Hi everyone, happy Thursday. I'll go ahead and jump into questions.
Yes, you can point to any number of "bad luck" moments in so many close games, but the fact of the matter is, Minnesota shouldn't have been there most of the time. A couple times, the Gophers held big leads they lost and a couple of other times they were down so far and playing so badly that they lulled their opponents to sleep and were able to come back on them. I think it's hard to say Minnesota is "right around the corner" especially after the game it played vs. Nebraska.
I'm not sure he is getting patience or good will right now -- I hear a lot of angry voices.
That said, folks should have always known they were getting a coach-in-progress. Minnesota paid him for his upside, not what he'd done already. And a second-year slump doesn't necessarily change any of that. Not yet. It's just way too early to judge.
I don't understand why folks keep talking about Diedhiou's redshirt. This year might be as beneficial as any he has in his career. Minnesota needs him to play a big role next year and -- as you can now see -- he needs all the experience between now and then and then some. Also, if Minnesota is concerned with Diedhiou getting another year four years from now, that would be a problem. The Gophers need help now in the immediate future and Pitino has to trust that he can get more good (better) players for later.
1. Walker's offensive development; 2. Identifying and Nabbing Mason
And it's way too early to be talking about a "change of course." He's had one full season. He's 32. Did you expect this rebuilding project to go completely smoothly?
Oh thank goodness you're here, Roger.
The biggest difference is in the depth. Without McNeil, Minnesota is down another valuable defensive reserve. And Charles Buggs is forced into a bigger role he isn't really ready for. Wins difference? Hard to say. Maybe they win one or two more games. Maybe not.
I think he's trying different strategies, as any coach would, of getting his players to respond. Recently, that seems to be propping them up with confidence to the point of not even acknowledging a lot of flaws (with the media anyway) ... I think he's still trying to figure out that happy balance of what kind of stimulus they'll react to right now.
How about Balvenie ... a little bit different, easy to drink, a hint of sweetness, great for a casual after-dinner sipper.
He's no longer enrolled or on the team.
Eliason. But Joey King gets pretty surprised too.
People have fallen for it, he just is so used to them not falling for it that he sometimes forgets to shoot it when it does work.
I think Rick Pitino probably knows a thing or two about negativity.
Let's do one-word answers for a while.
He's got to improve defensively though. And stop getting into so much foul trouble,
