Interesting and candid new blog from Pitino: "Embrace the Uncomfortable"

BleedGopher

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per Pitino:

This past week was extremely beneficial for the growth of our program. We were so fortunate to have Brenda Tracy speak to our guys about setting the expectation as young men in society today. Brenda courageously spoke about living life as a rape survivor. I loved her message about being the 90 percent who can make a difference. Our guys were engaged and got so much out of Brenda's gut-wrenching story. It was certainly impactful to everyone in that locker room. I can't imagine how hard it is for Brenda to share her story to so many people. It's awesome to see the work she is doing throughout the whole country. Brenda truly is making this world a better place and we were so lucky to have had her speak to our basketball team. Her commitment to making a difference is inspiring!

Four days later we brought two military personnel from The Program in to train our guys into becoming better leaders and a more cohesive team. Friday evening they put our players through several military training exercises on the football field. Every mission was led by one of our players individually. They had to communicate exactly what to do and how to do it. It had to be perfect. Saturday morning we met at the pool at 5:45 a.m. to complete several different missions. They finished with everyone getting in the pool with a hooded sweatshirt on. The mission was simple. Take off your sweatshirt while treading water. Once you complete that task you have to find a partner on the team that you pass the sweatshirt on in the pool and they have to put it on. Oh and by the way, it doesn't matter if you can't swim. Figure it out, help each other and do it together. I was so proud of our guys and how they fought through adversity and got the mission done.

Below I will give an evaluation of how I thought our guys did in the exercises. I wasn't interested in necessarily in how they did pushups or jumping jacks but more on what leadership qualities they showed during and how it can help this team win. It's amazing how these drills revealed so much about all our guys on and off the court. Thanks to Dan Quinn for putting on an unbelievable program.

Jordan Murphy - Murph has always had really good leadership qualities but, like us all, there is always room for improvement. Tom, one of our squad leaders, had a great observation about Murph. He needs to listen to understand, not listen to react. I really liked that. Jordan will probably get mad at me for saying this but he can't swim. If you were watching him in the pool Saturday am you wouldn't have known that. It wasn't about him. As always with him It was about getting the job done and Murph got it done.

Amir Coffey - He probably benefited the most of everyone from The Program. If you know Amir you know he's very quiet. He's an introvert and likes it that way. There is nothing wrong with being that way. I can be that way from time to time but keeping quiet all the time isn't what's best for the team. Clearly Amir is one of our better players and has the respect of everyone on the team. During one of the swim missions a couple of guys were goofing around and Amir stepped up in a big way. He loudly told everyone to cut it out and focus on the task at hand. It's amazing how big of an impact that has when a player says it as opposed to a coach. We need that leadership from Amir.

Isaiah Washington - He's really improving on a daily basis with his habits but still has a long way to go. His body language has to improve. His commitment to details and great habits has to get better. Isaiah is a good kid but will test you often. He's funny, popular, marketable and obviously has a cult internet following. With that being said Isaiah wants to be a great player one day and I want to be the guy that helps him get there. Day 1 we put Isaiah in charge of a task and he crushed it. He held guys accountable and lead our guys to a successful mission. It took longer than necessary but he got there. I know he will make huge strides this season. Apple just came out with a new update on their phones that is called SCREEN TIME. I recommend you check it out. It monitors how much time you are on social media, the internet and other apps. I can't wait to see how Isaiah's turns out!

A lot more here:

https://gophersports.com/news/2018/9/24/mens-basketball-pitino-blog-embrace-the-uncomfortable.aspx

Go Gophers!!
 

That's fascinating. Thanks for posting that. Interesting that Pitino singled out the three players most feel are the keys.
 

That's fascinating. Thanks for posting that. Interesting that Pitino singled out the three players most feel are the keys.

Not sure if you clicked the link, but he mentioned every player - including walk-ons
 

His comment on Carr seems to imply he isn't going to get the waiver this year.
 

I really like Pitino. Seems like a good guy. Cares about the program, his players and the university. I hope he is here a very long time.
 


I really like Pitino. Seems like a good guy. Cares about the program, his players and the university. I hope he is here a very long time.

He's an extremely likeable guy. Many people nationally don't like him simply because of his dad. It's unfair IMO. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve criticism but it should be because of the results on the court, not because of his dad.
 

He's an extremely likeable guy. Many people nationally don't like him simply because of his dad. It's unfair IMO. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve criticism but it should be because of the results on the court, not because of his dad.

This is very fair accurate. Having his dad likely got him this (and other) coaching opportunity but he isn't his dad. You can't just dislike him because his old man did some shady ****.
 

My biggest concern is the statement on Isaiah:

Isaiah Washington - He's really improving on a daily basis with his habits but still has a long way to go. His body language has to improve.

I was really hoping his summer after his freshman year he would get some better body language and realize how it can affect his play and others around him. He's got the capability to be a really good leader, but bad body language says a lot.
 

I read...”Isaiah is talented and trying to do the right thing but...he can be a handful “


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You’re not changing Isaiah in my opinion. Your either creating an environment he can thrive in or trying to make him change unsuccessfully.
 

I read...”Isaiah is talented and trying to do the right thing but...he can be a handful “


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Similar to Mason I think. It was very obvious that at times Mason rubbed his teammates the wrong way with some of his decision making and attitude. The difference is that Mason really matured during his Junior and Senior year.

Will Isaiah do the same? Time will tell.
 


Omersa has 3-year captain written all over him.


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Go Gophers!!
 




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