Unless you were living under the rock -- or watching Thursday Night Football instead -- you are aware that New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter put together a storybook ending, driving in the game-winning run in his final at-bat at Yankee Stadium in New York’s 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Out of all the congratulatory tweets that were sent throughout the night and into the morning, Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino had one of the more puzzling ones regarding the Yankee captain.
This was sent just around the first pitch of Thursday night’s game:Spoke to the team about Derek Jeter before practice. They had no idea what I was talking about. Sad but true. Special player.
— Richard Pitino (@MNCoachPitino) September 25, 2014
It’s understandable that this story would be lost on Mali native Bakary Konate, but seriously, guys? Sure, 18-23 year olds aren’t exactly the MLB’s best demographic, but they are on Twitter, they watch SportsCenter (how could you miss the media coverage?), they probably wear Jordan Brand apparel. Maybe Pitino’s speech was better suited for 2015 commit Dupree McBrayer, though, hailing from Queens, he may not want a Yankee pep talk.
Like Jeter, it seems it’s time for Pitino to retire the baseball analogies. At least of his Golden Gophers it’s one week until the start of something they do understand: college basketball.