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

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EE's lack of playing time has something to do with the poor performances of the 2 senior guards. Once they had no shot at the NCAA I think Richard tried to get Konate and GD as many minutes as possible. But either way EE was not a meaningful player and had a much lower upside than any other big on the team. Hopefully the days of big slow centers at Minnesota has passed. You shall be remembered, Bob Martin.


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The two most memorable moments of EE this season were when Nate Mason, playing his first ever collegiate game, had to go up to EE and tell him to stfu, otherwise he probably would have gotten a technical in the Louisville game. The second thing, was his series of goofs against St. Johns , that pretty much cost us the game.
 

howieramone said:
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.
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Like I said, we all see EE differently. You and GW like him. I question his contributions as a freshman at 2.6ppg and 3.9rpg and sophomore at 2.2 and 3.5 under Tubby. Then miraculously he blossomed into an amazing mid-season stretch under Pitino but he returned to earth to close the season. The gophers won 8 of their last 10 games in 2013-14. In those last 10 games EE was 2.4 and 4. His scoring contributions in the last 10 games 3,8,zero,4,zero,3,2,4,zero,zero. So the handwriting was on the wall last year. This past season he was 3ppg and 3rpg. He had opportunities and the St John's game along with the 0-5 loss to Iowa in which EE played 15 minutes and finished with zero points, zero rebounds, 4 fouls and a TO sealed his fate. And again we won more games to close the season with him in a lesser role.
 

BigGopherFan said:
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.
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I couldn't remember if one of the services rated him as a 4-star. I'm pretty sure he was at least a high 3-star. He was also Mr. Basketball in Nebraska.
 

Nate said:
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
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Thanks.
 


1. Did Reusse try to ask Pitino why Eliason didn't play more?

2. Was Eliason asked if he ever went to Pitino to ask why he didn't play more?

These are things I wish were addressed in the piece. Doesn't surprise me a metro columnist wouldn't work to answer the main question of why Eliason didn't play more. Reusse is entitled to his opinion, obviously, but it bothers me when words like "presumably" are used in the article. Let's not assume or presume but instead ask the right people the right questions. I get enough presumptions on this message board daily. I don't need them from a Strib reporter. To clarify, I'm "assuming" Reusse didn't bother to make the effort to get Pitino's side of the story. I could be wrong.
 

Can we all just appreciate what he did as a Gopher and just move on? There is no real need to tear apart a former player that put his heart and sole into the program just because he may not have lived up to your expectations.


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Overall EE surpassed my expectations

alchemy2u said:
Can we all just appreciate what he did as a Gopher and just move on? There is no real need to tear apart a former player that put his heart and sole into the program just because he may not have lived up to your expectations.


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But that's not the point for me. My gripe is about EE not being accountable for his lack of playing time due his performance. EE saying he didn't play because the coach chose offense over defense and rebounding. Mo averaged 6.7 rpg. As a coach, I'm pretty sure Pitino informed EE he was making a change and I'm pretty sure if EE said there was no discussion it's because EE nodded okay. Why is he complaining now months after the season, rather than asking for that conversation at the time if he had questions. The accountability, blaming Pitino somehow now long after the fact is my gripe.
He earned a college degree and with both of his soles he can find a job in business. Count it all joy!
 

60's Guy said:
But that's not the point for me. My gripe is about EE not being accountable for his lack of playing time due his performance. EE saying he didn't play because the coach chose offense over defense and rebounding. Mo averaged 6.7 rpg. As a coach, I'm pretty sure Pitino informed EE he was making a change and I'm pretty sure if EE said there was no discussion it's because EE nodded okay. Why is he complaining now months after the season, rather than asking for that conversation at the time if he had questions. The accountability, blaming Pitino somehow now long after the fact is my gripe.
He earned a college degree and with both of his soles he can find a job in business. Count it all joy!
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Reusse stirring the pot. My guess is Elliott didn't go looking to complain in the press, but Patrick gave him the chance.
 



I think its possible to think Elliott is right to be a little frustrated by how he was used during his senior season while at the same time I don't blame Pitino either. At some point,
Pitino quickly realized he needed to give Konate minutes to build towards the future. Elliott could have helped the team by playing a little more but P wanted to look towards the future. I think this type of thing happens all the time with new coaching regimes. Its unfortunate but not surprising. Won't be the first time a contributor under one coach loses playing time with another coach.
 

Exactly right. Lots of speculation on here stated as facts. Lack of improvement doesn't necessarily mean a player didn't work on his game. The most annoying example on here was the way people talked about Rodney. He absolutely did improve significantly over the years but people just expected him to be so much better so they assumed he wasn't putting the work in.

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.
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Here's one thing I will add: If EE was wondering why he wasn't seeing the court, as a coach, I would want him to come to me and say, "coach... I want more time. What are key areas of improvement you need to see from me to earn it? I'm ready to work." Sounds as if this didn't happen.
 




MadtownGopher said:
I couldn't remember if one of the services rated him as a 4-star. I'm pretty sure he was at least a high 3-star. He was also Mr. Basketball in Nebraska.
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He was a 2 star on ESPN, 3 star on Scout with the #22 center ranking and a 3 star with no ranking on Rivals. Mo was actually a 4 star on ESPN and ranked #123 on Rivals.
 


DeathClutch said:
The two most memorable moments of EE this season were when Nate Mason, playing his first ever collegiate game, had to go up to EE and tell him to stfu, otherwise he probably would have gotten a technical in the Louisville game. The second thing, was his series of goofs against St. Johns , that pretty much cost us the game.
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Andre lost us the St. Johns game, not Elliott.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
https://twitter.com/1500espn_reusse/status/589300863707021312

@1500ESPN_Reusse: Note on Eliason column: I sought out him, not other way. Also: I won't be this subtle in opinion on Pitino's coaching in Sunday's Strib.


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Surprise. Reusse chose to talk to the player that got the least amount of playing time and he was able to dig up some dirt on the coach. Sounds like it just fits his standard line of ripping on the Gophs, it is just a matter of how much he editorializes the "facts". Making up crap has never stop Reusse in the past if he thinks he can get a clever jab in.


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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!!
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In my opinion, in this situation, it's on the player to find out why he's not playing. What was Pitino supposed to do? Not play him and then call him into his office to tell him he's not playing because he hasn't been playing well? Talk about kicking a kid when he's down.

If EE truly was very upset about not playing he would've asked what he needs to do to play more. Sounds like he never did that. Maybe he didn't even care that much. I think Reusse is making a story out of nothing.
 


Winasota Gopher said:
Leave EE alone.

Reusse, piece of trash.
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What exactly did Reusse do to EE? Sounds like he went to him for a comment on his playing time. EE didn't have to say anything.

Can't wait for the reaction to Reusse's Sunday column.
 

scools12 said:
What exactly did Reusse do to EE? Sounds like he went to him for a comment on his playing time. EE didn't have to say anything.

Can't wait for the reaction to Reusse's Sunday column.
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Nothing? I didn't say he did anything TO EE.
 


scools12 said:
Thought the "Leave EE alone" was about Reusse.
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Nope. GH should. He just answered some questions, and wasn't trying to bury Pitino. Reusse gonna imply a bunch of what EE said as proof for his own feelings on Pitino. Gonna be a laugher.
 

I think these are challenging situations for both coaches and players.

When it is clear that a team isn't going to make the NCAA tournament, I understand a coach wanting to look toward the future and give playing time to youngsters.

At the same time, what does a coach owe to a fifth-year senior who has paid his dues and has contributed at least something?

I think there is probably a happy medium out there. Pitino clearly went the route of burying a guy who he didn't recruit. That he only played him three minutes, 33 seconds on senior day (and not after the first 3:33 of the game) is pretty week.

Was he a star? No. Do I think he deserved better in a lost season? Probably.

And I have no issues with Reusse writing this column. The Gophers and Nebraska were the biggest disappointments in the Big Ten this year and they are fair game to be criticized.
 

anonymous said:
I think these are challenging situations for both coaches and players.

When it is clear that a team isn't going to make the NCAA tournament, I understand a coach wanting to look toward the future and give playing time to youngsters.
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The problem with your comments is that the lack of playing time dates back to before the team's post-season hopes were dashed. Late Night Hoops called for more time throughout the year, including in THIS REVIEW of the nonconference portion of the schedule.

For example:
- "The offensive rebounding of the team is a concern....One way to help is to play Eliason more."
- "Defensive rebounding has fallen and the Gophers are putting allowing a higher free throw rate for opponents. Elliott Eliason’s monster 25.1% DR% coupled with 64% minutes played last year at this point greatly helped the team. This season Eliason’s time on the court has dropped 40% (as a % of last year’s minutes) and his DR% hasn’t been as strong. Mo Walker has been good at 21.2%, but not as good as Eliason a year ago."
- "Elliott Eliason

Minutes have dropped significantly (64% to 39%) – he needs to be given more time
ORtg improved from 112.9 to a team-high 125.1
OR% of 13.2% is a big help; 16.6% DR% is projected to get better
Underappreciated player due to tendency to show emotions and occasional knuckle-headed plays, but he’s important and frankly a good weapon on the floor"

So... EE's lack of playing time isn't fairly attributable to primarily a case of "oh the season was gone so the young guys got to play"...
 

Could be worth reading but no one reads Late Night Hoops since the blogger spends his time stalking Ryan James and trying to pick fights with him rather than writing something worth reading
 

No-Soliciting.gif
 


There is nothing Reusse enjoys more than poking Gopher fans in the eye. It's getting old.
 

scools12 said:
What exactly did Reusse do to EE? Sounds like he went to him for a comment on his playing time. EE didn't have to say anything. Can't wait for the reaction to Reusse's Sunday column.
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And Reusse should've reached out to the man in charge (Pitino) if he really wanted to find an answer on Eliason's playing time. But that wasn't the reason for the piece.
 

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