Gophers postgame: Rick Pitino talks to Gophers team after Austin Hollins notches 1,000

Read my story on Austin Hollins' impressive night en route to eclipsing 1,000 career points here.

When Richard Pitino came out on the court before the Gophers' 75-59 win over South Dakota State, he noticed something a little more different than usual: hecklers.

It was his father, and two of his brothers, wrapped in maroon-and-gold scarves, there to surprise him.

"When I walked on the court and I saw [my dad] and I saw my idiot brother yelling at me or something, so I noticed all of them over there," the younger Pitino said with a smile. "It was great – a lot of fun ... I'm glad we got the win in front of him. I brag about this place so much that I wanted him to see it, so I'm happy he got a chance to come see it."

Pitino sat behind the bench with his son's wife, Jill, while the brothers sat one bleacher over. The father, who spoke to Big Ten Network at halftime, praising the Gophers program, visited Florida International for a couple of games last year. The veteran coach has a house in Miami.

"He looked good in maroon and gold," the son joked. "I think maybe if one of our guys gets a job, we'll just slide him right in as an assistant coach. I did three years with him, he's got to pay me back."

While he was in town, Pitino was able to witness a little bit of Gophers history -- with Austin Hollins reaching the 1,000-point plateau with an outstanding performance.

"He told us we had the ability to be a Final Four team if we just think we're a Final Four team," DeAndre Mathieu said. "Just go out there every day and get better on defense."

Asked whether he winced at his father pumping up the pressure on a rebuilding team with Final Four talk, the younger Pitino shrugged and noted he sees promise in the fundamental nature of the team, which is growing steadily.

"I think what he's saying, and I said this to our team – two years ago when I was an assistant coach and we went to Final Four at Louisville, we started two walk-ons," Pitino said. "By no means am I saying we're a Final Four team, but what we had on that team was great chemistry, great substance, we were very humble and we went on a run. If we don't lose those things and obviously continue to get better, we could do the same. We've just got to believe it.

"I think one of the thing about our guys – and he said it to the team, the difference between our guys and his guys, they believe they're all lottery picks and they believe they're going to win the national championship. I'm not sure a guy in our locker room believes that just yet. But that comes with confidence, that comes with hard work, which we're trying to build right now."

Other notes from tonight's win: