Pitino curt in his post-game response on IW

Jelly’s skills do not align with this rock fight of a basketball game. I’m sure he would have been fine in spurts, but I think even Isaiah probably understands this.


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If he would have been fine in spurts, then he would have played. Either the coaching staff has no faith in him, or, there's a between the lines message. Could just be tough love.

I definitely don't buy into the transfer murmurs (I wont call them rumors). Even if his intentions were known that he is going to transfer, Pitino has him for this year, so why would he not play? He's in line for huge minutes next year, I think he's just being groomed.
 

We were very fortunate WI self imploded down the stretch. Prior to parade of turnovers which allowed us to pull away late, we were sitting at 18 points for the half @ 49-47. The move to play Stull paid dividends in the first half, however, the half court offense was atrocious in the second half. Zero flow, poor execution, just get it to Coffey, let him put his head down and pray something positive happens. My criticism is not putting Isaiah in at that time. Nothing positive was happening, Isaiah has been working his tail off to be a distributor recently and doing a heck of a job doing it - why not throw him in for at least a few minutes to see if he can spark something? Pitino’s explanation or lack there of doesn’t cut it and deserves to be challenged. Happy as hell with the win. But on paper what is happening with IW makes zero sense. Glad he is appearing to stay positive, good on him.
 

We were very fortunate WI self imploded down the stretch. Prior to parade of turnovers which allowed us to pull away late, we were sitting at 18 points for the half @ 49-47. The move to play Stull paid dividends in the first half, however, the half court offense was atrocious in the second half. Zero flow, poor execution, just get it to Coffey, let him put his head down and pray something positive happens. My criticism is not putting Isaiah in at that time. Nothing positive was happening, Isaiah has been working his tail off to be a distributor recently and doing a heck of a job doing it - why not throw him in for at least a few minutes to see if he can spark something? Pitino’s explanation or lack there of doesn’t cut it and deserves to be challenged. Happy as hell with the win. But on paper what is happening with IW makes zero sense. Glad he is appearing to stay positive, good on him.

UW self imploding? The Gophers had the lead throughout the game! The Gophers were the ones imploding and losing the lead, but they toughed it out on the road.

Agree with the IW mystery though. That is why it is a hot topic right now. I don't believe its as simple as the coach saying Brock was the better fit for the game.
 

Too late to put IW in ice-cold at stretch time. Agree or not, Pitino felt the lineup on the floor provided the best chance to win. I would not use the term "fortunate" to describe this win. It was earned with tough defense and grit. Offensive possessions got a little tight at the end as tends to happen when trying to hold a lead.

This win is meaningless unless we beat MD this weekend...
 

I never would have even considered not playing Washington in this game. I thought his ability to break down the defense was one of the things the Gophers could exploit against the Badgers. I was clearly wrong in the first half with the way the Gophers played connected team defense. It was pretty clear to me that Pitino was playing the guys he trusted on the defensive end. I agree with Holf on his point that Isaiah could have (possibly should have) been inserted in to the game in the second half when our defense on Happ/Reuvers was not as strong and our offense had become completely inept. Of course, it's tough to go away from what worked in the fist half and I am not sure Washington has earned trust to come in cold in what had become a tight game and execute on offense, much less on defense. I would also argue that more than putting in Washington, that the decision to focus on posting up Reuvers in the half court with guys who weren't making shots instead of looking to more Coffey (or even trying to get Murphy going against Happ) was a big factor in the offense not functioning.

When I listened to the press conference, I heard Pitino give a nice answer as to why Stull was in the rotation over Washington. He made it all about Stull and how he was in better shape and how he worked in practice (this has been a common jab by Pitino going back to the preseason about certain guys not working in practice and Isaiah is certainly one of the guys he's alluding to) and how he thought this game fit Brock's style. Then he was was asked a follow up question by another reporter if there was any other reason Isaiah didn't play where he was curt with his "No" response, but I read that more as "No there is no issue behind the scenes" as opposed to "No, don't ask again because I am upset with Isaiah or something is going on behind the scenes".
 


Agreed, didn’t mean to imply win wasn’t earned, it absolutely was! My simple point would be IW is too valuable an asset to sit in situations where half court offense is struggling. Think most agree something deeper is going on - you just hope it’s merited. I believe it’s on the coach to be the bigger man and make it work, hope things smooth out.
 

We were very fortunate WI self imploded down the stretch. Prior to parade of turnovers which allowed us to pull away late, we were sitting at 18 points for the half @ 49-47. The move to play Stull paid dividends in the first half, however, the half court offense was atrocious in the second half. Zero flow, poor execution, just get it to Coffey, let him put his head down and pray something positive happens. My criticism is not putting Isaiah in at that time. Nothing positive was happening, Isaiah has been working his tail off to be a distributor recently and doing a heck of a job doing it - why not throw him in for at least a few minutes to see if he can spark something? Pitino’s explanation or lack there of doesn’t cut it and deserves to be challenged. Happy as hell with the win. But on paper what is happening with IW makes zero sense. Glad he is appearing to stay positive, good on him.

I felt the same way. No offense. Just get the ball to Coffey and pray. IW would have helped on this front for the reasons you stated. However, to Pitino's credit, it appears the Gophers did not need offense. It will be rare that the Gophers can score 59 and win. IW needs to be in there so there is offense.
 

I think we are blowing this out of proportion. Is IW unhappy and will he transfer this year? Maybe. But that's the case with a lot of guys, some that end up never transferring. I feel like we have turned normal sports water cooler talk into "news". Sure, someone may have heard this or that.. who cares? I think its great for this message board, but I feel like its grown beyond a message board topic which is strange.

One thing is clear, Pitino is coaching to win, NOW. If that means IW doesn't play in a game, so be it.
 

I kept hoping he wouldn’t put IW in. This was not a game suited for him at all. He’s not patient enough for sure.

How many of you thought we took the air out of the ball too soon? Seemed about the 7 minute mark we stopped running any sort of offense.


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I for one hope jelly is a contributor, but his body language is awful..
 

Jelly could have broken down Wisconsin overplaying on defense ...in the second half his dribble drive game could have loosened things up...thanksgiving for missed free throws
 

3 pages over Pitino's direct and brief answer to a question about Jelly?

It's very obvious why Pitino didn't play Jelly last night. This was the kind of game he couldn't trust him, and I completely understand that. An absolute must not to give away possessions vs. Wisconsin, especially after building a lead. In fact, I hadn't even given a thought to his DNP until my wife asked at halftime, "Has Jelly played?"

Rouser summed it up perfectly a few posts above.

Coffey was fantastic tonight, but I'd give the #1 star in this game to Pitino. Game-planned this one to a T, especially with regards to Happ.
 
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The move to play Stull paid dividends in the first half, however, the half court offense was atrocious in the second half. Zero flow, poor execution, just get it to Coffey, let him put his head down and pray something positive happens.

I agree with these statements, and I don't know if IW would have aided or exacerbated the second half issues. I do know that I've watched this Pitino offense for several winters now and it is NOT what I was hoping for. I don't think the guy is a solid X's-and-O's strategist on offense. On all those ill-fated offensive series when we were one-and-done I didn't even see Curry, Oturu or Hurt in the paint when the desperation shot went up - they were backing away from the paint to ensure no chance of an offensive rebound. At it's not like they were trying to position themselves somewhere where Coffey could kick it out to them - we saw Coffey barking at Hurt for screwing that up. It's a total mess. Do we run offensive sets in practice???
 



the offense was garbage in the 2nd half. i agree that this game doesn't really fit into his style of play but i was hoping Pitino would at least try a spurt of him in the 2nd half to get the offense going. Not that we needed another guy to dribble around the perimeter but he has that extra gear to turn the corner on the high pick and roll and maybe get an easy layup or at least a kick out for a decent shot
 

I agree with these statements, and I don't know if IW would have aided or exacerbated the second half issues. I do know that I've watched this Pitino offense for several winters now and it is NOT what I was hoping for. I don't think the guy is a solid X's-and-O's strategist on offense. On all those ill-fated offensive series when we were one-and-done I didn't even see Curry, Oturu or Hurt in the paint when the desperation shot went up - they were backing away from the paint to ensure no chance of an offensive rebound. At it's not like they were trying to position themselves somewhere where Coffey could kick it out to them - we saw Coffey barking at Hurt for screwing that up. It's a total mess. Do we run offensive sets in practice???

yup...was pulling may hair out in the 2nd half.....dribble around until the shot clock hits 8 and than "living on a prayer" type shot.....run a dang play
 

T
This win is meaningless unless we beat MD this weekend...

A road win in Madison is never meaningless to most fans. This was a road win against a top 25 team and that is pure gold. Do we need to follow this up with continued gritty play? Umm, yes. Ya gotta defend the home court. (not breaking new ground here.)
That part about beating MD this weekend... the games is on Tuesday.
People need to enjoy a ROAD win for gods sake.


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A road win in Madison is never meaningless to most fans. This was a road win against a top 25 team and that is pure gold. Do we need to follow this up with continued gritty play? Umm, yes. Ya gotta defend the home court. (not breaking new ground here.)
That part about beating MD this weekend... the games is on Tuesday.
People need to enjoy a ROAD win for gods sake.


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Amen, Sal.

And can I get a Hallelujah?

Life is never better than after a road win. ... especially after one vs. a rival that has owned the rivalry for quite awhile.

How about we enjoy it!
 

A road win in Madison is never meaningless to most fans. This was a road win against a top 25 team and that is pure gold. Do we need to follow this up with continued gritty play? Umm, yes. Ya gotta defend the home court. (not breaking new ground here.)
That part about beating MD this weekend... the games is on Tuesday.
People need to enjoy a ROAD win for gods sake.


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Yep!


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I agree with these statements, and I don't know if IW would have aided or exacerbated the second half issues. I do know that I've watched this Pitino offense for several winters now and it is NOT what I was hoping for. I don't think the guy is a solid X's-and-O's strategist on offense. On all those ill-fated offensive series when we were one-and-done I didn't even see Curry, Oturu or Hurt in the paint when the desperation shot went up - they were backing away from the paint to ensure no chance of an offensive rebound. At it's not like they were trying to position themselves somewhere where Coffey could kick it out to them - we saw Coffey barking at Hurt for screwing that up. It's a total mess. Do we run offensive sets in practice???

The half court offense looks like a mess, running that weave outside the arc for 20+ seconds with no one even looking to take the ball to the hoop. They appear just to be looking for the next pass -- like a pre-game warm up drill. Even Murphy is spending way to much time outside the lane. Until the last two minutes, Dupree rarely looked at the basket and Hurt NEVER looks to score. Your point of no one going to the boards is spot on. And with this team, there are plenty of rebounds.
 

I'm a fan of IW, and I disagree with much of the criticism of him here. But I was in agreement of DNP for this game. I had more criticism for his limited minutes in the previous game.

IW does not have the big picture view of the game in the BT, and doesnt know yet how to adjust his game for an overall game plan. Wisconsin is a weird team - for God's sake Coffey outscored the whole Wisky team in the first half! (And yet we were all still rightfully nervous).
 

The half court offense looks like a mess, running that weave outside the arc for 20+ seconds with no one even looking to take the ball to the hoop. They appear just to be looking for the next pass -- like a pre-game warm up drill. Even Murphy is spending way to much time outside the lane. Until the last two minutes, Dupree rarely looked at the basket and Hurt NEVER looks to score. Your point of no one going to the boards is spot on. And with this team, there are plenty of rebounds.

This is the Big Ten. The defenses and physical play are tough. Very few teams look smooth at this point on offense under the pressure of this league.
 


Amen, Sal.

And can I get a Hallelujah?

Life is never better than after a road win. ... especially after one vs. a rival that has owned the rivalry for quite awhile.

How about we enjoy it!

Seconded, man. This is a big win that should be savored while team preps for next one.

Unrelated, I wonder if Gard's seat is getting hot. Badgers showed their historic weakness of being unable to adjust to a different style of play. They are vulnerable to more athletic teams, and dead in the water if they don't make threes. I don't see this changing any time soon for them either.
 

I think the only time we had an opportunity to play him was under 5 minutes left when we were taking time off the clock. That's when it would have been nice to have a TRUE ball handler on the court to wear down the clock. Examples would be when Happ blocked Coffey for the shot clock violation and when Dupree lazily passed to Curry on the flair to the top of the key and Happ stole the ball and had an easy layup. But it's hard to get a guy in the game after sitting for 35 minutes of game time.
 


3 pages over Pitino's direct and brief answer to a question about Jelly?

It's very obvious why Pitino didn't play Jelly last night. This was the kind of game he couldn't trust him, and I completely understand that. An absolute must not to give away possessions vs. Wisconsin, especially after building a lead. In fact, I hadn't even given a thought to his DNP until my wife asked at halftime, "Has Jelly played?"

Rouser summed it up perfectly a few posts above.

Coffey was fantastic tonight, but I'd give the #1 star in this game to Pitino. Game-planned this one to a T, especially with regards to Happ.


This post is right on the money. Washington just can't be trusted in tight games like this. Especially against a a team like Wisconsin's that will limit your possessions. You can't have quick shots and turnovers. Expect more of this until Washington shows he can handle himself and not spazz every time he gets the ball.
 

This post is right on the money. Washington just can't be trusted in tight games like this. Especially against a a team like Wisconsin's that will limit your possessions. You can't have quick shots and turnovers. Expect more of this until Washington shows he can handle himself and not spazz every time he gets the ball.

I think that is unfair to Washington....spazz out every time he gets the ball? I think he is learning and getting better with some relapses. The Wisky game was not suited to where he is at yet and it is obvious that this was a game that Pitino thought we could go in an win with the game plan and personnel he chose. It turns out that Stull proved him right. There is a lot of time left for IW to shine and I think he will.
 


Reading some of the posts on this thread, you'd think that Washington had been playing terrible all season.

According to the team stats, Washington is averaging 18 minutes per game - 7th on the team, and is leading the team in assists at 4.1 a game.

Stop and think about that - the team leader in assists gets a DNP-coach's decision in a key conference game.

So, his not playing is a story. You can blame it all on Washington, but at some point, it's also on the coaches to get through to him and help him/make him play the way the coaches want. No matter how you portion out responsibility, the guy was a highly-rated recruit, and if he doesn't pan out, that hurts the program. His fault - the coaches' fault - nobody's fault - it still hurts the program if he doesn't pan out, or even if the coaches don't feel comfortable playing him in a key game.
 

Reading some of the posts on this thread, you'd think that Washington had been playing terrible all season.

According to the team stats, Washington is averaging 18 minutes per game - 7th on the team, and is leading the team in assists at 4.1 a game.

Stop and think about that - the team leader in assists gets a DNP-coach's decision in a key conference game.

So, his not playing is a story. You can blame it all on Washington, but at some point, it's also on the coaches to get through to him and help him/make him play the way the coaches want. No matter how you portion out responsibility, the guy was a highly-rated recruit, and if he doesn't pan out, that hurts the program. His fault - the coaches' fault - nobody's fault - it still hurts the program if he doesn't pan out, or even if the coaches don't feel comfortable playing him in a key game.

...and you do that with....playing time.

Honestly, I don't even think Pitino was punishing IW last night, rather he used the players he thought he could win with on that night. Did IW have a bad week in practice? Maybe there could be something there too. On the whole I think IW is getting better. I watched him during the huddles and he didn't have a pout face going and he was happily celebrating in the locker room.

Pitino is a players coach. I have little doubt that he or the assistants went over the plan with IW and told him that he was not in the primary game plan because of how Wisky plays and the match ups, but that he should be ready in case and that he should know that he is an important cog in this team. His time will come.
 




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