Dan opened up talking about the news of KFAN receiving the rights to broadcast Gopher men’s basketball games on AM and FM. Richard Pitino will have a coaches show on the radio. Pitino joked, “I would put this right up there with the $166 million-dollar Athlete’s Village.”
The next point of discussion was regarding the NBA draft. Dan asked Pitino about Jonathan Isaac, who the Gophers played last year. Richard said he could legitimately be 6’10”, Kevin Durant-type build. Pitino thinks he has the makings to be a terrific pro given his size and shooting ability, however it looks like Orlando may draft him one spot ahead of us. “His best days are far, far ahead of him.”
Markelle Fultz was the next subject of discussion, regarding his talent vs. his team’s rather poor record. Richard saw him quite a bit as a high school player, and said he was a terrific player. “I wouldn’t put too much stock into what happened at Washington, they had some injuries. He’s a fantastic player.”
Lonzo Ball is the wild card in Pitino’s mind. He thinks the commotion regarding Lonzo’s dad is irrelevant when Lonzo gets to the NBA. Mentioned Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, and De’Aaron Fox as all guy’s that could be stars. Pitino spoke extremely highly of Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum.
Coach commented that Monk is highly explosive, although he is undersized. He called Rubio, “undervalued” and thinks that could be a potential pairing. Pitino believes the Wolves, “don’t need to get any younger, they need to get older.” Also had pleasant things to say about Dunn, and thinks he has a lot of potential for the future despite not having a great rookie year.
The next topic was an interesting one. Barreiro questioned if Richard would trade Andrew Wiggins for Jimmy Butler, with the trade conversations swirling. Richard does not want to trade Wiggins for Butler, since he is only 22 and has shown he can produce.
After much NBA draft/Wolves talk, they got to talking about Gopher men’s basketball finally. The team is allowed two hours together on the court a week over an eight-week span. Speaking about Jamir Harris and Isaiah Washington, from a competitiveness and talent standpoint, they’re physically ready to compete. Richard said they’ve both impressed him. Called Jamir Harris “a good a shooter as you’ll see.” Richard also commented on Isaiah Washington having a streetball reputation, “he’s a lot more contained and understanding of the game when you get him in a 5-on-5 setting with our team.” Coach believes both will play good minutes as freshmen.
Another challenge with the team is now everybody thinks this team will be good with many returning starters, so Coach talked about getting those starters “starving” again to come back and have another great year.
The Gophers basketball team is playing in the Twin Cities Pro-Am this week and next week, and although the coaches are not allowed to attend, he wants his players to embrace playing in front of a crowd and the fans.
The next point of discussion was regarding the NBA draft. Dan asked Pitino about Jonathan Isaac, who the Gophers played last year. Richard said he could legitimately be 6’10”, Kevin Durant-type build. Pitino thinks he has the makings to be a terrific pro given his size and shooting ability, however it looks like Orlando may draft him one spot ahead of us. “His best days are far, far ahead of him.”
Markelle Fultz was the next subject of discussion, regarding his talent vs. his team’s rather poor record. Richard saw him quite a bit as a high school player, and said he was a terrific player. “I wouldn’t put too much stock into what happened at Washington, they had some injuries. He’s a fantastic player.”
Lonzo Ball is the wild card in Pitino’s mind. He thinks the commotion regarding Lonzo’s dad is irrelevant when Lonzo gets to the NBA. Mentioned Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, and De’Aaron Fox as all guy’s that could be stars. Pitino spoke extremely highly of Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum.
Coach commented that Monk is highly explosive, although he is undersized. He called Rubio, “undervalued” and thinks that could be a potential pairing. Pitino believes the Wolves, “don’t need to get any younger, they need to get older.” Also had pleasant things to say about Dunn, and thinks he has a lot of potential for the future despite not having a great rookie year.
The next topic was an interesting one. Barreiro questioned if Richard would trade Andrew Wiggins for Jimmy Butler, with the trade conversations swirling. Richard does not want to trade Wiggins for Butler, since he is only 22 and has shown he can produce.
After much NBA draft/Wolves talk, they got to talking about Gopher men’s basketball finally. The team is allowed two hours together on the court a week over an eight-week span. Speaking about Jamir Harris and Isaiah Washington, from a competitiveness and talent standpoint, they’re physically ready to compete. Richard said they’ve both impressed him. Called Jamir Harris “a good a shooter as you’ll see.” Richard also commented on Isaiah Washington having a streetball reputation, “he’s a lot more contained and understanding of the game when you get him in a 5-on-5 setting with our team.” Coach believes both will play good minutes as freshmen.
Another challenge with the team is now everybody thinks this team will be good with many returning starters, so Coach talked about getting those starters “starving” again to come back and have another great year.
The Gophers basketball team is playing in the Twin Cities Pro-Am this week and next week, and although the coaches are not allowed to attend, he wants his players to embrace playing in front of a crowd and the fans.
