Rick Pitino on Minnesota: 'You're only as good as your players'

(Hat tip to my pal Jeff Greer at the Courier-Journal for the elder Pitino's quotes.)

It's a dad's job to be supportive, and so from that perspective, Louisville coach Rick Pitino's comments to the media about son and Minnesota coach Richard this weekend in Seattle certainly make sense.

But does the Hall-of-Famer have a point, too? That depends on your perspective.

Here's the lengthy quote from the elder Pitino:

"I gave him a lecture, which he doesn't always agree with me, I said, Richard, I don't know why you haven't had for two years an all-conference player – first, second or third team -- in the Big Ten. So I'm not sure why you're putting so much pressure on yourself thinking you should be in the tournament. I said, we had two all ACC second team players this year. You don't have one on the third team. So why aren't you like the rest of us in this world that have to build the right way by recruiting guys who can make all Big Ten.

"So, if you went to Minnesota, thinking this is a quick turn-around, the school probably has only been in nine NCAA tournaments if they got released of a few, in the history of the school (it's actually 12 total and eight that were not vacated by the NCAA)… You're only as good as your players and if you don't have a first second or third team All-Big Ten, you're probably not going to compete. Same thing in the Big East, same thing in the SEC. There are some teams that can surprise you and have teams get great runs, win close games."

It's true, the Gophers haven't gotten a single All-Big Ten nod outside of a handful of honorable mentions in either of the last two years – not an all-defensive team player, not a sixth man, not an all-freshman team player, nothing -- the only team in the conference that has gone 0-for-2.

Thus, the most superficial reaction is just like pop's: How could Minnesota be expected to win without better talent?

The flip side, though, wonders whether it's a matter of a lack of talent or a lack of developing talent.

Pitino had a tall task ahead of him, no doubt, when he took over a Tubby Smith roster that gaped with holes. His frontcourt was not much more than a big questionmark then, and he has only had two years to develop players across the board that – with the exception of Andre Hollins – hadn't shown much, or even played much before his arrival.

Perhaps the Gophers' coach set himself up by getting players to over-perform last season. But heading into this past fall, the expectation was that several players could elevate to that level.

No. 1 on that list was center Mo Walker, whom Pitino wasn't shy about touting. Hollins was another that seemed capable of such an honor, and who knows – maybe even senior point guard DeAndre Mathieu after an unexpected and impressive first season in Minnesota.

During a strong non-conference season, there was talk about Walker ending Minnesota's drought of NBA draft picks and making himself into one of the conference's best big men. But although Walker had a good year, he stopped far short of those ideals.

Hollins, meanwhile, exercised the long ball we got to know so well over his four years, but was extremely inconsistent over his senior season. Mathieu, trying to switch gears and become more of a passing point guard, only showed shadows of his former self.

There wasn't much anticipation during the all-conference team selection show – none of the lauded seniors had played well enough to deserve a spot.

Whether that's a reflection of the players' effort/ commitment/ attitude or a result of coaching shortcomings is the lasting argument, though not a unique one for the situation.

It's impossible to know right now. Ultimately, the impetus of this year's failures will be judged by the future. Can Pitino develop players over the years? We'll soon find out.

Papa Pitino, at least, was encouraged by the on-the-verge nature of this team, even without stars.

"When I was at Providence -- I'll never forget this as long as I live, I lost six, six games within two seconds," he said. "My first year. And I said to the guys back then, because I was a day dreamer, 'You just wait until next year, we're going to win all these close games.'

"And the following year we won seven with one second to go on the clock. So, it does turn."