Reusse: Pitino's program 'profoundly' disappointing? Maybe one day

I find the quality of the Star Tribune to be worse than the Gopher sports programs. The Strib is on a long, long losing streak, featuring a long list of lazy writers. It's sad when the only information I can get out of what should be a major newspaper comes from the ghost writer of a 95 year old.

They would be better off if they threw a few sheckels to Nadine and SS to re-print the stuff on here. It's better anyway.
 

It would be fiscally irresponsible to fire him at this point even if he has three more incidents. A $7M buyout is just too daunting. One more year is the way to go.

While Pitino's future is in some doubt, I for one want him to succeed. He has always acted in a classy manner and now is finally going to give us some evidence of his coaching ability as he gets to coach this next group. Bad news is if he is tossed out, it sets back rebuilding. Further good news though, who wouldn't want to coach in the Big Ten with the current and future TV contracts? 5 or 10 years ago a mess replacing a coach in the Big Ten, at the moment not so much.
 

Would Jim Dutcher have resigned by now had he been the coach where one player is removed for assault, three players are caught in an orgie video and another player is accused of rape?
Dutcher won a Big 10 title. What should we honestly expect from our current coaching staff?
 

That's where I'm at. I'm 70 and can't take another rebuild. BTW, I don't tell anyone to sit down. Just wish the avid young true fans in front of me would put their damn phones away and actually watch the game.

Thanks Mulligan! I'm not a young pup anymore either but I have the passion of a 20 year old. No better atmosphere in the Twin Cities then when Williams is alive. Can't wait for November!
 

Would Jim Dutcher have resigned by now had he been the coach where one player is removed for assault, three players are caught in an orgie video and another player is accused of rape?
Dutcher won a Big 10 title. What should we honestly expect from our current coaching staff?

While Dutcher picked up a program under probation he also was handed Mychal Thompson, Ray Williams, Oz Lockhart, Flip Saunders and Dave Winey all with two years or more eligibility remaining. So that certainly helped Dutch get off to a decent start. Certainly a much better hand than Pitino was dealt. Dutcher had tough years and great years and I think we could expect the same with Pitino if we stick with him.
 


While Dutcher picked up a program under probation he also was handed Mychal Thompson, Ray Williams, Oz Lockhart, Flip Saunders and Dave Winey all with two years or more eligibility remaining. So that certainly helped Dutch get off to a decent start. Certainly a much better hand than Pitino was dealt. Dutcher had tough years and great years and I think we could expect the same with Pitino if we stick with him.
But you are avoiding the elephant in the room. The issue isn't won/loss record. The issue is off court incidents. Would Dutcher have resigned? He had one incident similar to Pitino and he resigned over it. Pitino has had three, that we know of, and has not resigned as a means of acknowledging his culpability in these matters.
My how times have changed.
 

But you are avoiding the elephant in the room. The issue isn't won/loss record. The issue is off court incidents. Would Dutcher have resigned? He had one incident similar to Pitino and he resigned over it. Pitino has had three, that we know of, and has not resigned as a means of acknowledging his culpability in these matters.
My how times have changed.

He might have. I don't know- these are completely different times with a completely different moral code. The three guys under Pitino committed no crime. Lynch is accused but not even charged, but Dutch didn't resign when Mitch Lee was accused and charged the first time. Mark Hall was caught stealing. His guys were not perfect either, even before Madison.
 

I thought Dutcher resigned over frustration from a lack of support from the U President at the time. Not because he felt obligated to do so.
 

Dutcher was a class act and resigned due to lack of support (his words). Although the rumor on campus was that he was disgusted with the players conduct and was leaving due to it.
 



But you are avoiding the elephant in the room. The issue isn't won/loss record. The issue is off court incidents. Would Dutcher have resigned? He had one incident similar to Pitino and he resigned over it. Pitino has had three, that we know of, and has not resigned as a means of acknowledging his culpability in these matters.
My how times have changed.

I'm with you and short ornery Norwegian (I don't know what qualifies as short, but I am ornery and half Norwegian). It's not the on-court performance, although losing to both SoDak schools is really inexcusable, it's all this off-court stuff. I'm not expecting these guys to be angels. I was 19 once (a long, long time ago) and I probably set the world record for stupidity in every bar on the West Bank. The difference was I wasn't on a full-ride scholarship to a big-time university to play hoops. Kill managed to keep a vast majority of his more than 100 charges on task. For some reason, Pitino can't keep his 15 in line.
 

You should expect to contend nearly every year for the conference title, and to win conference titles. That is what great coaches do. They do more with less no matter what and when loaded they finish 1st or second .
 

You should expect to contend nearly every year for the conference title, and to win conference titles. That is what great coaches do. They do more with less no matter what and when loaded they finish 1st or second .

I noticed a "typo" in your Username so I took the liberty of correcting it for you...."buttbadger". There ya go....no need to thank me.
 

He's pointing out facts about 50% of recruits leaving or being in trouble and RPI compared to what he took over. At the end of the day can he x and o to save his job?


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No. He can't.

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If we did fire Pitino the pool of candidates would be limited. Why not be patient, give him another year and if he falls on his face then drop the hammer. What I found most interesting in Reusse's column is Pitino's aloofness with the media. There is nothing this town's sports writers hate more than an arrogant coach.
I really don't want a year that is worse than last year and it is a possibility given the unstable leadership on the team.

Our only choices are restarting now or restarting in 365-is days. Is it really worth $7 mill?

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Would Jim Dutcher have resigned by now had he been the coach where one player is removed for assault, three players are caught in an orgie video and another player is accused of rape?
Dutcher won a Big 10 title. What should we honestly expect from our current coaching staff?
Jim Brewer and Ron Behagen are not walking through those doors.

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But you are avoiding the elephant in the room. The issue isn't won/loss record. The issue is off court incidents. Would Dutcher have resigned? He had one incident similar to Pitino and he resigned over it. Pitino has had three, that we know of, and has not resigned as a means of acknowledging his culpability in these matters.
My how times have changed.
+100

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That's irrelevant to my question.
Well, I'm not going to call to retain Pitino, so I had to make a different irrelevant comment.

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No. He can't.

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This was a rhetorical question, in that the outcome has not been decided.

So you *think* he can't, which is a fact we all know too well already.


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This was a rhetorical question, in that the outcome has not been decided.

So you *think* he can't, which is a fact we all know too well already.


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Quit bringing out the dead horse. I'm not going to beat it.

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I really don't want a year that is worse than last year and it is a possibility given the unstable leadership on the team.

Our only choices are restarting now or restarting in 365-is days. Is it really worth $7 mill?

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Okay. Say you start rebuilding now. Do you:

1) Fire Pitino and begin to start a coaching search to find the best available coach you can out of a pool of candidates that are not currently in contract with a team in the middle of May?

Keep in mind Minnesota is not an attractive job right now. The AD transition has been a mess. The media has a history of calling for the head of any coach, whether a hall of famer or a up and comer. Fans are calling for the president to be fired based on the overall state of the program. Regents are publicly unsupportive. Boosters have been publicly pulling money because they didn't have an adequate say in the AD search. Folk hero Kill took a job in another state.

Bottom line: you end up with a medium caliber coach - if you are lucky, and Minnesota isn't lucky - who has a short recruiting cycle and has no familiarity with the roster.

2) Keep Pitino on a short leash and work your ass off during the season to shore up all the aforementioned nonsense and subsequently begin a coaching search next year (if Pitino fails) with a full candidate pool?

Bottom line: you have a legit shot at acquiring a big ten level coach.

Given the current date on the calendar, scenario number two is the better 2-3 year plan for the gophers whether or not you like Pitino or not. I suggest you get over it, stop bitching, and try to enjoy basketball. Hell, even adopt a side team if you give up on the season. That isn't against the rules.


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Okay. Say you start rebuilding now. Do you:

1) Fire Pitino and begin to start a coaching search to find the best available coach you can out of a pool of candidates that are not currently in contract with a team in the middle of May?

Keep in mind Minnesota is not an attractive job right now. The AD transition has been a mess. The media has a history of calling for the head of any coach, whether a hall of famer or a up and comer. Fans are calling for the president to be fired based on the overall state of the program. Regents are publicly unsupportive. Boosters have been publicly pulling money because they didn't have an adequate say in the AD search. Folk hero Kill took a job in another state.

Bottom line: you end up with a medium caliber coach - if you are lucky, and Minnesota isn't lucky - who has a short recruiting cycle and has no familiarity with the roster.

2) Keep Pitino on a short leash and work your ass off during the season to shore up all the aforementioned nonsense and subsequently begin a coaching search next year (if Pitino fails) with a full candidate pool?

Bottom line: you have a legit shot at acquiring a big ten level coach.

Given the current date on the calendar, scenario number two is the better 2-3 year plan for the gophers whether or not you like Pitino or not. I suggest you get over it, stop bitching, and try to enjoy basketball. Hell, even adopt a side team if you give up on the season. That isn't against the rules.


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Pitino is going to be fired midseason because of an off court incident by the players.

Isn't that more attractive than your other two scenarios? No?

The least attractive scenario is going to happen. Wouldn't you want to have some control over how much egg winds up on the University's collective face?

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Pitino is going to be fired midseason because of an off court incident by the players.

Isn't that more attractive than your other two scenarios? No?

The least attractive scenario is going to happen. Wouldn't you want to have some control over how much egg winds up on the University's collective face?

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I do not believe that you give two ****s about the University's collective face. You have been clamoring about Pitino for ages, before the alleged Lynch incident, you wanted him fired for another set of reasons. You are a basketball fan, plain and simple.

And from a basketball perspective, Pitino getting fired mid season because of certain off the court issue would be better than either of the two scenarios (with the absolute assumption that no one is personally hurt, so let's say it's a stolen pair of jeans at the MOA, or a bag of weed). At least that way the AD can openly search for a new coach.

Nonetheless, you dodged my question of course.


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Pitino is going to be fired midseason because of an off court incident by the players.

Isn't that more attractive than your other two scenarios? No?

The least attractive scenario is going to happen. Wouldn't you want to have some control over how much egg winds up on the University's collective face?

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Are you a time traveler?
 

I do not believe that you give two ****s about the University's collective face. You have been clamoring about Pitino for ages, before the alleged Lynch incident, you wanted him fired for another set of reasons. You are a basketball fan, plain and simple.

And from a basketball perspective, Pitino getting fired mid season because of certain off the court issue would be better than either of the two scenarios (with the absolute assumption that no one is personally hurt, so let's say it's a stolen pair of jeans at the MOA, or a bag of weed). At least that way the AD can openly search for a new coach.

Nonetheless, you dodged my question of course.


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Fire him now. Don't give him the buyout because it can be argued that it was done under false pretenses. Let him take us to court. He didn't really try to recruit for us until his balls were in a vise. If we aren't good enough for him to give us an effort that yielded results without him being able to line his pockets, then he won't respond to any incentives we offer him.

The bottom line of your first scenario is also the bottom line for your second scenario because we are the "training wheels" program for the son of Rick Pitino. Why do we have training wheels on our program? Because our efforts to land a "big time coach" are precisely what trips us up from landing a "big time coach." Nobody wants to take the "desperate for a date partner" to prom.

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Are you a time traveler?
No, I'm an alumni who has followed Gopher Sports during the worst of times for our big sports programs and I want to see better times.



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Fire him now. Don't give him the buyout because it can be argued that it was done under false pretenses. Let him take us to court. He didn't really try to recruit for us until his balls were in a vise. If we aren't good enough for him to give us an effort that yielded results without him being able to line his pockets, then he won't respond to any incentives we offer him.

The bottom line of your first scenario is also the bottom line for your second scenario because we are the "training wheels" program for the son of Rick Pitino. Why do we have training wheels on our program? Because our efforts to land a "big time coach" are precisely what trips us up from landing a "big time coach." Nobody wants to take the "desperate for a date partner" to prom.

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This is a Star Tribune calibre comment. No, that is not a compliment.
 

This is a Star Tribune calibre comment. No, that is not a compliment.
Well, as long as we pretend that our critics could not have any conceivably valid points then we should be reaching the waterfalls anytime.

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Fire him now. Don't give him the buyout because it can be argued that it was done under false pretenses. Let him take us to court. He didn't really try to recruit for us until his balls were in a vise. If we aren't good enough for him to give us an effort that yielded results without him being able to line his pockets, then he won't respond to any incentives we offer him.

The bottom line of your first scenario is also the bottom line for your second scenario because we are the "training wheels" program for the son of Rick Pitino. Why do we have training wheels on our program? Because our efforts to land a "big time coach" are precisely what trips us up from landing a "big time coach." Nobody wants to take the "desperate for a date partner" to prom.

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Wow, this might be one of the more clueless posts I've seen on GH in a while.
 




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