Souhan: Richard Pitino downplayed the past and may have secured his future

BleedGopher

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per Souhan:

Pitino was right to minimize the Louisville connection. He was right to emphasize the importance of the tournament to his players, the fans and the university. He was also within his rights to make a celebratory call to his father.

“I’m truthful with it,” Pitino said. “I’m really not being diplomatic. It really wasn’t about that. It’s very hard to get into the tournament, especially in our league. ... The focus was on preparing. It didn’t matter who we played.”

“He downplayed it,” Coffey said. “He made it about the game. But I’m sure he’s feeling pretty good inside.”

Pitino has gone through the usual Minnesota coaching cycle: Vocal Gophers fans questioned why he was hired, then at the first glimpse of success feared he’d leave for a more successful program, then wondered why he was still here after some scandals and failures.

Winning a tournament game with a young team moves Pitino into a new phase of his career. He just beat Mack and Louisville handily for a school that has enjoyed little unsullied basketball success.

He did so with his most accomplished player, Jordan Murphy, hampered by back spasms in the second half, and while playing three true freshmen and a point guard who was recruited as a wing.

Pitino is signed through the 2021-22 season. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle might want to add a couple of years. Minnesota doesn’t want to be the school that spent 10 years preparing Pitino to win somewhere else.

http://www.startribune.com/richard-...st-and-may-have-secured-his-future/507496812/

Go Gophers!!
 

No reference to Baldy McBalderson? Lame, Jim.
 

Stop the presses! Souhan makes sense

Souhan is simply not a great sportswriter. But he had a few paragraphs today that make more sense than anything else I recall from him:

Pitino has gone through the usual Minnesota coaching cycle: Vocal Gophers fans questioned why he was hired, then at the first glimpse of success feared he’d leave for a more successful program, then wondered why he was still here after some scandals and failures.

Winning a tournament game with a young team moves Pitino into a new phase of his career. He just beat Mack and Louisville handily for a school that has enjoyed little unsullied basketball success.

He did so with his most accomplished player, Jordan Murphy, hampered by back spasms in the second half, and while playing three true freshmen and a point guard who was recruited as a wing.

Pitino is signed through the 2021-22 season. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle might want to add a couple of years. Minnesota doesn’t want to be the school that spent 10 years preparing Pitino to win somewhere else.


http://www.startribune.com/richard-...st-and-may-have-secured-his-future/507496812/

JTG
 


Good, i am sick of rebuilding years.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 


If we’re keeping him, he should get a 1-2 year extension this off season. Needs that 4-5 year contract to give that perception of stability. We all know it’s smoke and mirrors, but it’s pretty standard.
 

Minnesota doesn’t want to be the school that spent 10 years preparing Pitino to win somewhere else.



Go Gophers!!

That's precisely how I've felt about Pitino and Fleck for a while now. Young coaches are going to inevitably take their lumps. But successful coaches learn from those mistakes. I think both Pitino and Fleck have the potential to be great coaches; one reason being they're getting that experience ahead of most of their peers. Sticking with these young coaches through their lumps hopefully pays off down the road. Can't be any worse than the revolving door approach we've had in the past.
 

If we’re keeping him, he should get a 1-2 year extension this off season. Needs that 4-5 year contract to give that perception of stability. We all know it’s smoke and mirrors, but it’s pretty standard.

I don't think there is an IF involved in whether or not he will be back again next year at this point. Agree that you add the token years for recruiting and what not even if they are basically meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
 

Souhan is simply not a great sportswriter. But he had a few paragraphs today that make more sense than anything else I recall from him:

Pitino has gone through the usual Minnesota coaching cycle: Vocal Gophers fans questioned why he was hired, then at the first glimpse of success feared he’d leave for a more successful program, then wondered why he was still here after some scandals and failures.

Winning a tournament game with a young team moves Pitino into a new phase of his career. He just beat Mack and Louisville handily for a school that has enjoyed little unsullied basketball success.

He did so with his most accomplished player, Jordan Murphy, hampered by back spasms in the second half, and while playing three true freshmen and a point guard who was recruited as a wing.

Pitino is signed through the 2021-22 season. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle might want to add a couple of years. Minnesota doesn’t want to be the school that spent 10 years preparing Pitino to win somewhere else.


http://www.startribune.com/richard-...st-and-may-have-secured-his-future/507496812/

JTG

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. I did chuckle at the coaching cycle part because that was spot on.
 



Before you extend his contract he has to show he can keep local talent here. He has done a poor job. I think more local talent is on the Badger roster. Very disappointed in his handling of Washington too.
 

Before you extend his contract he has to show he can keep local talent here. He has done a poor job. I think more local talent is on the Badger roster. Very disappointed in his handling of Washington too.

yeah....if only he had been able to keep Coffey/Hurt/Oturu/Kalscheur/Omersa/Johnson home. :confused:
 

Before you extend his contract he has to show he can keep local talent here. He has done a poor job. I think more local talent is on the Badger roster. Very disappointed in his handling of Washington too.

Both states produced 21 HS players playing in the NCAA tournament this year.
WI has 4 of their 21 on the roster and MN has 7 of 21. Think again.
 

Both states produced 21 HS players playing in the NCAA tournament this year.
WI has 4 of their 21 on the roster and MN has 7 of 21. Think again.

cue the "yeah but they have multiple in state D1 schools to compete with"
 



cue the "yeah but they have multiple in state D1 schools to compete with"

And Marquette has 4? 2 that contribute.

7 and 7.

Of everything we want to critique Pitino for, recruiting in state isn't really a valid point. Has he gotten the top dogs of each class? Nope. But who other than the regular championship contenders keep the top kids home? He's gotten a top MN recruit in almost every class, and this class might end up with one that he "missed on" if rumors are to believed.
 

And Marquette has 4? 2 that contribute.

7 and 7.

Of everything we want to critique Pitino for, recruiting in state isn't really a valid point. Has he gotten the top dogs of each class? Nope. But who other than the regular championship contenders keep the top kids home? He's gotten a top MN recruit in almost every class, and this class might end up with one that he "missed on" if rumors are to believed.

I’m on the he’s done a fine job in state. Just saying it’s the argument everyone reaches for
 

Before you extend his contract he has to show he can keep local talent here. He has done a poor job. I think more local talent is on the Badger roster. Very disappointed in his handling of Washington too.

Troll. Do your research before you spout off.

What Minnesota kid on the Wisconsin roster would you trade for a Minnesota kid on the Gopher roster? I would say none! Nate would be nice to have but I wouldn’t trade any of our current players for him.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Here are the Minnesotans at high majors during Pitino's time. (I wish it was easier to format these things on this page.) Those who say he's doing a ggod job of keeping Minnesotans are basically looking at two classes, as are those who criticize him for not getting enough.

I'm not among those who say he needs to recruit Minnesotans. If we can get similar or better players elsewhere, that's great. But that's usually more difficult.

2019

ZEKE NNAJI Arizona
DAVID RODDY Colorado State
MATTHEW HURT ---
TYRELL TERRY Stanford
TYLER WAHL Wisconsin

2018

TRE JONES Duke
JOE HEDSTROM Wisconsin
GABE KALSCHEUR Minnesota
DANIEL OTURU Minnesota
JARVIS OMERSA Minnesota

2017
MCKINLEY WRIGHT Colorado
RACE THOMPSON Indiana
NATHAN REUVERS Wisconsin
BRAD DAVISON Wisconsin
JERICHO SIMS Texas
THEO JOHN Marquette

2016
REED NIKKO Missouri
AMIR COFFEY Minnesota
MICHAEL HURT Minnesota

2015
SACAR ANIM Marquette
JARVIS JOHNSON Minnesota

2014

TYUS JONES Duke
J.P. MACURA Xavier
REID TRAVIS Stanford
 




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