Reusse: I say fire Pitino. Then bring him back a month later and call it a fresh start. Because I don't think it makes any difference.

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Technically, yes, the program has not shown consistency for a long long time. It doesnt mean that can't change. Many programs become "good", but you have to hire the right coach but also the right assistants (recruiters).

I think we'll find out a month after the season is done what will happen with Pitino going forward.
 

EG#9 said:
I love when Reusse writes something terrible and the reaction from some is some form of "he's just trolling Gopher fans". So everyone else who reads the piece comes to the conclusion that the author is either A. very lazy and does no research or B. not intelligent and incapable of understanding the sport he's paid to opine about.

Imagine writing this on a day that the early bracket reveal: no.1 seeds: Gonzaga, Baylor no. 2 seeds: Alabama, Houston no. 3 seeds: West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma no. 4 seeds Iowa, Texas Tech, and Missouri

You cannot make a credible case that Minnesota cannot compete with any of these programs. Then you have Illinois at a no.2 that was recently down. Then you have Virginia: from 1997-1998 to 2012-2013, the Cavaliers played in a grand total of 3 NCAA tournaments and had 1 win. They fired 2 coaches during that span. I guess they should have just given up and stuck with Dave Leitao because clearly Ralph Sampson wasn't coming back.

Almost every team in the 16 team bracket today is an example of why sticking with Pitino is complete insanity. Maybe you miss on your next coach too...the history of Gopher basketball (as marginal as it is) suggests you are incredibly unlikely to miss as bad as you did on Richard Pitino.
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...and there's no way Alabama is doing as well as they are if they hadn't hired Oats. Hiring the right person as coach IS the answer to the question.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
The point of the column is that this is what "Gopher Basketball" is now, and if people think changing coaches will make some magical difference, they're mistaken. And I can't really argue with that. Do people believe that New Coach X is going to walk into Williams and the Gophs are suddenly going to turn into a powerhouse?
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So it doesn't matter who the coach is? Then why pay Pitino 2.2 million. If the program is what it is, then we might as well just pay some guy $700,000 for no hope and save us a little money.
 

If Pitino stays, we need to hope we hire different assistants. That, also, is unlikely to happen.
So, somebody different "might" make a difference.
We've gone from unpredictable to predictable and that ain't good. 0 and 7 on the road in two of the last couple years is a becoming known for something.....but that something is not good.
They seem lost....with less hope in each game they play.
 

Bad Gopher said:
...and there's no way Alabama is doing as well as they are if they hadn't hired Oats. Hiring the right person as coach IS the answer to the question.
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Oats does seem to have a track record of winning. Musselman is a somewhat distant 2nd in the conference.
Gophers are bottom half again.
Absolutely, it's time.
 


You guys don't fully get it. The Gopher BB programs are classic sellers remorse organizations. "We had_______ and they went elsewhere and succeeded. How can we get them back to give us that success?"

Campus politics overwhelm the athletic department. It is the albatross around their collective neck.
 

I’ve been on the get rid of Pitino bandwagon for a few years. I agree with Reusee on this. I am at the point where If Pitino is back or isn’t back makes no difference to me.
 

scools12 said:
I’ve been on the get rid of Pitino bandwagon for a few years. I agree with Reusee on this. I am at the point where If Pitino is back or isn’t back makes no difference to me.
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Are you a season ticket holder? Are you an alumnus?
 

60's Guy said:
Oats does seem to have a track record of winning. Musselman is a somewhat distant 2nd in the conference.
Gophers are bottom half again.
Absolutely, it's time.
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There's no certainty we could have gotten Oats, but the key reality is that we didn't try.
 





Ewert86PC said:
You guys don't fully get it. The Gopher BB programs are classic sellers remorse organizations. "We had_______ and they went elsewhere and succeeded. How can we get them back to give us that success?"

Campus politics overwhelm the athletic department. It is the albatross around their collective neck.
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Which coach (Besides Holtz & Freese) in any sport has gone somewhere else and had success?

The only three other HCs I remember leaving for another job are Stollings, McAllister, and Trachsel.

Stollings was a disaster at TTU, and McAllister is in her 3rd and a 1/2 year trying to rebuild Stanford, and Trachsel is 2-2 after her first weekend at Ole Miss.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Which coach (Besides Holtz & Freese) in any sport has gone somewhere else and had success?

The only three other HCs I remember leaving for another job are Stollings, McAllister, and Trachsel.

Stollings was a disaster at TTU, and McAllister is in her 3rd year trying to rebuild Stanford, and Trachsel is 2-2 after her first weekend at Ole Miss.
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Monson has had success at Long Beach state.
 








EG#9 said:
Imagine writing this on a day that the early bracket reveal: no.1 seeds: Gonzaga, Baylor no. 2 seeds: Alabama, Houston no. 3 seeds: West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma no. 4 seeds Iowa, Texas Tech, and Missouri

You cannot make a credible case that Minnesota cannot compete with any of these programs.
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With the exception of Gonzaga, West Virginia, and Iowa, all of those are sunbelt teams. Technically, Missouri isn't but they play in a sunbelt conference and Missouri and West Virginia have much milder weather. They are also more closely located to bigger recruiting markets. Oklahoma is right next door to Texas, one of the biggest recruiting markets for athletes. This may be hard for people who have lived here all of their lives to understand, but many people just won't come here - it's too cold and too isolated for most people who have a choice.

Gonzaga is a special case and their status has been many years in the making. They also were able to nurture their long-term progression in a conference without any other major contenders.

The only direct comparison there is Iowa and there is no reason why Minnesota can't do as well, or better than, Iowa. I would be happy with that but that isn't a particularly high bar. Iowa hasn't made the final 16 in the 21st century and even in its heyday (1979 through 1999) only made it that far four times.
 

And remember Gonzaga has the fifth highest recruiting budget in Power 1 schools. Big reason why their head coach has never looked elsewhere for a job. He has his cake and gets to eat too.
 

Pete smith said:
And remember Gonzaga has the fifth highest recruiting budget in Power 1 schools. Big reason why their head coach has never looked elsewhere for a job. He has his cake and gets to eat too.
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Good article here that describes the humble beginnings of their amazing run.

www.si.com

How Gonzaga Zagged

Mark Few built a major program at a small school but has yet to win the big one. Could his current squad be the one that does it?
www.si.com www.si.com
 

i had similar argument on a different message board over poster very upset gophers fired Tubby, his stance was MN sucks, will always suck, so why try to be better
 


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