Exactly. As someone one here so accurately pointed out, rebounding is the completion of a defensive possession and in the Iowa game we were a low C on defense and in the MSU game we were a A.
Ideally you do it with high character guys day one win or lose. You do it to build a culture so you can be sustainable. It becomes a way of living not just playing. The winning follows. Best coaches are not preaching , it is teaching and it is how they teach. There is a real magic to it. Some have it in spades, some not so much. You see it in practices, especially in clinics where you are captured as a crowd in a collective energy that all talk about. Players and alumni talk about it. Coaches convention every year, except this past year all assistant coaches ans scouts are raving about so and so. Pitino deserves a great deal of credit for always trying hard to get better.
I think he is more humble because he has been humbled. He found out if you cut corners on character it will crush you. It rips apart the fabric you stand on. Building a foundation of a program is by far the most important thing. Sure experience helps but the best ones do it right away, go through history and all the greats follow a distinct pattern.
I'm not sure. That Mich State team last night lacked athleticism, size, shooters, creators.
You have to be a good athlete to be able to shoot non layups with your off hand.
I got the same impression of Michigan State last night, that they just looked kind of bad, particularly in the first half. It seemed like they either settled for jump shots or had smaller players try to go at Robbins and score over him, and it just wasn’t working. They also looked a little slow and lackadaisical, not playing with much energy.
They are not very good but we made them play poorly.
He was one of the youngest, least experienced coaches ever hired at this level. That was certainly a problem. Bennett was what 38, when he got the WSU job? 41 or so by the time he got Virginia. Coach K was 33 starting at Duke and 37 before he got his first NCAA bid. Pitino now at 38 years old is starting to show some good signs and perhaps has finally built a deep roster to work with. I'm not saying he has arrived - I was ready to move on from him after the Illinois game- but he still has potential and has learned at our expense. But hey when you hire a 30 year old coach in the Big Ten to go against Bo Ryan, Tom Izzo and Beilien, and do it with less talent, it ain't going to be easy.
Agreed, and that connection is getting stronger with each game, you can see it. We are seeing players taking shots, and then if they are off are not then forcing the issue, but not in a way where they won't take open shots that you have to take if left wide open. We are also starting to see players knowing where there teammates like the ball and where they are comfortable to score. This is the biggest factor for good offense, giving guys scoring opportunities where their strength is, this really boosts efficiency.
Agreed, the growth Robbins shows from game to game (excluding the first 3 NC games) is impressive. Major reason why when everyone was projecting out the future based on the Illinois game, I wasn't worried because I know this team is a better team from game to game because of progress being shown by players like Robbins, or even especially Robbins.
Challenging for a BIG title is wonderful. But just beating BUCKY is a feature in and of itself.
Could care less about calender years. Knight hired at 30 won a conference title in year two a national title year 3 or 4. Fred Taylor told everyone he knew Knight would win national titles whenever he got hired. He was a brilliant teacher. Brad Stevens won right away. Bennett came to coaching late because he had a playing career and a mission to attend to. As soon as Bo Ryan got to know him he said Bennett would win right away. He did that at WSU of all places, no one wins there. He did not win because he was 37, he would have won at 27 but really did not think he wanted to coach. Everyone that met him knew he would win, he was bright but he was raised on humility. Plenty of guys hired at 32 won big by 37. The best data we have is the truly gifted win something truly meaningful by year 6 regardless of age. All of them built a solid foundation right away. Some are more gifted than others. Agree that i see signs now, said it before the last 3 games but it is real when it is sustainable success. Winning titles, getting to the final 4 and stringing together 7,8,9 years of being above .500 in conference. I have seen plenty of guys put up one or two and just stay that way. Lets go and win the conference, build a top 2-3 team in the conference year after year and then we can say he was special. I am all in. You did not need to be older to know you recruit character, never skimp on doing things the right way. Growing up around a program with poor ethics did not help. I am all for living and learning, hell that is how i live everyday. Let's go.
You of all people of course, know that Tony's year 1 was really the 4th year of Dick Bennett's regime at WSU. Dick had not done well there but had the table set for a decent start for Tony otherwise Tony would not have done it. Minnesota has been historically one of the toughest programs to get the job done at. Huge potential here as the long D1 club but always the negative stigma of being a place you can't do it at without cheating. One non cheating Big Ten title in 48 years kind of tells the story.