BleedGopher
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per Marcus:
Rick Pitino has spoken to his son’s Gophers men’s basketball team several times over the years. The overriding theme from the former Louisville coach has been about playing disruptive defense.
“He’s one of the best coaches ever,” Gophers senior guard Dupree McBrayer said of Pitino. “He came every summer pointing out stuff to us, especially this year. ... Just about the similarities between his Louisville teams and our team … never really offensive things, it’s all defensive things.”
Gophers coach Richard Pitino preaches the same message as his father. There’s little doubt defense will be word of the day Thursday in Des Moines, where the 10th-seeded Gophers match up against seventh-seeded Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Louisville, nearly a year and a half separated from Rick after he was fired by the school amid a federal bribery investigation, is still trying to regain its once-renowned defensive identity. The Cardinals struggled on defense for large parts of the season.
The Gophers are looking to regain their defensive mojo, too. In Saturday’s 76-49 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament semifinals in Chicago, the Wolverines shot 52 percent from the floor, including 15-for-20 on layups and 10 three-pointers.
“It’s nothing to hang our heads about, because we were really gassed,” McBrayer said. “But that’s not an excuse. We can still control defense and effort. We were playing really good.”
http://www.startribune.com/defense-...oing-to-succeed-against-louisville/507333412/
Go Gophers!!
Rick Pitino has spoken to his son’s Gophers men’s basketball team several times over the years. The overriding theme from the former Louisville coach has been about playing disruptive defense.
“He’s one of the best coaches ever,” Gophers senior guard Dupree McBrayer said of Pitino. “He came every summer pointing out stuff to us, especially this year. ... Just about the similarities between his Louisville teams and our team … never really offensive things, it’s all defensive things.”
Gophers coach Richard Pitino preaches the same message as his father. There’s little doubt defense will be word of the day Thursday in Des Moines, where the 10th-seeded Gophers match up against seventh-seeded Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Louisville, nearly a year and a half separated from Rick after he was fired by the school amid a federal bribery investigation, is still trying to regain its once-renowned defensive identity. The Cardinals struggled on defense for large parts of the season.
The Gophers are looking to regain their defensive mojo, too. In Saturday’s 76-49 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament semifinals in Chicago, the Wolverines shot 52 percent from the floor, including 15-for-20 on layups and 10 three-pointers.
“It’s nothing to hang our heads about, because we were really gassed,” McBrayer said. “But that’s not an excuse. We can still control defense and effort. We were playing really good.”
http://www.startribune.com/defense-...oing-to-succeed-against-louisville/507333412/
Go Gophers!!