Pitino more relaxed, comfortable heading into Year 2 as Gophers coach
MINNEAPOLIS -- With the NCAA's rules that afford coaches limited summer contact with players, Richard Pitino could've rode the Gophers hard this offseason.
He did a year ago, ravenously doing everything in his power to install his systems, philosophies and the culture he hopes to perpetuate. But this season, Pitino's second on the job, he let strength coach Shaun Brown handle much of the May, June, July and August work.
With a sturdy foundation already constructed, Pitino said Friday he can afford to take a more laid-back, even-keel approach in Year 2.
"I don't want them to get sick of me," he cracked shortly before Minnesota's second official practice of the season. "They will, it's just I want it to be later than earlier.
"We understand it's a long, long season, but I know they're eager to get going."
So is a coach with a veteran core coming off an NIT championship. Familiarity, continuity and prevailing synergy -- all benefits Pitino lacked in his first year on the job.
Returning starters Andre Hollins, DeAndre Mathieu, Joey King Jr. and Elliott Eliason are no longer strangers to Pitino's expectations. And their comfort level allows them to bring along the newcomers.
There is no relaxing in the world of major college basketball. But there is settling in.
The Gophers have done it, Pitino said.
"For me, night and day," the coach said when asked to compare October 2014 to the same month last year. "There's so many things with our returners that I don't need to go into great detail to explain to them. They know what we're trying to do. There's a lot of times now where I see Andre may tell (freshman guard) Nate Mason something -- 'Hey, no, you've got to do it this way' -- where before you just don't have that benefit because you're putting in a brand new system."
Last summer and early fall, Pitino was focused on initiating a brand-new offense -- "You're not going to get better guarding a bad offense in practice." With the bulk of his roster already attune to Pitino's specific demands, the focus this preseason is predominantly on defense.
It wouldn't be possible without all-Big Ten honorable mention point guard Mathieu and the rest of the returners. Losing Austin Hollins, Malik Smith and Maverick Ahanmisi to graduation hurts, Pitino said, but not since he was an assistant at Florida has the 32-year-old head man brought back such an experienced group.
That 2010-11 Gators squad won the SEC's regular-season title, reached the Elite Eight and featured seniors Chandler Parsons (now with the Dallas Mavericks), Vernon Macklin and Alex Tyus.
"Chandler just signed for about $50 million; I don't know if we have a guy on the team that's going to do that, but those guys are going to need to, certainly, send us into where we want to go," Pitino said. "They're important. Luckily, they're good and important."
So are the new faces, though, particularly junior college transfer Carlos Morris and 6-11 freshman center Bakary Konate. Morris is expected to compete for the starting shooting guard spot vacated by Austin Hollins, and Konate gives Pitino three legitimate big men -- Eliason and Mo Walker being the other two -- in the frontcourt rotation.
And while the expectations here center on NCAA tournament appearances, not consolation titles, Pitino can enter it all more prepared than he was a year ago -- especially after a summer of detoxing from the season and time with his wife Jill and daughter Ava.
"It's funny, because being the head coach of FIU is a lot different than being the head coach in Minnesota, more so mentally," said Pitino, who spent a season as Florida International's head man before taking the Gophers job. "Just being on national TV every single game, press conferences, everybody knowing you -- that takes a toll on you, and I don't think anything can prepare you for that until you become a head coach."
Some other tidbits from Pitino's first press conference of the preseason:
-- When Pitino first signed Konate, a native of the West African nation Mali, he thought the 6-foot-11, 225-pound center would be a project. But after working with him some this summer and seeing him in practice Thursday, the coach said he's "got to figure out how to play him." That could include trying him at power forward, which Pitino tinkered with at times this offseason.
-- Player reactions to the team's upgraded practice facilities have been overwhelmingly positive, Pitino said. The Bierman Field Athletic Building's gymnasium, from which Pitino spoke Friday, has been transformed into a practice court that includes a massive TV screen and area for film review. The digs look sharp, too, with maroon-and-gold paint and insignia all over the walls. Pitino says the best part, though, is having a centralized location for the players to practice, lift weights, shower and meet in -- they used to have to dart all over campus to take care of their basketball obligations. "It just wasn't functional," Pitino said. "We have turned this into not only a nice building but a very functional building. I love the fact when I walk out in the hallway, 50 percent chance I'm going to see one of my players maybe walking from the weight room down here to get shots up."
-- Two of Minnesota's departed seniors are currently playing overseas, while one is still chasing a long-shot NBA contract. Austin Hollins is playing with Denain ASC Voltaire in France, while Ahanmisi recently signed with a professional team in the Philippines. Smith, meanwhile, is in Boston taking steps to cracking an NBA roster, according to Pitino.
-- Pitino attended the Timberwolves' training camp practice Wednesday in Mankato and called the experience "really beneficial. I think more than anything is he's got a young team, so (coach Flip Saunders is) doing a lot of teaching. You watch them practice, it looks like a college practice." That young contingent features No. 1 overall picks Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett as well as former Louisville center Gorgui Dieng, with whom Pitino -- a former Cardinals assistant under his father Rick Pitino -- maintains a tight friendship. Dieng spent much of the offseason working out with Brown on the Minnesota campus.
-- The Gophers are expected to announce an open-to-the-public scrimmage within the next couple days. The team's media day is slated for the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 21 -- 2 1/2 weeks before Minnesota's season-opening exhibition against Minnesota-Duluth at Williams Arena.
Follow Phil Ervin on Twitter
