Is Richard Pitino coaching for his job with the Gophers?
Richard Pitino spoke with reporters Friday before the University of Minnesota men's basketball team hosts Iowa on Sunday at Williams Arena.
MINNEAPOLIS - There are still two regular season games left and the Big Ten Tournament, but it appears Richard Pitino might be coming to a crossroads with the University of Minnesota basketball program.
Now in his seventh season with the Gophers, Pitino came into the 2019-20 campaign with a chance to do something no other Minnesota coach has done: Take the Gophers to a third NCAA Tournament in four years. That reality now appears to be fading fast after Minnesota lost at Wisconsin, 71-69, Sunday night.
It was Minnesota’s fifth loss in its last six games, and the Gophers have lost seven of their past nine. They’re 13-15 on the season, 7-11 in the Big Ten. Last year, the Gophers gathered on Selection Sunday after a run to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Their only uncertainty was their seed for March Madness.
A year later, there’s a decent chance Pitino and the Gophers won’t even be holding a watch party on campus. Even with wins at Indiana on Wednesday and over Nebraska in the regular season finale, Minnesota needs a run, at minimum to the weekend in the Big Ten Tournament, to even be in the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation. Most national projections had the Gophers on the outside looking in before losses to Iowa, Indiana, Maryland and Wisconsin.
The latest two-week stretch has the team frustrated, and those who want a new coach next season voicing their opinion loudly on social media. The Gophers’ only guarantee for the NCAA Tournament is the highly-unlikely path of winning the Big Ten Tournament.
Minnesota got in last year despite a 9-11 conference record. The Gophers beat Louisville, then lost to Michigan State in the round of 32. So far this season, they haven’t recovered from losing Amir Coffey to the NBA, Jordan Murphy to graduation and Eric Curry to a season-ending knee injury.
Athletic Director Mark Coyle has a decision to make in about a month if the Gophers are not in the NCAA Tournament picture. Pitino signed a contract extension last season, but the buyout on his deal drops to $2 million in April. Will he part ways with Pitino and try to bring in the next young, successful coach? Or will he stick by him, hoping for greener pastures next season.
The numbers are hard to ignore. In six-plus seasons, Pitino and the Gophers are 47-81 in Big Ten play. This year, they’re just 2-9 in true road games (Ohio State and Northwestern).
Coyle has shown in the past he’s not afraid to make bold moves. He brought in P.J. Fleck, the hottest young football coach in the country, to replace Tracy Claeys after a 9-4 season marred by a sexual assault scandal. Coyle hired Minnesota basketball legend Lindsay Whalen to her first major coaching gig after Marlene Stollings left for Texas Tech. He brought Bob Motzko into replace Don Lucia.
Minnesota hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 1997, which no longer counts due to the school’s academic scandal. The Gophers have two NCAA Tournament appearances in six-plus seasons with Pitino, one victory and haven’t been to a Sweet 16 that counts since 1990.
In Pitino’s seven seasons, the Gophers have one above .500 record in the Big Ten. They went 11-7 in 2016-17 as part of a 24-10 season, and Pitino was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. At their worst under Pitino, the Gophers went 8-23 in 2015-16, and 15-17 two seasons ago.
Coyle will only make a move on Pitino if he has another coach already in place, like he did with Fleck three years ago.
So what’s the issue this year? The Gophers have struggled shooting, have turned the ball over at crucial times and haven’t had a consistent third scorer all season. Gabe Kalscheur took only five shots in Sunday’s loss at Wisconsin, and has largely struggled from the perimeter most of the season.
Alihan Demir came in as a graduate transfer, but hasn’t made the offensive impact that was hoped at the start of the year. He’s scoring 6.8 points per game, and shooting just 22 percent from the perimeter. With two games to play, the Gophers are 10th in the Big Ten in scoring offense, 11th in field goal percentage and 10th in three-point percentage.
Recruiting, at least locally, also has some fans frustrated. Pitino did keep Daniel Oturu, Coffey, Michael Hurt, Jarvis Johnson, Kalscheur and Jarvis Omersa in Minnesota. Oturu would be the Big Ten Player of the Year this season if not for Iowa’s Luka Garza, and Oturu could head to the NBA Draft after this season.
On the other side of that coin, a local Division I recruit hasn’t stayed with Minnesota the last two years. Zeke Nnaji is currently having a standout season at Arizona, as is Tyrell Terry at Stanford. McKinley Wright appeared set to stay home before Isaiah Washington committed to Pitino. Washington has since transferred to Iona, and Wright is one of the top players in the Pac-12 at Colorado. Over at Wisconsin, Lakeville native Nate Reuvers is one of the Badgers’ top players, and he’ll be joined next year by Steven Crowl and Ben Carlson. Matthew Hurt is in his freshman year at Duke, and the two most recent top recruits, Dawson Garcia and Jalen Suggs, are headed to Marquette and Gonzaga next year.
The only top uncommitted Minnesota player left in the 2020 class is Hopkins guard Kerwin Walton. He remains undecided and will wait to see what happens to college programs, including Minnesota and Pitino, in April.
Call it salt on an open wound with a Gophers program desperate for wins, and top local talent succeeding outside of Minnesota.
The reality is this: All Pitino is currently focused on is trying to beat Indiana on Wednesday, and try to get the Gophers back to the NCAA Tournament. But that hill is getting steeper to climb, with two of their last three losses by a combined three points. He has Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Martice Mitchell, both top 100 players nationally, coming to Minnesota next season. Add Walton, and that’s three top-100 players.
There is a bright future for the Gophers, especially if Oturu comes back for another year. But fans aren’t patient, and they want wins now. Pitino and the Gophers need a positive finish to 2020, and for multiple reasons. If the skid continues, it might mean a coaching move in a month.