
Richard Pitino

Gopher Men's Basketball Lands Big Recruit
Posted by Travis Bridell on Thursday, September 18, 2014 at 12:00 AM
By Travis Bridell / September 18, 2014
Comment
The NIT Champion Golden Gophers basketball team is trying to replace graduated guards Maverick Ahanmisi, Malik Smith and most significantly NIT Most Valuable Player Austin Hollins.
They are on their way after signing Minnesota’s own Jarvis Johnson, a point guard from DeLaSalle in Minneapolis. At a shade over 6-feet tall and 175 pounds, Johnson will have to play big to keep up in the Big Ten’s rough and rowdy conference.
After head coach Richard Pitino’s hiring last year, he was working quickly to catch...!--more-->
In case you missed it, on Thursday the Minnesota Golden Gophers beat the SMU Mustangs 65-63 to win the NIT Championship.
First off, let me boldly clarify my position right up front lest there be any confusion: Ultimately, the NIT "matters" hardly one iota in any pure competitive sense.
If you are a major school (like Minnesota) playing in a major conference (like the Big Ten), success in the NCAA Tournament is the...!--more-->
In case you haven't noticed, the Gopher men are still playing basketball.
In fact, they've won three straight games — at home against High Point, St. Mary's and Southern Missisippi — they now find themselves headed to New York City.
Last Tuesday, Austin Hollins — who has now played in more games (139) than any player in U of M basketball history — scored 32 as part of the Gophers 81 - 73 win over the visiting Golden Eagles from Southern Miss.
The win allows the Gophers to join Clemson, Florida State and SMU as the last teams standing in the NIT,...!--more-->

'Mid-Major Jones' -- Despair for Golden Gophers and Holla @ The Atlantic Sun
Posted by Scott Flaskerud on Monday, February 24, 2014 at 12:00 AM
By Scott Flaskerud / February 24, 2014
Comment
Well, the Gophers are unequivocally dead to me and I don't want to waste too much of my breath talking about them. Last Wednesday night's loss to Illinois at The Barn was possibly the worst loss in the history of Gopher basketball since I've been paying attention to it. Here's the story:
We got trounced... at home... by the worst team in the conference... in a must-win game for our tournament resume.
I mean, as far as “devastating losses” go, that one took the all-time cake for Gophers Basketball. I hadn't even recovered...!--more-->
Chicken Man and Coaching Legend Attend Gopher Basketball Win Over Hoosiers
Posted by Brent Lee on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at 12:00 AM
By Brent Lee / February 11, 2014
Comment
Modern coaching legend Rick Pitino was in attendance at Williams Arena during the Minnesota Gophers Men's Basketball Saturday-night-slump-snapping (66 - 60) victory over the Indiana Hoosiers.
He wasn’t at the game alone.
Pitino, who was seated next to a man wearing a chicken suit, is the head coach of the #14 ranked Louisville Cardinals -- on Saturday he was simply a spectator at the historic "Barn" to support his son Richard, who is in his first season as...!--more-->Tubby Smith Left Plenty of Talent For New Gophers Men's Basketball Coach
Posted by Joseph Friedrichs on Monday, January 27, 2014 at 12:00 AM
By Joseph Friedrichs / January 27, 2014
Comment
Though the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team is off to a surprising start with a 15-6 record, one man remains forgotten in this unforeseen success story: Tubby Smith.
Fired at the end of last season, Smith was let go as head coach of the Gophers even though the team reached the treasured NCAA tournament. Not only that, the Gophers advanced to the second round after upsetting UCLA in last year’s tournament. The firing was a strange move by the Gophers and drew much criticism from around the country. After all, Smith was 124-81 (.610) in six...!--more-->