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BIG TEN CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA DAYS

October 13, 2016

Richard Pitino

Washington, D.C.

RICHARD PITINO: Exciting time of year because I feel like we've got the most complete team that I've had since we've been there, the most talented team, and the most depth. So we obviously know the Big Ten is one of the best conferences in all of college basketball, but I think this team will be ready for it, and I know they're excited to get going.

Q. Coach, can you just talk a little bit about the Timberwolves and the influence they had over you? I know you stopped by Tom Thibodeau's practice a couple times this year and picked up some defensive drills?
RICHARD PITINO: Yeah, I went to their first practice because I've known Coach Thibodeau for a little while from back in Boston. You know people sometimes think the NBA guys don't teach the fundamentals or whatever, and that's not accurate. And I was blown away by just how good of a practice he runs. Defensively obviously great, but also offensively. It was such a good practice, I asked him can I come back again tomorrow, and he said yes.

So it's always nice having that partnership with them and to have somebody to bounce some ideas often is something that I don't take for granted.

I know he'll do an awesome job with him. They've got a really good young core. I know they're excited, the fans are excited. I'm looking forward to watching them and seeing how they grow, because they've got a lot of really good young talent, and I know Thibs will do an awesome job with them.

Q. I'm curious if the player problems you had last year, you're a young coach, did you learn any over-arcing lessons from what happened, what you could have done, how you handled them or was it just random chaos?
RICHARD PITINO: Well, I hope it wasn't random chaos, but, yeah, you learn. I think every season you take and you reflect on how you handle everything. Are you educating them? When a guy gets in trouble, certainly you've got to educate, but also you've got to look and say what are we doing? Are we doing everything we possibly can do from a culture standpoint? We looked ourselves in the mirror, I looked myself in the mirror and said, okay, we've got to get better. I think we had a great summer. I think our guys understand all that goes into being a college athlete, and I think they know that we're all connected together, and I think they all grew from it from it, and I think I grew from it as well. As tough as last year was, I think I'm a better coach from it. I think our staff learned a lot, and I think it's going to be a valuable lesson for everybody.

Q. Can you talk about Jordan Murphy and his emergence last year? I know he's the first sophomore to represent the Gophers here in a while. What are the expectations for him this year?
RICHARD PITINO: I think he's got a chance to be one of the better forwards in the conference. I mean, he was just a freshman last year and there were times he was one of the better players on the court. He is playing extremely confidently. He was very, very productive last year as a freshman. Normally you don't see freshmen do that. I think he's now starting to understand where to get his points. He's become very difficult to guard on the low block. Obviously he's rebounded at a very, very high rate. I think he was second in the conference in double-doubles. So somebody like that is somebody you can really, really build around. He wants to win, loves the game, lives in the gym. So I think he's going to be a load. I think he'll be one of the better forwards in our conference, and he's obviously just a sophomore. So that's exciting for me.

Q. Coach, what impact will the injury to Davonte Fitzgerald have? Just talk about the impact of the injury from a permanent standpoint for him, too, and what he's gone through?
RICHARD PITINO: Yeah, injuries are always tough, but that one was especially tough because he had a really good freshman year at Texas A&M, and he tore his ACL, I believe, toward the end of the year. He really fought hard to come back. Wasn't quite himself that sophomore year at Texas A&M, and transfers to us, sits out, lives in the gym. I mean, probably the biggest gym rat on the team. Then in practice he goes down, and as a coach, you try to calm your players down when there is an injury, and he just looked up at me and said, I've had two of these. I know it's another one. That was a bit demoralizing. I called him that night, and he didn't answer. He texted me back and the first thing he said was, and this was weird for young people, he said, Coach, I want to thank you so much for letting me be a part of this, and I'll come back stronger than ever. So he's not felt sorry for himself. I've almost felt more sorry for myself than he has. He's almost encouraged me at times. So I think it shows you what type of person he is. And from a basketball standpoint, he was going to be a big part. There were lineups I was excited about playing, a point guard who may have been 6'2", 6'3"; a two guard, 6'7"; Davonte, 6'8"; forward, 6'8"; and a center, 6'10". So that's a big lineup. So he provided a lot of versatility, a lot of flexibility for me. He can play the three and the four. So it's a little bit of a hit for us from a basketball standpoint, but hopefully if we stay healthy, I think we'll be okay with that. But more than anything, I feel sorry for the kid, because he does everything right, he just works his butt off, and hopefully he'll be back next year and be stronger than ever.

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