Pitino Blog, 10/24

nooram

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Pitino Blog: Wrapping Up Iowa State Scrimmage https://gophersports.com/news/2019/...no-blog-wrapping-up-iowa-state-scrimmage.aspx


Good morning Gopher fans,

Now is a good time to give a little state of the union as the season is upon us. Obviously we are devastated by the news of <dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Eric Curry</dfn> tearing his ACL recently in practice. He has had a successful surgery and will begin the road to recovery immediately. I am so impressed by his positive attitude throughout this whole process. We all could learn a lot from Eric's positive attitude when adversity hits. He will still be an important member of this team this season. We certainly lost a lot with Eric out but injuries are an unfortunate part of the game. No excuses, no complaining. Everyone else will have to step up.

Our schedule is extremely challenging so our guys will have to be ready right away. We recently played Iowa State in a scrimmage. It was a great opportunity for our guys to compete vs. someone else besides themselves. We learned a good amount about what we are good at and where we need to improve. We need to be a low turnover, high assist team. I think we have the ability to be very skilled and efficient. 20 turnovers and 22 fouls won't cut it. 19 for 23 from the foul line is terrific. I have decided to take our fans advice and started practicing free throws. It seems to be working! Thanks for your help Gopher fans!

38 percent from the field is not bad. 8 for 28 from the 3 point line is solid. Our guys are pretty good at not taking bad shots. We won the rebounding battle 51-40. Only had 4 steals which isn't great. Steals are great opportunities for easy baskets. We have to be more disruptive. 19 deflections isn't enough! Every good team has an identity. My NIT championship team could shoot it and move the ball. Our two recent NCAA tourney teams were tough, physical and great at getting fouled. It will be interesting to see what our identity is moving forward. The word our guys have chosen as a theme for this year is TOUGH. We need to be that mentally and physically every day. Everything will change when minutes are being distributed. The outside noise will start to hit our guys with questions, comments, and concerns. The good ones ignore the noise and stay the course. Below is an individual breakdown of how each guy played and where they can get better. Let the mind games begin!

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Marcus Carr</dfn> - 5 turnovers and 9 missed shots is no good. 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 made free throws is productive. Marcus is really tough and fearless. Needs to work on being more efficient offensively.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Payton Willis</dfn> - Took Payton a little while to get going offensively. Love the 5 rebounds. Don't love the 3 turnovers. Made some big shots down the stretch.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Gabe Kalscheur</dfn> - Missed some open looks that I know he will make. Gabe is a lethal weapon from three. I have to get him great looks. Zero steals is no good. He needs to be a pest defensively.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Daniel Oturu</dfn> - Loved his effort on defense. You can really tell Daniel is trying to take the next step. 13 rebounds is great. 4 turnovers and fouling out obviously isn't great.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Alihan Demir</dfn> - 6 rebounds is good. Need Alihan to be more aggressive scoring the basketball. He needs to get off more than 3 attempts in a game. Loved that he didn't turn the ball over. Unfortunately fouled out as well.

Tre Williams - Didn't seem to get into much of a rhythm. Has been a bit hampered by a shoulder injury. He will get there. Can be a great spark for us.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Bryan Greenlee</dfn> - Love seeing 4 rebounds and a steal. Guards should be great rebounders because their guy normally doesn't go rebound. Starting to evolve as a really good defender.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Jarvis Omersa</dfn> - Plays so hard and has incredible energy. 5 rebounds is great. Love his effort. Increased role this year.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Sam Freeman</dfn> - Terrific rebounder. Goes after it with two hands. Still figuring out the system. Sam will get there.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Isaiah Ihnen</dfn> - Still trying to figure out what position to play him at. Has been playing both the 3 and the 4. Needs to rebound more. Hit a big 3. Love how much he cares.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Michael Hurt</dfn> - Mike was big off the bench. Made winning plays when we needed him to. Rebounded the ball well. Looked like a senior who understands how to win.

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Hunt Conroy</dfn> - DNP, coach's decision

<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Brady Rudrud</dfn> - Missed the trip due to illness. Must have been a fun Friday night on campus. Just kidding! I think.

Congrats to Gopher football on their 7-0 start. Love watching them play. I don't know much about football but when I watch them I see a team that is extremely bought in, well coached and disciplined. Let's pack the house Saturday vs. Maryland!

Fun Wolves game last night in Brooklyn. Awesome to see Gopher alum Ryan Saunders get his first win. Karl Anthony Towns is a star. Wiggins made big plays down the stretch.

If you haven't bought your tickets yet for our annual Coaches vs. Cancer event please do! It's a fun night and a great opportunity to kick off the season. Most importantly, all the proceeds go to the fight against cancer.

It's back to work for the Gophers. We play 6 high major opponents in ten non-conference games as well as two early Big Ten games! We have to take huge strides the next few weeks. It's going to be fun!

Go Gophers,
<dfn style="overflow-wrap: break-word; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: Saira, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Richard Pitino</dfn>
 
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"I have decided to take our fans advice and started practicing free throws. It seems to be working! Thanks for your help Gopher fans!"

lol
 

Pitino is awesome. Yes, I totally get the furrowed brows at his spotty record thus far, and I can't argue that at all. I really hope those struggles are behind us. But I absolutely love Pitino the person.
 




Pitino is awesome. Yes, I totally get the furrowed brows at his spotty record thus far, and I can't argue that at all. I really hope those struggles are behind us. But I absolutely love Pitino the person.

Agreed. That was a great read.
 



I have to agree here 38% FG and 29% 3pt FG is not good.

No its not great, but i think he was happy with the 8 3 pointers. There were times where we would be 1 of 20 last year.
 



“Brady Rudrud - Missed the trip due to illness. Must have been a fun Friday night on campus. Just kidding! I think.” Hahahaha, I love his blogs. Say what you will, but he has a good sense of humor!
 


I have to agree here 38% FG and 29% 3pt FG is not good.

Based on how sarcastic he is, I think he was kidding. Those percentages are objectively bad. The next sentence he wrote about not taking bad shots also leads me to believe he was being sarcastic, though his wording definitely didn't make that obvious. Those 3 sentences about the shooting were definitely a bit confusing.
 

Based on how sarcastic he is, I think he was kidding. Those percentages are objectively bad. The next sentence he wrote about not taking bad shots also leads me to believe he was being sarcastic, though his wording definitely didn't make that obvious. Those 3 sentences about the shooting were definitely a bit confusing.

Sarcastic about practicing free throws
 



<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 

I read this when it came out, but never got around to post any thoughts. It's quite impressive that the Gophers were able to win the game with both Oturu and Demir fouled out. 8-28 from the 3 point line is in no way "good" and it doesn't seem like Pitino is being sarcastic here? I find it interesting who Coach Pitino is willing to criticize in his blogs and who he seems to go easier on. I also noted that his comments on Jarvis were much more positive than his last blog which is hopefully a good sign and not "well pointing out the negatives didn't work so lets kill him with kindness". If you remember there were consistent nudges to Isaiah Washington in his offseason blogs last year that kind of ended up telling the story of his season. Finally, and please don't take this as a shot at you nooram, I don't think Pitino's whole blog should be cut and pasted on this site. If the blog gets traffic to the GopherSports website, it is far more likely to continue to be a regular occurence. I think we need GopherHoler's to make sure to click on the GopherSports website if we want this content to continue. I could be completely wrong here and nooram did a great job of linking the blog as well so people could give a click even if they read it on GopherHole.
 

Think it is nice of him that he writes it for the fans. Very low traffic but there for those that want it. Tons of coaches do not write or do any social media. To each his own.
 




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