Rick.............er, Richard Pitino to MN

[Handy Johnson]

I live here in the Twin Cities and can assure you the locals are highly underwhelmed with this hire. They thought Shaka was realistic, and loved Flip as a fallback option. This hire seems like a stretch. If Richard's  last name was Jones or Smith, even with his resume', this job goes to someone else.

[hhcmatt]

I live here in the Twin Cities and can assure you the locals are highly underwhelmed with this hire. They thought Shaka was realistic, and loved Flip as a fallback option. This hire seems like a stretch. If Richard's  last name was Jones or Smith, even with his resume', this job goes to someone else.

Who says history doesn't repeat itself?

Does this story line sound familiar to Husker fans? "Fans underwhelmed by not big enough name hired"

Just wait a couple of days/weeks when the fans get educated and probably change their story.

 

Wasn't their AD the one who picked out Shaka Smart and Anthony Grant?

Smart, Grant, and Pitino all have been Florida assistants.

If you can't get Smart, why not get someone out of the same mould?

 

Here is hoping they screwed up 

[49r]

Here's hoping they screwed up, but here is secretly thinking they made an unbelievably decent hire.  Big risk for them, sure, but IMO there seems to be a huge upside to this guy.

[Handy Johnson]

Teague & Ellis fancy themselves the smartest guys in the room, so this hire really isn't a surprise. Yes, Pitino is from the Smart/Grant Florida coaching tree, but one year at FIU isn't much to hang your hat on. Here's hoping he falls flat, and if you get a chance to hear Sid Hartman at the Presser, make an effort. His "genius" line never gets old.

[Norm Peterson]

Steve Pederson hired a couple of pretty good coaches at Pitt.  Or, at least, things worked out for them pretty well while they were at Pitt.  Everyone thought he was such a genius making coaching hires based on hiring Walt Harris and Ben Howland.  So, at Nebraska, he hired Bill Callahan and Doc Sadler.

 

Just because Teague and Ellis caught lightning in a bottle once before doesn't mean they'll do it again.  Past performance does not guarantee future returns.  And, let's face it, hiring people is a crap shoot.  Could be a whole lotta good things came together at the right times for Shaka to succeed.

 

Let's say Doc Sadler had landed in Lincoln at a time when this area was cranking out a decent number of legit D1 players.  His outcome might have been significantly different than it was.  A little extra success that third season might have created the kind of synergy and forward momentum that tipped the scales a different direction for him.

 

They might have gotten it right with this Pitino hire.  Then again, Minnesota thought they got it right when they hired Tubby, too.  So ...