his freshman year. He never added the muscle necessary to hold his own in the post. He never learned how to dunk, which is ridiculous for a 3-4 star 7 foot recruit. He never developed a single post move. He never improved his jumper. He was essentially 5 fouls and an average rebounder and shot blocker for his size.
Click to expand...

Maybe I missed something (and it happens often) but in what world was Eliason ever considered a 4-star recruit? Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you mean, but EE was a typical, run-of-the-mill 3-star prospect that never over-achieved in college. And that's the issue with constantly bringing in 3-star players, if they don't exceed expectations, you get lots of EE-type careers and your program struggles to elevate past mediocrity.
 

60's Guy said:
Many of us have very different evaluations of EE and his abilities. Pitino had his and it's the only one that matters. We were 0 and 5 with him getting minutes and around 500 with him sitting.
Click to expand...

Take a look at our winning percentage in games EE started his freshman, sophomore, and junior years. He wasn't the reason we disappointed last season.
 

It's a case off Tubby's recruits being happy to be done with the program and Reusse giving him a voice.


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