What letter grade would you give the Richard Pitino hire?

What letter grade would you give the Richard Pitino hire?

  • A

    Votes: 38 15.6%

  • B

    Votes: 119 49.0%

  • C

    Votes: 50 20.6%

  • D

    Votes: 23 9.5%

  • F

    Votes: 13 5.3%
  • Total voters
    243
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The-Real-Truth said:
After thinking about what happened last week, I realized that I was trully a Gopher fan so I decided to follow their team along with my other schools. I only post what I think is right. I will not bash a coach or another poster. I just want you and your former negative posters to know that Gophers will not win until they invest in basketball program. Bringing a young coach will not solve the issue. He is unproven and you haters will find out soon.

Go Gophers
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We need all the fans that we can get. I thought it was ready to move on from Tubby, but if we don't invest in the program, it's going to awfully hard for Pitino to win a lot either.
 

How could anybody give this a B...it's a "oh crap nobody wants to come here"...hire.
 

The-Real-Truth said:
After thinking about what happened last week, I realized that I was trully a Gopher fan so I decided to follow their team along with my other schools. I only post what I think is right. I will not bash a coach or another poster. I just want you and your former negative posters to know that Gophers will not win until they invest in basketball program. Bringing a young coach will not solve the issue. He is unproven and you haters will find out soon.

Go Gophers
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Negative poster? I was a Tubby supporter to the end. Check my posts. Just curious why you decided to come back and defend Tubby's honor.
 

Gold Vision said:
Negative poster? I was a Tubby supporter to the end. Check my posts. Just curious why you decided to come back and defend Tubby's honor.
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My bad, I thought that you were upset that I was posting here. I came back because I love the state of MN and will support the State university. All othetr schools that I follow are the ones that I have attended and graduated from. I became a fan of UofM becuase Tubby came here right around the time that I moved here from Indiana. I became the biggest fan in Sothern MN. Last week was a bad week because I did not agree with the firing. I still don't. I wish for Richard to win for sure but I don't think that he can. This is a major job that should have been taken over by a big coach or a top assistant.

Go Gophers
 


Ski U Master said:
Like every hire, incomplete. You don't give out grades on the first day of class.
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Every kid in the class has a grade of A to start the season. It's either stay at an A or find the level as the class moves forward. I started him with an A, and will let him determine where things go from here.
 


Parski1 said:
How could anybody give this a B...it's a "oh crap nobody wants to come here"...hire.
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No. Its "I am not scared to go anywhere even Minnesota" hire. The kid has to either have big brass ones or no brains to take on a challenge like this with so little experience.

I like it - but Norwood really went out on a limb - wowzers.

I graded it a 'B' - only because he has everything but enough experience to be a sure fire A+. On the other hand if he is half as good as the coaches he mentored under [dad and donovan] we'd never get him after his next stop. So enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts. Hopefully he puts us on the map before he moves on.
 

Parski1 said:
How could anybody give this a B...it's a "oh crap nobody wants to come here"...hire.
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So if we assume what you say is true (that no one wanted to come here), than this is an A+ hire. If no one wanted to come here the best we could do is an intriguing up and comer that will instantly generate interest in the program. In that regard, we couldn't have done better. This hire will keep current players interested, and Richard Pitino probably has a leg up in recruiting over other up and comers simply due to name. The program will get a certain amount of national coverage just to see how he does.

If that's the reality, this is a great hire.
 



imthewalrus said:
Who could honestly grade this hire? The process that happened was sloppy and at times pretty disgusting. I mean offering the job to one individual but setting it up so that person could not possibly accept the terms. I have no respect for the athletic directors scruples. I also have no respect for this cult-like v-7 thing.

The kid they hired? Let's talk after his first B1G season. We will look at the Wins vs Losses, the attendance at the BARN and interest in the program locally.

Looking ahead, I see a lot of #7 through #10 type finishes in the conference. That's because there are so darn many tough places to play. I guess home Conference record will be very telling. IF the Gophers can defend their home court better than they have in the past, they have a chance to do a little better in conference play. IF they fail to defend their home court well...it will be mighty tuff to maintain and keep from heading lower in the conference.

It's SO long until the next season starts. It's really pretty hard to imagine things being too much different. Hope for the best...but...realistically deal with facts. We will know more at the end of next season...

; 0 )
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Wren.. It's great to see you post again (not sure when you official came 'back').. but really man? You can't say that this was a sloppy hiring because you don't know how it all went down except for whatever the local rags say. And even then those are blogs and opinion pieces.

Lets just give this hire an incomplete and judge it based on his B1G record.. =P
 


Can we please get some photoshop photos of our new coach. Rich Pitino
 

Tubby was a A hire who did a Solid job.. If he was not not the Son of an Ultra Elite Head and IF Teague Had not struck out with 7-8 other guys he would not be the our Coach.. So he is a very questionable hire... Ofcourse some folks get him mixed up with or assume he will be as great as his father and give him a A. Bottom line he has the pedigree but not the resume. THESCOUT!
 



Breakin' The Plane said:
No idea, but this hire is the equivalent of going for the green after the second shot on a par 5. Sure, the safe play is to lay it up and hope to come away with a par (at worst), but this program needs an eagle in a bad way. Time is going to tell if this is an eagle, or a double bogey that landed in the drink.
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With The Masters coming up. you win analogy of the year.
 

It was a stroke of genius leaking Steve Wojoafdghh and Eric Musselman as candidates. By comparison, I'm reasonably pleased, given the Titanic direction the search seemed to be taking.
 

@RandBall: JJ Barea on Pitino (asst at Northeastern when Barea played): He’s not afraid of anything or any situation. ...I think it was a good choice."
 

Parski1 said:
How could anybody give this a B...it's a "oh crap nobody wants to come here"...hire.
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For once I am in total agreement with you even though you are a Tubby lover.

I thought they should have given him another year, but thats just me.

I fail to see how many people have given this hire an "A". Why, because MN saved some money? 1 year of HC experience at a small school and he is being lauded as a program changing hire. People would be blowing loads in their pants here if Flip or Shaka would have been hired at this rate.
 

I was hoping for a more experienced and proven coach like the ones that (allegedly) turned us down, but I'm pleasantly surprised with the Pitino hire and I'll be rooting for him to succeed! Not expecting him to get any of the big 3, but if he can manage to replace Alvin Ellis with a similar player (or re-recruit him) I'll be impressed.
 

THE SCOUT! said:
Tubby was a A hire who did a Solid job.. If he was not not the Son of an Ultra Elite Head and IF Teague Had not struck out with 7-8 other guys he would not be the our Coach.. So he is a very questionable hire... Ofcourse some folks get him mixed up with or assume he will be as great as his father and give him a A. Bottom line he has the pedigree but not the resume. THESCOUT!
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Are you speaking of Rich Pitino or yourself...? Bottom line is he'll be, at minimum, equal to the Flubster.
 

tinyarch said:
Are you speaking of Rich Pitino or yourself...? Bottom line is he'll be, at minimum, equal to the Flubster.
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What makes you think that? He very well may end up like that but never underestimate a programs ability to do worse.
 

I'll give it a C, after getting turned down going back to the Donovan well is not a bad choice. I'm really hopeful this will turn out well and should be a great change of pace with someone young and enthusiastic.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
For once I am in total agreement with you even though you are a Tubby lover.

I thought they should have given him another year, but thats just me.

I fail to see how many people have given this hire an "A". Why, because MN saved some money? 1 year of HC experience at a small school and he is being lauded as a program changing hire. People would be blowing loads in their pants here if Flip or Shaka would have been hired at this rate.
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Just guessing, but I think people that are really excited about this are drawing parallels between Smart and Pitino. Young coaches who learned under Donovan. There's reason for optimism, but you're fooling yourself if you don't see that this has the potential to be a giant bomb. That could be said for any coach that would have taken the job.
 

In my mind, so far this is a C, maybe a B at best. For a program in the "best conference in basketball," finding a coach that people can find something to get excited about on the first day is the absolute minimum we should expect from the athletic department (and something we've had with every major coaching hire since I've been paying attention, including Monson, Brewster, etc). Pitino clears that bar, but beyond that, it's up to him to prove it on the court.

I'm actually a little surprised by how may people are really fired up about this hire. Outside of his last name, his resume is incomplete at best. I think he's going to make it work, but if I didn't believe that on day one, it would be a bold-faced "F"
 

Very nice ...

I like Teague's choice... Pitino looks like a great choice.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
Just guessing, but I think people that are really excited about this are drawing parallels between Smart and Pitino. Young coaches who learned under Donovan. There's reason for optimism, but you're fooling yourself if you don't see that this has the potential to be a giant bomb. That could be said for any coach that would have taken the job.
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I think the analogy can also be that Pitino follows in the trail of guys like Tony Bennett who follow their dad's with success on their own. The fact that Little Richard has spent time under other quality coaches like Donovan is an added benefit.

I agree that there is always a potential to bomb with a young hire, but I'm willing to trust Teague on this hire and support Pitino. I gave the Flubster 3 to 4 years grace period. I'm willing to give a couple years to the youngster. Certainly Pitino is leaps and bounds above "Orlando Jr."
 

gopherbadgerman said:
For once I am in total agreement with you even though you are a Tubby lover.

I thought they should have given him another year, but thats just me.

I fail to see how many people have given this hire an "A". Why, because MN saved some money? 1 year of HC experience at a small school and he is being lauded as a program changing hire. People would be blowing loads in their pants here if Flip or Shaka would have been hired at this rate.
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Either read about the guy and see what he's all about, or go over to Buckyville and post stuff like this. You are a Badger fan, not a Gopher fan. I'll never understand why you post over here. And not everyone was thrilled about the idea of Flip taking over.
 

I agree this guy may turn out to be a great coach, but it is a tough sell. My problem with the Villa 7 thing is that it is for mid-majors that lose coaches to bigger schools. Not the Big Ten. I would argue that Northwestern made a better hire on paper. Top assistant from a successful small private school. Fits their needs well. I am not sure how this hire fits Minnesota yet.
 

We all hoped for a big time coach, but it is time to get over it.

The more I heard about coach Pitino the more I like him. He had to earn his stripes before his father brought him on at UL. You listen to any of the press conferences from FIU and you can tell he knows basketball and he doesn't throw his players under the bus...

His father, in the press conference after their Duke win, gave his son special credit in coming up with the strategy to break down Duke. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uKG1gv7EY

On 1500ESPN tonight they interviewed a reporter from Louisville and he had a lot of good things to say about Rich. He said that Rich did almost all of the pre-game scouting because he was the only person that his dad trusted to get all the details. He talked about the game preparations and how his dad wanted to know every detail about the team. Things like the seventh guy on the bench, does he likes to go to his left or right in various situation... He said that Rich is just as intense as his dad. I think he also said Rich was a better X's and O's guy then his dad...

It looks like he has huge potential. It will be tough to learn on the job in the B1G, but I bet his teams will always be prepared and give it all out on the court.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Either read about the guy and see what he's all about, or go over to Buckyville and post stuff like this. You are a Badger fan, not a Gopher fan. I'll never understand why you post over here. And not everyone was thrilled about the idea of Flip taking over.
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I have no idea what you are talking about. You've gone to that well about 50 times with me. Maybe you should leave since you think Alvin Ellis is trash and no big deal he left...

ETA - I have read about him, I am not ripping the coach at all, just the sudden expectation that there is a giant tunraround coming. Its a coach with one season of being a HC. Admit it, if he had a different last name with the same resume, no one would be excited.
 

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