Archive for '2012-2013'

Let’s wrap the 2012-13 season

Posted on 24. Apr, 2013 by .

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Okay, so I usually do a season-ending recap soon after the final game of the season when the misery/optimism/exhaling is extremely fresh. It provides the best foundation to really review the season, scrutinize what went wrong, praise what went right and dream of the following year when everything will be better … or something. This [...]

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Richard Pitino is the next Golden Gophers Basketball Coach

Posted on 03. Apr, 2013 by .

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Norwood Teague earned his reputation plucking unknown coaches out of obscurity, and with his first hire at the University of Minnesota, he has done it once again. Richard Pitino, 30 year old son of another Richard Pitino, will be the next Golden Gophers basketball coach after one season at Florida International.

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Career archetypes and the next Golden Gopher basketball coach

Posted on 01. Apr, 2013 by .

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Welcome to the half-way point of the great Golden Gopher Basketball coaching search. No, really, we are only halfway there. If a coach was somehow hired by midnight, it would be the quickest hire in the Big Ten since 2010, by a whole four days. While the rest of the world waits with baited breath for the next coach to be named, it seems prudent to pause for a moment and explore what type of coach will be available and what type of coach can be successful. This is what Norwood Teague is looking at right now. As should now be obvious, he is finding a winner than appeasing fans, the media, or anyone else. Today, we will at career archetypes, and their likelihood of success.

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Donald Rumsfeld, media vs. journalists, and the Golden Gopher coaching search

Posted on 31. Mar, 2013 by .

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There is only one person who ever enjoyed a coaching search, and he was fictional. Take it away Alfred. And the world does burn during a coaching search, especially for those with the unfortunate task of sorting through the rumors, innuendo, and the semi-transparent attempts by coaches involved to extract larger and longer contracts out [...]

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On a more thoughtful approach to the coaching search

Posted on 31. Mar, 2013 by .

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If the past few days have shown us anything it’s that this Gopher fan base is one demanding group. Crazy indictments on the administration, Norwood Teague in particular, and the media frenzy to come down with the most ridiculous takes that further inflame the search process continue to amaze me. Take a chill pill, people. [...]

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The 5 best wins and worst losses under Tubby Smith

Posted on 29. Mar, 2013 by .

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We’re in the middle of perhaps the most exciting time in recent Gopher hoops memory, and nothing gets the blood pumping like a good, ol’ fashioned coaching search. And while rumors will swirl, flights will be tracked, and TMZ will seem tame, I think it’s important to take a minute to revisit the highs and [...]

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Coaching changes from the player perspective: An interview with Damian Johnson

Posted on 29. Mar, 2013 by .

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Lost in the flurry of rumors and innuendo during the search to replace Tubby Smith is that the Golden Gophers basketball team is also awaiting news about who will coach them next. Damian Johnson, former Golden Gophers forward, was a redshirt freshman when Dan Monson was fired and Tubby Smith was hired. He kindly agreed to answer a few questions about what a coaching search is like for players, and how it affects them.

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Day two of the Golden Gopher coaching search: Not a Shaka, Smart stays home

Posted on 27. Mar, 2013 by .

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It is a sad day for the twitterati and bloggers everywhere. Puns won’t come easy once the next Gopher basketball coach is named. Shaka Smart has decided to stay at VCU, adding a bit of mystery to the coaching search. Logic would dictate that Smart was the leading candidate, especially given his relationship with Norwood [...]

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Day one of the Golden Gopher coaching search: Pastner is out, Collins isn’t in, and the latest on Shaka Smart

Posted on 26. Mar, 2013 by .

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There are plenty of tea leaves to read on the first day the Golden Gopher basketball coaching search. There isn’t much hard news, but the news that does exist is good.

We’ll start with what we know, and that is the Josh Pastner will not be coaching the Golden Gophers or anyone other than Memphis. He confirmed that he is restructuring his contract and has no intention of leaving Memphis. Pastner was never a legitimate candidate to come to a university still recovering from another slick talker and over-rated recruited, right Tim Brewster? Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins would not have been happy either, considering they chose not to play for Memphis. If the coaching search went south though, Pastner’s name might have popped up, if solely to make a splash with the next hire.

Now, for some speculation…

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Never enough wins, or one of us, the Tubby Smith Era comes to an end.

Posted on 25. Mar, 2013 by .

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The end came for Tubby Smith today, but I can’t help but think of the beginning, that glorious spring morning when we all learned that a national championship winning coach, the coach that knocked the infamous 1997 team out of the Final Four, was riding in on a Lear Jet to save the program, create a national brand, and win a Big Ten Title. At least that is how it was supposed to work. Tubby Smith won that first press conference. As the years went on, he didn’t win enough press conferences or enough games. Either type of wins would have bought him a few more years, but those never came.

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Tubby Smith has reportedly been fired.

Posted on 25. Mar, 2013 by .

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It appears that Tubby Smith did need a trip to the Sweet 16 to keep his job. His team lost in the round of 32, and now Tubby Smith has lost his job according to Jeff Goodman.

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Who are the Gators? A Q&A with Alligator Army

Posted on 24. Mar, 2013 by .

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Only one thing stands between the Gophers and the second week of the tournament – the Florida Gators. Easy, right? Admittedly, I haven’t watched a whole lot of Florida basketball this year since the SEC is relatively inaccessible in these parts. To help give us a little idea who who the Gators are and what [...]

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It’s a Bruin Blowout!

Posted on 23. Mar, 2013 by .

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I was excited for Friday’s game against UCLA for plenty of reasons. Of course, it was the fact that the Gophers were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years. They were playing on college basketball’s biggest stage with a chance to redeem a season that fell well short of expectations once [...]

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Golden Gophers blow out the Bruins, and now get the Gators

Posted on 22. Mar, 2013 by .

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A truly rewarding journey isn’t easy. There are wrong turns, detours, and delays. The college basketball season is 30 games long, and the Golden Gophers got lost along the way, and more than once looked like they wanted to give up and go home. Instead, they’ll be playing to go to the teams first Sweet 16 (that counts) since 1989. In basketball as in life, without negatives there can be no positives.

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Who is UCLA? A Q&A with some Bruin bloggers

Posted on 21. Mar, 2013 by .

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Maybe it isn’t where we thought we’d be after topping out at 8th in nation. Maybe it wasn’t where we thought we’d be in Tubby Smith’s sixth season at the helm. While it was another disappointing season in Gopher Land the important thing to remember now is that none of that matters; at least for [...]

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