RICHARD PITINO HAS BEEN NAMED THE HEAD MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH AT NEW MEXICO

Richard Pitino has been named the head men’s basketball coach at New Mexico on March 16. Pitino was fired by the University of Minnesota on March 15. 

RICHARD PITINO HAS BEEN FIRED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

On March 15, University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle fired men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino after eight seasons as the men’s basketball coach.

Through eight seasons with the Gophers, Pitino had an overall record of 141-123 while his Big Ten record was 54-96.

During the shortened Covid-19 2020-2021 basketball season, the Gophers had an overall record of 14-15 and were 6-14 in the Big Ten Conference.

TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET

The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team has been told to stay off Twitter throughout the 2016-2017 season. University of Minnesota men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino has shut down his Twitter account. 

Twitter is the popular social media network that users can post what is going on in their lives. 

Pitino said that Twitter can be a distraction and that is why he is banning the use of Twitter throughout the season. 

In past seasons players, could use the social media network. Players will still be able to use Facebook and Instagram as well as other social media outlets. 

There also have been issues of players posting inappropriate things on Twitter.

HPA AND MILLER TIME SQUARED OFF IN THE HOWARD PULLEY PRO CITY SUMMER LEAGUE BASKETBALL GAME

On July 20 in the final game of the day, HPA and Miller Time squared off in a basketball game in the Howard Pulley Pro City Summer League. This game got started on time, unlike the previous two. University of Minnesota Head coach Richard Pitino was in the building to watch the game.

 

The game got off to a quick start both teams raced up and down the floor as they were able to make layups.

 

After the first quarter of play the score was Miller Time 20, HPA 15.

 

HPA looked to set the tempo of the game on the offensive end.

 

For Miller Time Siyani Chambers, Quinton Hooker, and Joey King all shot the ball well. They were able to hit shots that they took.

 

HPA did a good job of swinging the ball around the three-point line. They were able to take a lot of time off the clock on the offensive end. Bjorn Broman was all over the floor. He was able to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor.

Jarvis Johnson -- also for HPA -- took the ball hard to the basket consistently.  Johnson was also able to get to the basket and make easy shots.

 

Miller Time was all over the boards. They were able to come down with some big rebounds and turn them into points.

 

At halftime the score was Miller Time 51, HPA 38.

 

As the third quarter got underway HPA tried to get quick shots as they didn’t want to take a lot of time off of the shot clock.

 

Joey King for Miller Time was on fire. He was able to hit shots from everywhere on the floor.

 

Chambers did a good job of getting everyone involved in the offense.

 

Chambers and Quinton Hooker for Miller Time had good communication on the floor. They were able to connect with each other as they looked for each other on the offensive end for assists.

 

After three quarters of play the score was Miller Time 82, HPA 67.

 

White was able to get good clean looks at the basket. He was not afraid to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor.

 

The score got out of hand midway through the fourth quarter. HPA really struggled to shoot the ball.

 

HPA made some quick jump shots late in the contest. But they were not able to come away with the victory.

 

Miller Time came away with the 112-95 victory over HPA.  

 

The leading scorers for HPA were Jarvis Johnson with 16 points, Scar Amin with 21 points and Isaiah McKay with 26 points.

 

The leading scorers for Miller Time were Siyani Chambers with 14, Quinton Hooker with 20 and Joey King with 40 points.

 

JOEY KING COMMITS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

According to Amelia Rayno from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “King played at Drake last season, averaging 6.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 19 minutes a game. He decided to transfer for family reasons and therefore may be eligible for a waiver to play immediately. No announcement has been made on that yet.”

 

"Joey showed last season that he is an inside player that can also step out and hit the three-point shot," Gophers coach Richard Pitino said in a release. "We want to play an up-tempo style of basketball so to have a versatile player with his size is going to be a luxury."

 

King, who played at Eastview High School, shot .428 from the field overall and .347 from three-point range last season. He joins Deandre Mathieu, Daquein McNeil and Malik Smith as part of Pitino's inaugural recruiting class with the Gophers. With Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams and Andre Ingram leaving after last season, and then Minneapolis native Joe Coleman announcing his intent to transfer, the Gophers were without a Minnesotan before signing King. King also brings much needed help in the Gophers' now-thin frontcourt.”

 

King will be the first player from Minnesota on the Gophers roster. I think that King is a good player. I have watched King play in the past and I think that he will bring a serious attitude to the Gophers and will fit in nice with the new Gophers system.

 

THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA HIRES RICHARD PITINO TO REPLACE TUBBY SMITH AS HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH

Richard Pitino has been named the head men's basketball coach of the University of Minnesota. Pitino replaces Tubby Smith, who was fired March 25.  

According to Amelia Rayno of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “Pitino has a six-year contract worth $1.2 million annually. That's split into $500,000 base salary and $700,000 in guaranteed supplemental compensation. Pitino will owe Minnesota $1.5 million to get out of his contract before May 1, 2016. For Minnesota to buy out his contract, it would owe one half of his base plus supplemental pay.”

Pitino coached at Florida International University for one season and had a record of 18-14. Minnesota is his second head coaching job.

 

Pitino contract breakdown - KMSP-TV

By Doug Lee Erlien- Fox 9:

"Details of Pitino's contract were released Friday with University friendly details should Pitino move on early. 

The contract runs from April 8, 2013 through April 30, 2019.

Pitino's annual salary is $1.2 million ($500,000 base, $700,000 supplemental compensation).

His base salary will increase by at least five percent every year. His supplemental compensation will remain consistent.

Bonuses:

He will be eligible for the following bonuses:

National championship- $100,000

Final Four appearance- $50,000

Sweet Sixteen appearance- $50,000

Big Ten regular season championship- $50,000

Big Ten Tournament championship $25,000

Winning conference record- $50,000

He will also pick up bonuses based on his teams' GPA and APR (academic progress rate) as well as coach of the year honors.

Pitino will receive a $400,000 bonus if he is still coach on April 30, 2016 and will receive another $400,000 if he still holds the spot on April 30, 2019. 

He will receive a car as well as use of a private jet (for approved university business) and he cannot use it for more than $50,000 worth of flights in a year."

Pitino contract breakdown - KMSP-TV

New coach Richard Pitino has one promise for Minnesota fans - KMSP-TV

By  Mike Durkin Fox 9:

"The University of Minnesota introduced Richard Pitino as the new head coach of the Gophers basketball program Friday morning. 

The hiring of Pitino was confirmed Wednesday, but Friday's press conference was the first chance for fans and the media to hear from the 30-year-old coach.

Pitino wouldn't talk about his chances of keeping blue chip recruits Tyus Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis in Minnesota, but he did have one promise for Gopher fans.

"Our style of play is going to be fun for you to watch," Pitino said. "It will be a lot of press -- we're going to press on every possession, we're going to try to create offense from our defense. It's going to be a great brand of basketball."

Pitino met with the current Gophers team for about 15 minutes Friday morning to share his vision. He said the players seemed excited and invested in the future of the program.

DREAM JOB

Pitino said he and his wife see Minnesota as a destination job, not a stepping stone. The coach said they talked Tuesday night about how excited they were to set their roots in Minneapolis.

"The fact that I'm sitting here is a dream come true and it's something I'm really going to relish," Pitino said. 

"When this job opened I was hoping something would present itself because this is one of the greatest jobs in basketball."

Pitino has not yet begun to assemble a coaching staff.

NORWOOD TEAGUE'S FIRST HIRE

Many Minnesota fans expected athletics director Norwood Teague to make a big splash in hiring a new basketball coach, following his success with Anthony Grant and Shaka Smart at Virginia Commonwealth.

Names like Smart, Butler's Brad Stevens and former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders were mainstays on the rumor mill. But Teague said the search unfolded as expected, and the only surprises were some of the media reports he saw.

"I made a lot of offers to a lot of candidates I didn't know I met with," Teague said. "We were very pleased with our search. It unfolded just like we planned."

Teague said, from the beginning, the search for a new coach would focus on three things:
- Relentless recruiting
- Developing student-athletes, on and off the court
- Managing and building the Gophers program to the highest level

"Coach Pitino fits all of those," Teague said. "He is the perfect fit for the University of Minnesota."

COACH PITINO'S YEAR AT FIU

Pitino has only one season of head coaching experience, but it was a winning season at Florida International. 

The Golden Panthers finished the 2012-13 season with an 18-14 record – the school's first winning season in 13 years.

New coach Richard Pitino has one promise for Minnesota fans - KMSP-TV