Richard opened that it has been a difficult last few days for the team. On top of losing Reggie, the team then lost Amir (Coffey) after he had an MRI. Coach liked the effort from the team against Indiana, and said that if they continue to bring that effort, they should be in games. However, finishing games is another challenge.
Dupree McBrayer is not practicing right now. Michael (Hurt) can play the three and that is his natural spot, however he can’t really practice still from his injury. Jordan Murphy at the five is something Richard will mess around with. Coach said it isn’t as easy to go small as people think since players are not playing their natural positions and must learn different roles in the offense.
“Family” is a lesson the team is learning throughout this recent turmoil. Pitino has dealt with this before in his profession even recently with his father, and he said the team is now learning the true definition of team since they are dealing with this together. “If you do it for them (your teammates), then you’ll consistently do it the right way.”
In Richard’s second job ever as a coach at Duquesne University, five players were at an on-campus party and got shot. That adversity taught him perspective about what is really important. “If you’re in this game for money and fame, that’s not going to last. You do it for the people.”
As for keeping the team motivated, Coach asked the team, “Do you still think we can win? I thought going into the Indiana game we still had enough to win. Our margin for error now is a lot smaller. Our staff still believes. We have one of the best guards in the country. I think Dupree (McBrayer) is one of the more underrated guards in the league. Jordan Murphy is one of the best power forwards in the league.”
Justin Gaard asked if Richard thinks him and Mark Coyle are doing enough to educate their players so that situations like Reggie’s do not come up again. Richard responded that they did an education session with Gopher Pride and he believes they are doing enough. It is an every single day job that the coaches will have to do to their best ability.
Nate Mason pulled up for a long three down three against Indiana in the closing seconds. Pitino had no issues with that shot since Nate makes those types of shots consistently. Richard also believes that offensive rebounds in those scramble situations are great for getting open shots, but that Jordan Murphy just made the wrong play and shot a contested three instead of reversing the ball to McBrayer.
Typically, Coach will sit a player if he picks up two early fouls. Now with the depth issues Richard indicated he may have to adjust going forward.
Richard talked a bit at length about big games and if they hype up the players. Pitino commented that typically the calmer the team is before big games, the better. Usually the atmosphere itself will make the game seem bigger than it is.
A good at length discussion Pitino brought up was how a lot of coaches get judged based upon their record in the tournament. Billy Donovan at Florida had some early exits and a lot of fans/media called for his job, and then he went on to win back-to-back championships. The media also believed Jay Wright couldn’t win a national championship, and then he won a couple years ago. The NCAA tournament is important; Coach believes there is a lot of luck in a single-elimination tournament.
Eric Curry continues to progress and coaches believe he will return fully healthy.
Dupree McBrayer is not practicing right now. Michael (Hurt) can play the three and that is his natural spot, however he can’t really practice still from his injury. Jordan Murphy at the five is something Richard will mess around with. Coach said it isn’t as easy to go small as people think since players are not playing their natural positions and must learn different roles in the offense.
“Family” is a lesson the team is learning throughout this recent turmoil. Pitino has dealt with this before in his profession even recently with his father, and he said the team is now learning the true definition of team since they are dealing with this together. “If you do it for them (your teammates), then you’ll consistently do it the right way.”
In Richard’s second job ever as a coach at Duquesne University, five players were at an on-campus party and got shot. That adversity taught him perspective about what is really important. “If you’re in this game for money and fame, that’s not going to last. You do it for the people.”
As for keeping the team motivated, Coach asked the team, “Do you still think we can win? I thought going into the Indiana game we still had enough to win. Our margin for error now is a lot smaller. Our staff still believes. We have one of the best guards in the country. I think Dupree (McBrayer) is one of the more underrated guards in the league. Jordan Murphy is one of the best power forwards in the league.”
Justin Gaard asked if Richard thinks him and Mark Coyle are doing enough to educate their players so that situations like Reggie’s do not come up again. Richard responded that they did an education session with Gopher Pride and he believes they are doing enough. It is an every single day job that the coaches will have to do to their best ability.
Nate Mason pulled up for a long three down three against Indiana in the closing seconds. Pitino had no issues with that shot since Nate makes those types of shots consistently. Richard also believes that offensive rebounds in those scramble situations are great for getting open shots, but that Jordan Murphy just made the wrong play and shot a contested three instead of reversing the ball to McBrayer.
Typically, Coach will sit a player if he picks up two early fouls. Now with the depth issues Richard indicated he may have to adjust going forward.
Richard talked a bit at length about big games and if they hype up the players. Pitino commented that typically the calmer the team is before big games, the better. Usually the atmosphere itself will make the game seem bigger than it is.
A good at length discussion Pitino brought up was how a lot of coaches get judged based upon their record in the tournament. Billy Donovan at Florida had some early exits and a lot of fans/media called for his job, and then he went on to win back-to-back championships. The media also believed Jay Wright couldn’t win a national championship, and then he won a couple years ago. The NCAA tournament is important; Coach believes there is a lot of luck in a single-elimination tournament.
Eric Curry continues to progress and coaches believe he will return fully healthy.
