his record vs the big ten is alsmost just as bad

for repeating this but I have said for a while that (while I LIKE Coach P and support him in every way) I don’t get all the hype about what a great coach he is – does he know BB? Probably as well as anyone in the country….have I seen a LOT of evidence he can pass that knowledge along and teach the game? Not so much. Now, before you tear me apart, let me just say that yes, I appreciate the fact that he’s taken us to a Final Four and the Elite Eight last year…..I am a Pitiono fan; I just don’t think he’s as good a coach as a Tubby Smith OR certainly, Denny Crum in his era. Still love my Cards though and still behind Coach P win or lose. Regardless of how flat we looked yesterday, I think we will go far in the tournament IF he can get their heads straight and get them back to the fundamentals. Sometimes, I think he may go too far and overteach rather than concentrate on the basics i.e. shot selection, assists, getting the ball to the tallest man on our team, on and on. Short attention spans – pretty obvious yesterday.

Results are a coach’s report card. RP has taken 3 diff teams to final fours and has won a NC w/ UK after taking over a program that was reeling from an embarassing probation.

You can’t say he’s not getting results. Therefore you can’t say he’s not a good coach.

You can make the argument that he’s not as great as the media/fans/etc…pump him up to be. I get that. You can say he’s not as great as Tubby, Denny, whomever as well…and you’re certainly entitled to that opinion. But the facts lead me to the opinion that he’s a better than 95% of all the other coaches out there and whether that’s based on X’s and O’s, recruiting, sports psychology, or luck….its results that matter.

Even Denny’s best teams usually started a little slow but came on strong in Feb/March and I think that’s the sign of a coach being able to take a bunch of individual talents and eventually getting them to buy into his system. Probably harder today than in the 80s to take these kids and teach the team concept b/c of the obvious NBA draw, AND1 videos, and the heightened sense of athletic entitlement as a result of many factors in our society.

but i digress…i can understand why you feel he’s not “great” and that tubby and denny are/were better in their era but I don’t think the results (when it matters) point to that.

yes, I too think P. is probably better at what he does than a large majority of coaches out there – oh, I remember all to well how slowly Denny’s teams started. I also remember that he was the best 2:00 coach in the business. I find myself waiting for an ally-oop or something at the end of one of these close games to light the players up and get the victory – love that kind of play. Like I say, I am a huge Pitino fan and believe me I’m glad he’s here; just wish he could get their attention – maybe by February, we’ll see it.

I have wondered WHY we seem to be one of the few teams in the country who get these awesome freshmen yet they don’t seem able to contribute in their freshman year like many others at other schools do….why is that?