BleedGopher
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per the Washington Post:
If Minnesota Coach Richard Pitino was dreading Thursday’s Big Ten basketball media day at Madison Square Garden, he didn’t show it. He arrived at the podium with coffee in hand and a smirk on his face. He didn’t look the least bit concerned about answering questions about his father, Rick Pitino, the disgraced Hall of Fame coach who was officially fired by Louisville on Monday in the wake of an FBI investigation that has rocked college basketball.
But Richard Pitino, 35, was still wrestling with how difficult the past few weeks have been for his family. The first five questions he answered were about the promising season ahead in Minneapolis — with four starters returning from a team that went 24-10 and made the NCAA tournament last season, the Gophers are legitimate Big Ten contenders — but he couldn’t escape the inevitable probing of his emotions.
“It’s been really hard,” he said. “You just want for him, more than anything . . . you see your dad, you want him to be happy. You want him to be healthy.”
But the cloud hanging over the sport remained at the forefront. Richard Pitino, who served two stints as an assistant at Louisville under his father, said he has used his team’s preseason preparation as a reprieve.
“It’s tough when it unfolds in the public. When things like this happen, it brings you closer together,” he said. “You learn who your friends are. You learn who is really there for you when you need them. We’re a strong family, and he’s a strong person, so he’ll get through it.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...abb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm_term=.9a3bd3d421c3
Go Gophers!!
If Minnesota Coach Richard Pitino was dreading Thursday’s Big Ten basketball media day at Madison Square Garden, he didn’t show it. He arrived at the podium with coffee in hand and a smirk on his face. He didn’t look the least bit concerned about answering questions about his father, Rick Pitino, the disgraced Hall of Fame coach who was officially fired by Louisville on Monday in the wake of an FBI investigation that has rocked college basketball.
But Richard Pitino, 35, was still wrestling with how difficult the past few weeks have been for his family. The first five questions he answered were about the promising season ahead in Minneapolis — with four starters returning from a team that went 24-10 and made the NCAA tournament last season, the Gophers are legitimate Big Ten contenders — but he couldn’t escape the inevitable probing of his emotions.
“It’s been really hard,” he said. “You just want for him, more than anything . . . you see your dad, you want him to be happy. You want him to be healthy.”
But the cloud hanging over the sport remained at the forefront. Richard Pitino, who served two stints as an assistant at Louisville under his father, said he has used his team’s preseason preparation as a reprieve.
“It’s tough when it unfolds in the public. When things like this happen, it brings you closer together,” he said. “You learn who your friends are. You learn who is really there for you when you need them. We’re a strong family, and he’s a strong person, so he’ll get through it.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...abb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm_term=.9a3bd3d421c3
Go Gophers!!
