BleedGopher
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per Greder:
Like so many basketball players and teams this week, the Gophers are reflecting on Kobe Bryant’s life and how it can relate to or inspire their own.
Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino isn’t, however, pulling from Bryant’s five NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, 33,643 career points or any other highlight from his 20-year, to-be Hall of Fame career for the Los Angeles Lakers.
After Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash Sunday, Pitino had his team learn of Bryant’s four airballs as a teenage rookie against the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals in 1997. The Gophers watched that footage Tuesday.
“How do you respond to failure? And all those things,” Pitino said Wednesday.
The night of the “Airball Game,” Bryant landed in the L.A. area and went directly to a local high school to work on his shot “until the sun came up.” That work carried into that offseason.
“It was an early turning point for me,” Bryant told the Los Angeles Daily News for a 2016 story. “At 18 years old, it was gut-check time.”
The Gophers (11-9, 5-5 Big Ten) could use a boost going into Thursday’s game against No. 19 Illinois (15-5, 7-2) at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
Minnesota is shooting 28 percent from 3-point range in Big Ten games, which ranks 13th out of 14 teams in the league as of Monday night. The U was shooting 36 percent in nonconference play.
“It’s been abysmal,” Pitino said.
Go Gophers!!
Like so many basketball players and teams this week, the Gophers are reflecting on Kobe Bryant’s life and how it can relate to or inspire their own.
Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino isn’t, however, pulling from Bryant’s five NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, 33,643 career points or any other highlight from his 20-year, to-be Hall of Fame career for the Los Angeles Lakers.
After Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash Sunday, Pitino had his team learn of Bryant’s four airballs as a teenage rookie against the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals in 1997. The Gophers watched that footage Tuesday.
“How do you respond to failure? And all those things,” Pitino said Wednesday.
The night of the “Airball Game,” Bryant landed in the L.A. area and went directly to a local high school to work on his shot “until the sun came up.” That work carried into that offseason.
“It was an early turning point for me,” Bryant told the Los Angeles Daily News for a 2016 story. “At 18 years old, it was gut-check time.”
The Gophers (11-9, 5-5 Big Ten) could use a boost going into Thursday’s game against No. 19 Illinois (15-5, 7-2) at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
Minnesota is shooting 28 percent from 3-point range in Big Ten games, which ranks 13th out of 14 teams in the league as of Monday night. The U was shooting 36 percent in nonconference play.
“It’s been abysmal,” Pitino said.
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Go Gophers!!
