If you’re Coyle, why do u keep Pitino

Minnesota is at the bottom in... and Hockey.


AND WHAT??? Hockey? Are you mental?


#11 in the country now, with 4 wins vs Top 4 teams, just beat the #1 ranked team in the country last weekend???



Bottom of what? Bottom of the rankings of Top 5 schools in NCAA hockey the last 6 years?



Only 4 teams in NCAA hockey have more &/or better FF Appearances/performances than UMn the last 6 years.

BC, UND, DU & Quinipiac.


Only ONE COACH still coaching in NCAA Men's hockey with more Natl Titles than Lucia.


His 5 FFs in his career ranks up there pretty high, too. Again, only York at BC has more.



No coach has put more talent into the NHL than Lucia, either, not even York or Haskstol.


Pitino and Lucia both deserve til the end of next season to see what they can do before moving on.
 

Here's a thought. What if Coyle tells Pitino he needs to made adjustments to his staff? Let Pitino be the 'face' of the program and lead recruiter, but make sure he has an assistant/bench coach who is a really strong X's and O's guy - a guru/mentor type who can handle a lot of the in-game coaching and adjustments. I thought that was what Conroy was supposed to be - but I am not seeing any great improvement in that area.

Either way, I think we all can agree that another year like this one, or worse, and Coyle is going to get backed into a corner.

I don't think it's a coincidence that our game day execution went down hill when McHale left for EKU and we replaced him with someone with zero experience. Even though that error was corrected, Pitino could really use someone like Coach Mo on staff to teach defense.
 

#1 - 5.4 million is it?

#2 - Last year wasn't the fluke, this year's injury/suspension bug was the fluke.

#3 - Was 7th option when we hired him, a young guy with 2 years HC exp?? What did we expect out of him? Fire last years B1G COY cuz of being snake bitten with injuries and the national press will MURDER US. They'd bring up the firing of Tubby, and probably our last fb coach, too. And who are we going to be able to get to replace him?

#4 - Good player development. Even Konate & Gaston have shown SOME improvement over time, not much, but like has been mentioned, how much time has been spent on those 2 since Lynch and Curry came into the program last year?

Lynch = showed improvement, started fouling less.
Murphy = do I even need to say anything?
McBreyer = better 2nd year than first, pretty injury stricken this season, hard to really say, had some great games
Coffey = seemed to show improvement as last season went along, this year seemed improved, until injury
Mason = showed progression each year until this year. But how much is that Pitino's fault?
Curry = he came along nicely as last year went along
Hurt = I barely noticed him last year, he's had some good games this year.
Harris = seems to have come along as this season has progressed.
Isaiah = also seemed to be coming along until Lynch and Coffey went out, little more up and down since.
Fitz = I rarely saw him at all for most of the season, all of a sudden last game he showed up?

Who has regressed without an injury causing that regression???


#5 - Maybe not so much next years incoming class, though some on here have really high hopes about them, but overall recruiting classes have gotten better every year. If he can deliver Hurt's little bro?


#6 - The talent level of our starting 5 will NOT match what we started with this year. BUT

Our bench's talent level and depth should increase dramatically!!!

We are adding what to the current roster? 3 new recruits, Curry and a transfer???

So we lose 2 legit contributors and add maybe 5???


And if Fitz, who was on fire Tuesday night, btw, decides to leave, we could add another Grad Transfer? Maybe a PG or a true Center? What do we need more? Or maybe Fitz stays and starts having more games like his last one for us?
 

You do a great job saying what he has done well. What has not done so well ? Who did he beat that was really great last year. Not calling it a fluke but surely you recognize why many fans would say it was. Do you honestly consider him a top half of the conference coach ? Ge has to do much better than 6-27 against ranked teams. You pull great research in his plus side but what do you think are his weaknesses. I am bored to death with losing.
 

#1 - 5.4 million is it?

#2 - Last year wasn't the fluke, this year's injury/suspension bug was the fluke.

#3 - Was 7th option when we hired him, a young guy with 2 years HC exp?? What did we expect out of him? Fire last years B1G COY cuz of being snake bitten with injuries and the national press will MURDER US. They'd bring up the firing of Tubby, and probably our last fb coach, too. And who are we going to be able to get to replace him?

#4 - Good player development. Even Konate & Gaston have shown SOME improvement over time, not much, but like has been mentioned, how much time has been spent on those 2 since Lynch and Curry came into the program last year?

Lynch = showed improvement, started fouling less.
Murphy = do I even need to say anything?
McBreyer = better 2nd year than first, pretty injury stricken this season, hard to really say, had some great games
Coffey = seemed to show improvement as last season went along, this year seemed improved, until injury
Mason = showed progression each year until this year. But how much is that Pitino's fault?
Curry = he came along nicely as last year went along
Hurt = I barely noticed him last year, he's had some good games this year.
Harris = seems to have come along as this season has progressed.
Isaiah = also seemed to be coming along until Lynch and Coffey went out, little more up and down since.
Fitz = I rarely saw him at all for most of the season, all of a sudden last game he showed up?

Who has regressed without an injury causing that regression???


#5 - Maybe not so much next years incoming class, though some on here have really high hopes about them, but overall recruiting classes have gotten better every year. If he can deliver Hurt's little bro?


#6 - The talent level of our starting 5 will NOT match what we started with this year. BUT

Our bench's talent level and depth should increase dramatically!!!

We are adding what to the current roster? 3 new recruits, Curry and a transfer???

So we lose 2 legit contributors and add maybe 5???


And if Fitz, who was on fire Tuesday night, btw, decides to leave, we could add another Grad Transfer? Maybe a PG or a true Center? What do we need more? Or maybe Fitz stays and starts having more games like his last one for us?


So what do you expect next year? I mean don't you think at some point he needs to make the tourney? And maybe even win a game in the tourney? If he can't get us in the tourney next year or the 2019-20 season do you think then he should be fired?
 


So what do you expect next year? I mean don't you think at some point he needs to make the tourney? And maybe even win a game in the tourney? If he can't get us in the tourney next year or the 2019-20 season do you think then he should be fired?

Depends on what it looks like. But he probably needs to have a pretty positive season next year to keep his job. I’d assume that means tourney.
 

You do a great job saying what he has done well. What has not done so well ? Who did he beat that was really great last year. Not calling it a fluke but surely you recognize why many fans would say it was. Do you honestly consider him a top half of the conference coach ? Ge has to do much better than 6-27 against ranked teams. You pull great research in his plus side but what do you think are his weaknesses. I am bored to death with losing.

Well, he was only the 7th option when he was hired, had just 2 years of HCing experience. And I doubt UMn's 1st 6 choices included the best 6 candidates out there, some we simply knew wouldn't even consider coming here.

So my guess is he has LOTS of weaknesses. We either need to discover some super experienced home run hire out there, to replace him, or just be very patient with him and hope his recruiting continues to improve and also we can hope his coaching skills come along???



I mean, we hired an infant, basically, with a last name.

And now we expect him to compete in the B1G and win over half his games, we expect him to somehow just magically become this HOF level coach overnight? while recruiting only high character kids, etc.?


Be p1ssed at the U for hiring an AD who would hire this guy, then get fired for being a drunken sexual deviant.

But don't pile expectations on this guys shoulders that he simply shouldn't be expected to handle, realistically.


We're either going to have to show him patience and give him time, and yeah, that might mean several years, OR, give him one year, to get to the NCAA tourney or else, OR fire him, take all the heat from the national press and pray to whoever we can that we somehow have the juice to bring in someone like Musselman.
 

Well, he was only the 7th option when he was hired, had just 2 years of HCing experience. And I doubt UMn's 1st 6 choices included the best 6 candidates out there, some we simply knew wouldn't even consider coming here.

So my guess is he has LOTS of weaknesses. We either need to discover some super experienced home run hire out there, to replace him, or just be very patient with him and hope his recruiting continues to improve and also we can hope his coaching skills come along???



I mean, we hired an infant, basically, with a last name.

And now we expect him to compete in the B1G and win over half his games, we expect him to somehow just magically become this HOF level coach overnight? while recruiting only high character kids, etc.?


Be p1ssed at the U for hiring an AD who would hire this guy, then get fired for being a drunken sexual deviant.

But don't pile expectations on this guys shoulders that he simply shouldn't be expected to handle, realistically.


We're either going to have to show him patience and give him time, and yeah, that might mean several years, OR, give him one year, to get to the NCAA tourney or else, OR fire him, take all the heat from the national press and pray to whoever we can that we somehow have the juice to bring in someone like Musselman.

No fan base and no University can be expected to wait 8 years to win, not at the major conference level. And this whole the national press will roast us concern is not persuasive. We need to define our program, not worry what the media thinks about us. I don't think he will get fired this year, but if next year doesn't look a lot better he's done- and he should be. And some coach on the rise from a lower tier school would take a chance here.
 

So what do you expect next year? I mean don't you think at some point he needs to make the tourney? And maybe even win a game in the tourney? If he can't get us in the tourney next year or the 2019-20 season do you think then he should be fired?

Well, I expected THIS year to be a banner year, or at least the best since 1990. And on the success of this season, Pitino could continue to improve his recruiting going forward.

Seeing as that didn't happen, well, if next year the team is relatively healthy, I'd expect an NCAA tourney. And if he can't get us into the tourney next year or the year after, then for sure he'd have to be considered a bust. Granted, this also is only if the team is healthy both seasons.

I'm not saying I might not want a better coach, I personally pitched for Flip Saunders, but we went with our 7th choice instead, not even sure if Flip counts as one of the 6 choices that turned us down, since he turned us down. Didn't help the ARSEHOLE of an AD that we had at that time, the drunkard sexual deviant we hired for some reason, didn't like the idea of bringing in a coach who wouldn't know his place.


I just am not confident, seeing as we could only get our 7th choice the last time, that we can find a better replacement?!
 



No fan base and no University can be expected to wait 8 years to win, not at the major conference level. And this whole the national press will roast us concern is not persuasive. We need to define our program, not worry what the media thinks about us. I don't think he will get fired this year, but if next year doesn't look a lot better he's done- and he should be. And some coach on the rise from a lower tier school would take a chance here.

Giving him til year 8? Might be better than bringing in someone brand new, who we don't know will succeed. Like that goofball that took over for Mason?? OMG, would have rather kept Mason on for another 2-3 years. Would have been WAY better off. In hindsight.

Hey, if someone knows for sure that Musselman will take the job, then hey, I won't b1tch too much. But other than someone like that, why would we do the whole start over thing again? My goodness, that gets SO sickening, just give this guy a chance. This year's woes are NOT his fault. The players ARE playing hard, its just that they are injured, tired and maybe feeling UNSUPPORTED by their fans???
 

This Gopher team was very good before the injuries and then the Lynch thing, they have straightened out the off court issues, haven't been any in almost two years, the recruiting has been good, I don't see why you would want to get rid of Pitino. They haven't played with the defensive passion that would be needed to win the B1G all season but other than that they were pretty good. I would have to say at least one more year. Next year they have the depth to compete.
 

This Gopher team was very good before the injuries and then the Lynch thing, they have straightened out the off court issues, haven't been any in almost two years, the recruiting has been good, I don't see why you would want to get rid of Pitino. They haven't played with the defensive passion that would be needed to win the B1G all season but other than that they were pretty good. I would have to say at least one more year. Next year they have the depth to compete.

My problem with all of this wait and see is 2009-2010. We were ranked #15 preseason & Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe never played and Al Nolen became ineligible 2nd semester yet that team went to the Big 10 Championship & NCAA tourney. That's 3 projected starters gone. Reggie, Amir, and Curry are missing & we look like the worst team in the Big Ten. That's a roster mismanagement issue. We can't have Hurt, Fitzgerald, Bakary & Gaston as our best options once a few players go down. Last year, we were extremely healthy & trouble free; which is extremely rare in college basketball.
 

This Gopher team was very good before the injuries and then the Lynch thing, they have straightened out the off court issues, haven't been any in almost two years, the recruiting has been good, I don't see why you would want to get rid of Pitino. They haven't played with the defensive passion that would be needed to win the B1G all season but other than that they were pretty good. I would have to say at least one more year. Next year they have the depth to compete.

+1
 



My problem with all of this wait and see is 2009-2010. We were ranked #15 preseason & Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe never played and Al Nolen became ineligible 2nd semester yet that team went to the Big 10 Championship & NCAA tourney. That's 3 projected starters gone. Reggie, Amir, and Curry are missing & we look like the worst team in the Big Ten. That's a roster mismanagement issue. We can't have Hurt, Fitzgerald, Bakary & Gaston as our best options once a few players go down. Last year, we were extremely healthy & trouble free; which is extremely rare in college basketball.

Spot on.
 

My problem with all of this wait and see is 2009-2010. We were ranked #15 preseason & Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe never played and Al Nolen became ineligible 2nd semester yet that team went to the Big 10 Championship & NCAA tourney. That's 3 projected starters gone. Reggie, Amir, and Curry are missing & we look like the worst team in the Big Ten. That's a roster mismanagement issue. We can't have Hurt, Fitzgerald, Bakary & Gaston as our best options once a few players go down. Last year, we were extremely healthy & trouble free; which is extremely rare in college basketball.
Great point and something that has bothered me. Our top 6 were solid. Then Curry got injured and our starters began to go down. What we have as backup is such a drop off that we have gone from top 5 in the B1G to bottom 5. That is a problem and one that Pitino and staff need to rectify. We can't afford to whiff on scholarships.
 

First, I'd like to thank all of the posters on GH who are capable of maintaining a level of perspective, as this season continues to go awry. Some of you understand the following things:

- Losing Eric Curry, Reggie Lynch, Amir Coffey, McBrayer (at times, and not full health), and even Nate Mason (for a few), has had a negative impact on the season
- The scholarships of Bakary and Gaston have hamstrung the front court depth. Yes, this is on Pitino, but it's a mistake he made four years ago. His recruiting since then has been far superior to that of any Gopher coach in the past 20 years.
- Last year was a major success, mostly due to incredible player development. Nate, Dupree, Jordan, Reggie. None of these guys were heralded recruits, yet they all thrived under Pitino. Was that a miracle, or can he develop talent?
- He just landed the best in-state recruiting class probably ever. For all of the petty griping that people do on here, he landed your precious in state talent, so seriously, get on board or shut the H*LL up.

I agree that Pitino is not the best coach out there, but he's young, and he can recruit, and all signs point to him being a good player developer (of those who are competent to begin with). Would you naysayers really like to start all over again, with yet another coach who is unproven and/or not that great? Who do you think that we're going to be able to attract to the job? I'll make it easy for you, the answer is some middle of the road guy, or taking a chance on another young unproven coach. That's what we get here, so accept it and make your choice wisely.

I can't guarantee success with Pitino, but I can guarantee failure for at least the next three seasons with a new coach.

Seriously, I hate GH for crappy thoughtless threads like this one. Grow up people.

Thank you. Agreed 100%.
 

Great point and something that has bothered me. Our top 6 were solid. Then Curry got injured and our starters began to go down. What we have as backup is such a drop off that we have gone from top 5 in the B1G to bottom 5. That is a problem and one that Pitino and staff need to rectify. We can't afford to whiff on scholarships.

Exactly. That's 4 wasted scholarships & we only have 13. Hurt may develop into a key role player but I never understood the point of bringing in Fitzgerald or Gaston/Bakary. 1 Project big is fine but 2 never made sense to me.
 

First, I'd like to thank all of the posters on GH who are capable of maintaining a level of perspective, as this season continues to go awry. Some of you understand the following things:

- Losing Eric Curry, Reggie Lynch, Amir Coffey, McBrayer (at times, and not full health), and even Nate Mason (for a few), has had a negative impact on the season
- The scholarships of Bakary and Gaston have hamstrung the front court depth. Yes, this is on Pitino, but it's a mistake he made four years ago. His recruiting since then has been far superior to that of any Gopher coach in the past 20 years.
- Last year was a major success, mostly due to incredible player development. Nate, Dupree, Jordan, Reggie. None of these guys were heralded recruits, yet they all thrived under Pitino. Was that a miracle, or can he develop talent?
- He just landed the best in-state recruiting class probably ever. For all of the petty griping that people do on here, he landed your precious in state talent, so seriously, get on board or shut the H*LL up.

I agree that Pitino is not the best coach out there, but he's young, and he can recruit, and all signs point to him being a good player developer (of those who are competent to begin with). Would you naysayers really like to start all over again, with yet another coach who is unproven and/or not that great? Who do you think that we're going to be able to attract to the job? I'll make it easy for you, the answer is some middle of the road guy, or taking a chance on another young unproven coach. That's what we get here, so accept it and make your choice wisely.

I can't guarantee success with Pitino, but I can guarantee failure for at least the next three seasons with a new coach.

Seriously, I hate GH for crappy thoughtless threads like this one. Grow up people.

Thank you. As others have already said, great post.
 

I can't guarantee success with Pitino, but I can guarantee failure for at least the next three seasons with a new coach.

I do like your post but I really don't understand this at all, people often look at Basketball like it is Football, a good and I stress good coach can have success by year 3. What I can tell you is that 2-16, 11-7, and ill be generous 5-13 is a failure the last 3 years. I am tired of hiring and firing as well but there is no way in any form that you can call the last 5 years successful or even adequate. This is a results driven business and he has failed. Don't think that the higher ups are not looking at maybe 8k butts in the seat for Northerwestern or the small crowd that will be there Tuesday (I am guessing 7k maybe). This the least interested I can recall the Twin Cities being in the Gophers and it breaks my heart.
 

Some of these posts basically come down to this:

Something good happens - the Coach gets the credit.

Something bad happens - it's not the coaches' fault.

He's the head coach - he's responsible for the whole program, not just when things are going well.
 

I can't guarantee success with Pitino, but I can guarantee failure for at least the next three seasons with a new coach.

I do like your post but I really don't understand this at all, people often look at Basketball like it is Football, a good and I stress good coach can have success by year 3. What I can tell you is that 2-16, 11-7, and ill be generous 5-13 is a failure the last 3 years. I am tired of hiring and firing as well but there is no way in any form that you can call the last 5 years successful or even adequate. This is a results driven business and he has failed. Don't think that the higher ups are not looking at maybe 8k butts in the seat for Northerwestern or the small crowd that will be there Tuesday (I am guessing 7k maybe). This the least interested I can recall the Twin Cities being in the Gophers and it breaks my heart.

You may be correct in stating that by year three of a new coach, they could be expected to win. However, Pitino's third year was by far his worst (considering it was easily his worst roster to start a season), and was mostly due to the roster turnover experienced after losing Tubby's last recruits, and Pitino's desire to get "players that fit his system" on campus, and ultimately being caught in limbo. For God's sake, if I remember correctly, Charles Buggs was on that year 3 team, yikes.

There's no reason to believe that a new coach wouldn't want "his players" too. The clashing of identities generally leads to mediocre on court performance, and to a long rebuilding process. In addition, you can throw away any chance we have with Matthew Hurt and Jalen Suggs with a new coach, BECAUSE we know we're not getting an elite level guy. With RP, there is a CHANCE that he could snag one of those guys, and he has proven effective at getting the next level of in state talent to commit here.

And again, Bakary and Gaston are making this situation look way worse than it really is moving forward. Things will be different with them off the roster next year.

Anyway, outside of whether or not you think Pitino can be a good x's and o's coach, here's all we really have to go on:

2018-19 Roster:

PG - Isaiah Washington
PG - ???
SG - Jamir Harris
SG - Gabe Kalscheur
SG - Dupree McBrayer
SF - Amir Coffey
SF - Michael Hurt
SF - Davonte Fitzgerald
PF - Jordan Murphy
PF - Eric Curry
PF - Jarvis Omersa
C - Daniel Oturu
C - Matz Stockman

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about that roster. It minimizes our reliance on Davonte Fitzgerald, Jamir Harris, and obviously BK and GD will have graduated.. blessed be the day.

I'm nervous to see how IW progresses into next year, but his ball handling and vision are great. Like everyone here, I'm curious to see how much he commits to improving his shot (and selection), and his defense. And obviously, whether or not he transfers.

PG #2 is TBD, but obviously we can't expect to do much if our backup PG is Dupree or Amir. We really need to get a JUCO transfer, grad transfer, or pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Yeah, I do guarantee temporary failure with a new HC, and I'm happy enough with next year's roster in year 6 to see what happens, and what the next recruiting class looks like.

As I've mentioned before, he has a ways to go with x's and o's, and still has to prove himself as a player developer. But we're not getting a coach in here who comes stock with all three facets firmly in place, and RP may very well have 2 of the 3 already.
 

Some of these posts basically come down to this:

Something good happens - the Coach gets the credit.

Something bad happens - it's not the coaches' fault.

He's the head coach - he's responsible for the whole program, not just when things are going well.

The opposite happens too. Won't give him credit for a lot of the good things but blame every bad thing on him.
 

Some of these posts basically come down to this:

Something good happens - the Coach gets the credit.

Something bad happens - it's not the coaches' fault.

He's the head coach - he's responsible for the whole program, not just when things are going well.

Yes, Pitino is responsible for Curry's knee, Coffee's shoulder, McBrayer's leg, Mason's hip, and Lynch being a predator. I can't believe he let those things happen!

We've had an insane amount of bad luck this year. Sometimes things happen that are out of the coach's control. If we were healthy and Lynch was a better person, this season would be going far differently and that isn't even debatable.
 

Yes, Pitino is responsible for Curry's knee, Coffee's shoulder, McBrayer's leg, Mason's hip, and Lynch being a predator. I can't believe he let those things happen!

We've had an insane amount of bad luck this year. Sometimes things happen that are out of the coach's control. If we were healthy and Lynch was a better person, this season would be going far differently and that isn't even debatable.

A coach should have enough depth to cover for some of those loses. Texas A & M have yet to play a game with their full roster including a projected NBA 1st rounder. We lost 2 bigs & have 0 options after. Our best options on the wing after Amir & Dupree injuries are Hurt & Fitz. It's not about the bad luck that we are experiencing. It's about not having viable alternatives in case those things happen. If Lynch & Curry were healthy, who do we turn to if both & Murphy are in foul trouble or foul out. How is the lack of effort & constant complaining to officials not on him. We were a top heavy to with minimal depth before the season & last year that's why we crumbled after Springs injury.
 

My problem with all of this wait and see is 2009-2010. We were ranked #15 preseason & Royce White & Trevor Mbakwe never played and Al Nolen became ineligible 2nd semester yet that team went to the Big 10 Championship & NCAA tourney. That's 3 projected starters gone. Reggie, Amir, and Curry are missing & we look like the worst team in the Big Ten. That's a roster mismanagement issue. We can't have Hurt, Fitzgerald, Bakary & Gaston as our best options once a few players go down. Last year, we were extremely healthy & trouble free; which is extremely rare in college basketball.


Ok, maybe one example? And for every example you bring up of 3 guys not playing and the team still doing well, I can list you several where JUST ONE player got injured and the team went from winning to losing.

The year Sam Jacobson went out is the first to come to mind.



And its not just Lynch, Curry and Coffey, either. McBreyer isn't even practicing with the team and looks like he's in pain out on the court and hurting mostly on defense. Mason has also aggravated the hip he needed surgery on in the offseason.

And who were the backups that filled in for those 3 in your example?

Curry and Lynch are the same position and their 2 backups are arguably the 2 worst players on the team.
 

I can't guarantee success with Pitino, but I can guarantee failure for at least the next three seasons with a new coach.

I do like your post but I really don't understand this at all, people often look at Basketball like it is Football, a good and I stress good coach can have success by year 3. What I can tell you is that 2-16, 11-7, and ill be generous 5-13 is a failure the last 3 years. I am tired of hiring and firing as well but there is no way in any form that you can call the last 5 years successful or even adequate. This is a results driven business and he has failed. Don't think that the higher ups are not looking at maybe 8k butts in the seat for Northerwestern or the small crowd that will be there Tuesday (I am guessing 7k maybe). This the least interested I can recall the Twin Cities being in the Gophers and it breaks my heart.

This. And regarding the buyout, how much does it go down a year from now? It's fine to say 'the buy out is too big we can't fire him!' but if it only goes down from $5 million to $4 million it's a pretty sad reason to kick the can. Realistically I see no way he survives past next season without making the NCAA's, and I give them less than a 50/50 shot at doing so.
 

Exactly. That's 4 wasted scholarships & we only have 13. Hurt may develop into a key role player but I never understood the point of bringing in Fitzgerald or Gaston/Bakary. 1 Project big is fine but 2 never made sense to me.

Ok, my guess with Gaston/Bakary is that he felt 1 of the 2 at least would pan out, and the other would at least be a serviceable backup and people did think they both had a lot of potential when they were being mentioned as incoming recruits. Not saying everyone was sold on them, but most of the negativity directed towards those 2 only came AFTER the fact.

As for Fitz? All of last year all we heard was good things about him. He has another year of eligibility, maybe he'll still end up contributing? A few more games like his last and we might be happy we have him?
 

Yes, Pitino is responsible for Curry's knee, Coffee's shoulder, McBrayer's leg, Mason's hip, and Lynch being a predator. I can't believe he let those things happen!

We've had an insane amount of bad luck this year. Sometimes things happen that are out of the coach's control. If we were healthy and Lynch was a better person, this season would be going far differently and that isn't even debatable.

He's responsible for our lack of depth and lack of effort in the last 8 games. If we were fighting our @sses off and still losing every night be 4-5 points, I don't think anyone would be that upset.
 

Ok, maybe one example? And for every example you bring up of 3 guys not playing and the team still doing well, I can list you several where JUST ONE player got injured and the team went from winning to losing.

The year Sam Jacobson went out is the first to come to mind.



And its not just Lynch, Curry and Coffey, either. McBreyer isn't even practicing with the team and looks like he's in pain out on the court and hurting mostly on defense. Mason has also aggravated the hip he needed surgery on in the offseason.

And who were the backups that filled in for those 3 in your example?

Curry and Lynch are the same position and their 2 backups are arguably the 2 worst players on the team.

We had Colton Iverson, Ralph Sampson, Damian Johnson, & Paul Carter all able to take over for Royce & Trevor. Devoe Joseph took over for Al. Curry is ideally a backup for Jordan Murphy who can play spot Center minutes. Having our 2 worst players be at the same position is a problem. Losing isn't the problem for me it's effort & not having any other options. We have 13 Scholarships and Stockman is using one plus Fitz, Gaston, & Bakary are wasted ones. If you include Hurt in that group, that's basically 8 Big Ten Players with 2 being freshmen (Harris, Washington). So we had to have an injury/trouble free season for things to not go the direction it's headed. That isn't a problem to you. We were a 6 man rotation with foul prone big men. That was the reason we lost out after Springs went down.
 

Ok, my guess with Gaston/Bakary is that he felt 1 of the 2 at least would pan out, and the other would at least be a serviceable backup and people did think they both had a lot of potential when they were being mentioned as incoming recruits. Not saying everyone was sold on them, but most of the negativity directed towards those 2 only came AFTER the fact.

As for Fitz? All of last year all we heard was good things about him. He has another year of eligibility, maybe he'll still end up contributing? A few more games like his last and we might be happy we have him?

Fitz was Red shirting and no one can see him practice. There is no way Pitino would bad mouth him.
 




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