I knew the banter back and forth between Rick and Richard leading up to the opener would provide some great entertainment and it is Richard who has just fired the first shot. We all know that our Coach Pitino is synonymous with sandbagging his teams and also overhyping the opponent. Coach Richard Pitino who knows his father better than anyone has warned Gopher Nation not to fall for the antics.

In his Minnesota Blog Coach Richard Pitino warns Gopher fans that his father would be up to his old tricks of sandbagging and tells them not to fall for it.

“Hoops season is just around the corner and we need to be ready. Not too many programs open up their season vs. a top-five team on national TV. Gopher fans, I must warn you. Ignore anything and everything that comes out of my father’s mouth leading up to this game. He does it on the golf course all the time and will start playing mind games with all of us soon enough! Pay no attention to him. He will say they are young and inexperienced. They are talented, athletic and obviously well-coached. He will tell everyone we are the overwhelming favorite. Prepare yourselves. He tried to coach my team last year during the NIT championship. I am looking forward to watching him try to coach both teams at once on November 14th! Haha.”

Great stuff here and looking forward to that game in November to open the season. The Gophers will have a very good team and it should be a great ballgame between father and son. And I don’t think you’ve seen the last of the banter between these two.

Louisville’s men’s basketball game vs Minnesota on Nov 14 in the Armed Forces Classic in Puerto Rico will tip off at 7 pm ET on ESPN.