Isaiah Washington says he will “definitely” be back next year.

If he is sticking around that is a good thing for the program. He has shown flashes of the kind of player he can be he just has not found the consistency yet. He played well tonight against MSU, hopefully he can build on things in the off season and come back even better next year.
 


IW has by every appearance been a good teammate. He has some impressive skills, but has been "wasting" them by combining them with very serious holes in his game. I think it has been the mental transition where he has struggled. At present Amir is a much better PG overall even with the holes in his game. That can change. Adding Carr makes it a bit more complicated, but IW knows where he stands there because they know each others game. Glad he is staying and I hope he gains the structure and discipline in the areas his game has been lacking.
 

straight from his own lips


I like Isaiah, even though he’d drive me nuts with some of his decisions with ball and attention span on defense, and I hope he does stay. But what else is he supposed to say in this situation? “Maybe? We’ll see? F this, F that and F Pitino, I’m out?” He’s a smart kid and a good teammate, he gave the only answer he could in the situation. I’m certainly not going to hold this statement against him if he does ultimately decide to move on.
 

Still very difficult for me to think he will be returning next season. Not buying it.
 


IW has lots of potential. I want him back.
 


I like Isaiah, even though he’d drive me nuts with some of his decisions with ball and attention span on defense, and I hope he does stay. But what else is he supposed to say in this situation? “Maybe? We’ll see? F this, F that and F Pitino, I’m out?” He’s a smart kid and a good teammate, he gave the only answer he could in the situation. I’m certainly not going to hold this statement against him if he does ultimately decide to move on.

Agree totally. What is he gonna say in that situation?! I also wouldn't hold it against him if he doesn't come back.

Side note---I love the the despondent Rudrud in his locker next to IW. "Somebody interview me PLEASE!"
 

IW has by every appearance been a good teammate. He has some impressive skills, but has been "wasting" them by combining them with very serious holes in his game. I think it has been the mental transition where he has struggled. At present Amir is a much better PG overall even with the holes in his game. That can change. Adding Carr makes it a bit more complicated, but IW knows where he stands there because they know each others game. Glad he is staying and I hope he gains the structure and discipline in the areas his game has been lacking.
Excellent post. Totally agree.
IW has lots of potential. I want him back.
Me too. The interview makes me think there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than any of us know. I like that Pitino keeps a lid on it instead of fueling the speculation with any comments. He seems to understand that no matter what he says, it will be twisted by critics and only serve to hurt the process. If I’m right about this, I am impressed at Pitino’s recognition of this.
 



What is he gonna say in that situation?!
Weird comment. He could have said many things. He could have said in a PC way, “I’ll be discussing that with coach and my family.” Or he could have said “The season ended 10 minutes ago, I don’t know what I’m thinking.” Or, “I had a frustrating year.” Or dozens of other responses.
 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but the world would be a much better place if you swallowed about 2 or 3 cyanide capsules.

I've been looking for a lesson in how to go from Low Class to Zero Class in ten seconds. Thanks for showing the way.
 

Gophers would catch a huge break if IW returns. Tonight he showed again there were only 2 players on the gophers team that can match the level of Michigan st talent on the floor IW and Coffey.
 

I've been looking for a lesson in how to go from Low Class to Zero Class in ten seconds. Thanks for showing the way.


You're welcome! Glad I was able to provide you with that mentoring moment.
 



Gophers would catch a huge break if IW returns. Tonight he showed again there were only 2 players on the gophers team that can match the level of Michigan st talent on the floor IW and Coffey.

What a strange comment. You really don't think Murphy and Oturu can match their talent? Really?
 

Gophers would catch a huge break if IW returns. Tonight he showed again there were only 2 players on the gophers team that can match the level of Michigan st talent on the floor IW and Coffey.

Daniel Oturu has proven he definitely belongs, IW still has a chance to do the same.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Weird comment. He could have said many things. He could have said in a PC way, “I’ll be discussing that with coach and my family.” Or he could have said “The season ended 10 minutes ago, I don’t know what I’m thinking.” Or, “I had a frustrating year.” Or dozens of other responses.

Well, that is true, but with the microphone put in his face in a postgame locker room without any time to think, that is what he said. Either he is telling the truth or he was trying to dispense with that line of questioning in the quickest and most uncontroversial manner.
 
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To clarify - i don't want to see IW come back if he's not going to play. This team has had too much dead weight on the bench.

So - if IW is going to be a major contributor - or at least play consistent minutes and have a defined role on the team - then great, I hope he comes back.

But, if it's going to be like this year, where he doesn't see the floor for games at a time, or only plays a couple of meaningless minutes, then no, I don't want him coming back as a glorified cheerleader on the bench.

I want the roster spots to be used by players who CAN play, and who WILL play. If IW meets that definition, great, bring him back. If he doesn't meet that definition, then no, I don't want to see him come back. If all he is going to be is a uniform on the bench, then stick the uniform on a mannequin.
 

At present Amir is a much better PG overall even with the holes in his game.

Hmmm...let's see. IW handles the ball significantly better (really no comparison here). He is a better passer and his assist to turnover ratio is slightly better (although neither one of them is particularly good by that metric). IW looks for his teammates more (even the ones who aren't very good). Coffey is a rather selfish player which I guess isn't the worst thing in the world for a natural scorer but not a great attribute for a point guard. I do wonder how many shots per game he will take next year when he will be the unchallenged star among the returnees. He may approach Carsen Edwards territory.
 

Assume for a second that he's actually planning on leaving.

He just got beat by 20 to get kicked out of the tournament. A reporter sticks a mic in his face and asks him if he's leaving or coming back.

What the hell else is he going to say at that moment other than "I'm coming back"????
 

People who have been pushing hard on the IW is not coming back theory are really struggling to parse the statement I'm coming back as something other than I'm coming back.
 

Assume for a second that he's actually planning on leaving.

He just got beat by 20 to get kicked out of the tournament. A reporter sticks a mic in his face and asks him if he's leaving or coming back.

What the hell else is he going to say at that moment other than "I'm coming back"????

Ya we can't take anything from that quote. I wish reporters wouldn't ask it.

As I've said before though, if he did mean it I respect him for sticking it out.
 

I take him at his word. It will all be in his season ending meeting with the staff that addresses status and evaluation. Then it will be up to him how hard he works to become what is asked. This has not been on Pitino unless you think he has not been clear. I think he has been very clear. He will be clear as can be in that after the season meeting. That first part includes exactly where he stands now with others at his position, the rest is skill, decision making and defense.
 

It would have been an easy question to dodge. Something along the lines I am just so proud of where we have come and I am not thinking about all of that right now, just looking forward to putting in work this offseason etc....
 

IW has been a good citizen/teammate here. I've said this numerous times that maybe IW likes it here. He respects his degree and likes the guys. Of course he wants to play, but maybe he values the struggle and wants to grow here. So many people criticize kids for taking the easy route and now we see a ton mad or think he's stupid for staying.
 

If he does, indeed, stay, it would give me hope that Isaiah sees hope for himself to improve enough to earn court time. That’s an encouraging sign.
 

Expect the style of play to change now that Murph is moving on.
No rebound King means we will need to speed up. Having the additional guards available will allow a faster pace.
Of course this only works if our shooting improves. I gotta think any of the two new guards will shoot better than Dupree shot.
 

Expect the style of play to change now that Murph is moving on.
No rebound King means we will need to speed up. Having the additional guards available will allow a faster pace.
Of course this only works if our shooting improves. I gotta think any of the two new guards will shoot better than Dupree shot.

This. The guys we have back and in favor a higher paced game.
 

Expect the style of play to change now that Murph is moving on.
No rebound King means we will need to speed up. Having the additional guards available will allow a faster pace.
Of course this only works if our shooting improves. I gotta think any of the two new guards will shoot better than Dupree shot.

Murphy is a huge loss, but if we're able to get a PF who can shoot, Oturu will have a lot more room to score around the basket. I think his scoring is going to go way up if that happens, especially with us having an actual point guard. I'm really going to miss Murphy, but it would be fun to see a faster paced, better three point shooting team that defenses can't just clog the paint against.
 

I’m not sure I’m looking forward to trying to run higher pace in the Big 10 with the experience of other coaches in the league and style they play.

Iowa can win doing it so so can we but the elite teams slow it down save for Michigan State. But that’s because Michigan State is far superior in talent.
 

Assume for a second that he's actually planning on leaving.

He just got beat by 20 to get kicked out of the tournament. A reporter sticks a mic in his face and asks him if he's leaving or coming back.

What the hell else is he going to say at that moment other than "I'm coming back"????

I didn't see a lot of the post-game interviews. Did anyone shove a mic in Amir's face and ask him if he is leaving or coming back? I wonder how he answered (or would have answered)?
 




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