Connecticut (MSG), Sat., Feb. 3, 12 NOON, FOX

Mean Gene said:
Here’s what I think , for what it’s worth. I think Pitino came here and wanted to win right away, obviously. He came in here late and was behind in the transfer portal cycle. I think he was a little surprised at Clayton going to Florida. With all of this , his strategy was to fill out the roster with 5th year seniors and guys who had been alpha scorers at their previous schools. Even though some of them were from mid majors. He probably thought that even if the offensive output didn’t translate to a certain extent at the Big East level that with 5th year seniors and alpha scoring athletes he could still score enough points to win consistently if he could get them to play defense and give extraordinary effort game in and game out. He thought with experienced 5th year seniors that he would be able to do that. He hasn’t be able to do that and it’s frustrating the hell out of him. The constant lack of effort with regard to getting back on defense, the constant missing of defensive assignments in the half court, the not going hard enough after loose balls etc. These are the intangibles that were supposed to be our strengths understanding that the offensive output from these players last schools might not translate. Well, it hasn’t and they are refusing to do produce the intangibles that are needed to make up for the drop in their offensive production. To me, this is what is driving Pitino crazy. Jenkins comments seem to prove this out. If this is the case and it’s also causing locker room strife, then we can forget about this team making the tournament. This team has not bought into doing all the other things they need to do besides scoring in order to win games. Pitino sees this, Jenkins sees this and they’re losing their patience. This team needs to buy in and buy in quick while there is still time to save the season.
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Junkyard dog expectation v Chihuahua reality to date 😇
 
dk423 said:
I love the idea of having Drissa, Ayo, and Conway on the team. But only if they never see the floor in a competitive game. They're great culture guys, teammates, etc., and it's good to have those people. I just don't understand, and no one has had a good enough answer, why Pitino insists on playing thse guys.

"Make sure Conway is ready" -- ready for what? The guy has subpar athleticism for the Atlantic 10, was never that good of a shooter in the first place (he shot 30% two years ago), and his defense is atrocious. It's so hypocritical to your team to say every possession count, and then play him for three minutes over literally anyone else on this team.

Paultz, you really triggered me, sorry about that. /rant over.
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M
 
Boo Harvey said:
Not sure if this post is a joke. We’re not going to flourish with a front court consisting primarily of Drissa and Zuby. Ayo is not a Big East player and he’ll be coming off surgery. Wilcher and Dunlap may be good four year players - not sure if there is any such thing anymore — but I would be shocked if they are difference makers next year. Davis doesn’t have feeling in his finger and is out indefinitely. Even if he were healthy, not fair to expect much from him. We better get some studs in the portal.
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I think his point was Pitino needs to cut bait with the non-productive players and get the top portal players because non of the freshmen are impact players. He needs to keep Wilcher, Dunlap, Zuby, and Luis as the foundation, integrate his best freshman and get at least two AJ Storr level players for offense. Unless Taylor becomes more aggressive offensively, his value will remain a ?mark.
 
dk423 said:
I love the idea of having Drissa, Ayo, and Conway on the team. But only if they never see the floor in a competitive game. They're great culture guys, teammates, etc., and it's good to have those people. I just don't understand, and no one has had a good enough answer, why Pitino insists on playing thse guys.

"Make sure Conway is ready" -- ready for what? The guy has subpar athleticism for the Atlantic 10, was never that good of a shooter in the first place (he shot 30% two years ago), and his defense is atrocious. It's so hypocritical to your team to say every possession count, and then play him for three minutes over literally anyone else on this team.

Paultz, you really triggered me, sorry about that. /rant over.
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I don t see Ayo in that category. He has real athletic potential as a 4/3 defender with another 10-15 lbs.

He could be a back-breaking depth guy there when we get the horses to play an open court game. He’ll be able to stick an open 3, make a couple of dribbles in the open court, and pass.

He’s well worth the spot as a lottery ticket.
 
Marillac2 said:
I don t see Ayo in that category. He has real athletic potential as a 4/3 defender with another 10-15 lbs.

He could be a back-breaking depth guy there when we get the horses to play an open court game. He’ll be able to stick an open 3, make a couple of dribbles in the open court, and pass.

He’s well worth the spot as a lottery ticket.
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Definitely but I think you’d agree against Xavier, Marquette, you wouldn’t want to see him at this current development
 
Absent transfers out, for next year this team would be OK with 3 portal adds:

PG: Wilcher plus a good PG via the portal
Wings: Taylor, Luis, Liotopoulos, Glover
C: Ejafor, Maker, a portal add
PF: Dunlap, Traore, a portal add
Depth: Ayo, Cruz

Any current players who depart would need to be replaced with upgrades via the portal
 
lawmanfan said:
Absent transfers out, for next year this team would be OK with 3 portal adds:

PG: Wilcher plus a good PG via the portal
Wings: Taylor, Luis, Liotopoulos, Glover
C: Ejafor, Maker, a portal add
PF: Dunlap, Traore, a portal add
Depth: Ayo, Cruz

Any current players who depart would need to be replaced with upgrades via the portal
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Hypothetically, bring in Zed Key, CJ Wilcher and another high quality 4/5 or combo guard and that can be a very good team.
 
IDRAFT said:
Although I can’t get inside Rick’s head and can only guess. . . .

Mostly I think it’s a good idea not to pay too much attention to what he says after losses.
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As someone, like Pitino, who likes the sound of his own voice, I would advise just dropping the “after losses”.
 
lawmanfan said:
It's funny, a month or so I was listening to someone on the radio say that Saban may not hate the NIL/portal world as much as ppl think, he's so competitive that it's like someone tweaked the video game and now there's a new boss to beat and he may like that challenge.

That made sense to me - until the next day when Saban quit

Don't think Rick is there given that he just arrived and hates to lose. But food for thought
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Well you know, Rick also does seem to relish the celebrity of the role and being in the spotlight. I doubt he'd ever be comfortable sitting at home.

But I'll tell you what. Id be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind wondering if he'd be desperate enough to win here that he resorted to whatever tactics got him in trouble at Louisville.
 
I just don’t get the RJ dislike. He is clearly the most talented kid on the team with the most pro potential barring physical limitations. In 19 minutes against UConn he was 5 for 9 scored 11 points and led the team in rebounds. Could he be reigned in a little, sure, but arn’t many of the great ones in need of reigning in to some extent. I think losing him would be a great loss as right now I see a deficit in the talent pool for next years team unless there is a major haul in the portal. If we lose Luis, you will all be lamenting his transfer and watch him be a future high NBA draft pick.
 
Notanalum said:
We need and will receive a major talent upgrade via the portal. I’ll say this. They’ll be 4 portal adds minimum possibly more.

Some current players just aren’t up to meet coach’s demands.
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A vital part of building through transfers is as best you can gauging player compatibility and team chemistry. Rick had to rush last year in grabbing players and am confident he will do better in that regard.

Exhibit A re talent infusion v chemistry was in CMA’s last year adding Curbelo and Jones. We all got giddy about their past production and background only to find out the sum was not greater than the individual parts. Imo, team chemistry & balance is off this year and trust Rick will have keen interest in judging who will fit his agenda, complement holdovers and not let stats and/or reputations be the priority. Get kids who line up w Rick’s oft expressed desire to recruit kids who will defend consistently, share the ball, take good shots, embrace scouting reports and practice hard.
 
if you really wanna see what type of players are targets watch some old Louisville film. Push the ball and shoot when you’re open. No long 25 second possessions

- It starts with the point guard
- They’ll go all in to target a finisher
- Athletic big man that can run the floor and most importantly protect the rim
- shooting and shooting and more shooting

I’d love for Jenkins to have a year left to play with what we bring in. Too bad
 
paultzman said:
I saw them as middle of pack, but even putting yesterday aside, I don’t see the improvement I expected at this stage. More games to be played, but I also see the “captain of the ship“ discouraged and a bit too blameful & public for my taste. Beating Marquette away, a tall task, would at least stop the bleeding and make team more confident perhaps. DePaul is so bad, any result won’t move needle for me, it is a given.
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I think we are two shots away from a whole different outlook on this team. If those two shots against Marquette and Creighton go down, we are 7-4 in conference with a better belief in this team. Just two damn shots. T
 
Silly Donovan said:
I just don’t get the RJ dislike. He is clearly the most talented kid on the team with the most pro potential barring physical limitations. In 19 minutes against UConn he was 5 for 9 scored 11 points and led the team in rebounds. Could he be reigned in a little, sure, but arn’t many of the great ones in need of reigning in to some extent. I think losing him would be a great loss as right now I see a deficit in the talent pool for next years team unless there is a major haul in the portal. If we lose Luis, you will all be lamenting his transfer and watch him be a future high NBA draft pick.
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Pitino’s frustration with him clearly is on defensive end. He yanked him early yesterday after a few blow byes by UConn. The solution is for him to give defense the same attention he seems to have for scoring. He does that and he probably gets a pass for some forced shots, but this “giveth and taketh“ stuff has to improve. Ball seems to be in his court, not Pitino’s.
 
Marillac2 said:
That’s not enough uptempo ability. Pitino is bringing in a combo as good as Mashburn Jr. or better and/or a PG.

He’s not getting caught in half court battles next year. He wants easy points from defense.
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I agree with your vision of a backcourt plus I'd rather have a player like DaRon Holmes of Dayton than Zed Key. If he's interested in entering the portal, I think he fits your definition of uptempo ability plus he's 6'10".
 
CBA69 said:
I agree with your vision of a backcourt plus I'd rather have a player like DaRon Holmes of Dayton than Zed Key. If he's interested in entering the portal, I think he fits your definition of uptempo ability plus he's 6'10".
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Holmes much > Key, but getting him harder I suspect
 
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