said: I wouldve put him [Foley] as the gel for an awful lot of goo

MINNEAPOLIS -- Richard Pitino enters his fourth season at Minnesota coming off a disastrous 2-16 finish in the Big Ten and with a new boss watching over the program.Those are two elements that can bring major concern about a coachs future, but Pitino walks into a crucial season in his tenure brimming with confidence.I do believe, when healthy, its the most talent weve had and its the most complete team. Youve got to stay healthy but I really am excited about these guys, Pitino said.There are six new players on the roster from the team that went 8-23 last season, meaning nearly half the team wasnt around for the difficulties of his third year on the job. Not only did a young and overmatched roster falter on the court, but there were a couple of off-the-court incidents that added to the misery.They seem very eager to move on from last year, Pitino said. Last year was very, very difficult for everybody. Those returners, theyve got pride. They want to show people what were all about. Theyve been really eager to change the perspective of this basketball program.The Golden Gophers open the season against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 11 and tip off the conference season against Michigan State on Dec. 23.I think people are going to see our progress by the time we hit the court, said forward Jordan Murphy, who was a member of the Big Tens All-Freshman team last season. I dont think were worried about proving people wrong. Its more about getting better day by day.Pitino added local prep star Amir Coffey, whose father Richard is a former Gophers standout, and gets transfers Reggie Lynch from Illinois State and Akeem Springs from UW-Milwaukee to help try to breathe new life into the program. And with new athletic director Mark Coyle, who comes back to Minnesota from traditional college hoops power Syracuse, evaluating things, its time for the Gophers to make their move.I know what they walked into and may have perceived of our program, Pitino said. And Im eager to show them what were all about. Weve been as transparent as possible.Here are some things to watch with the Gophers this year:COFFEYS ARRIVAL: The Gophers have historically have had difficulty keeping some of the states best high school players from leaving for other programs. Landing Coffey, a 6-foot-8 guard, was a huge coup for Pitino, and he has looked as good as advertised during fall camp. Hes going to have to play major minutes and hes going to have to do a little bit of everything, Pitino said. I think its on me to figure out where to put him in spots to put the defense in a bind because hes got that size.AKEEMS TWEET: Springs raised eyebrows on Monday night when he tweeted that it looks like my time in Minnesota may be shorter than (I) thought. Its all good though. Pitino immediately called Springs to ask for an explanation and was told that Springs was just messing around. Springs didnt provide a whole lot of clarity on Tuesday. I didnt mean anything. If you go through my history, I tweet a lot of stuff. It meant nothing. It was just a tweet, he said. He said he has not thought about leaving the program. Akeem has been an awesome teammate, Pitino said. Hes been a great leader. He has practiced his butt off. Hes about winning.BAD LUCK: The season got off to a bad start when Davonte Fitzgerald, a 6-8 post player, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Fitzgerald was injured in practice and the loss was a big blow for a team that was relying on his size and defense to give them more size in the paint.LYNCHS INJURY: Lynch had minor knee surgery earlier this fall and is still working his way back. Pitino said he would like for Lynch to play in the exhibition game against Bemidji State on Nov. 3, but they wont rush him back if hes not quite ready. Lynch said his knee is feeling much better and he was confident that he would be able to play in the season opener after sitting out last season after the transfer. 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Keith Wood has described childhood friend and Munster and Ireland teammate Anthony Foley as the gel that held both sides together.Wood was speaking on Newstalk on Monday as the tributes continue to pour in for the late Foley, who died in Paris on Sunday.His death has shocked the rugby world and Wood knew Foley better than most having grown up with him in Killaloe.In an emotive, heartfelt interview on Monday morning Wood remembered his late friends hurling prowess, his ability on the rugby field as a promising youngster and the time Zinzan Brooke asked sheepishly if he could attend Foleys testimonial dinner.Wood, talking to Pat Kenny, said: I wouldve put him [Foley] as the gel for an awful lot of good players to play better around him.Sometimes he didnt get the credit he deserved. Quite simply, when he was at the back of the scrum you never had to think of what was happening, he led from there annd in the manner he played.dddddddddddde did the right thing at the right time. It took him a period of time to get into matches -- it could take him three or four games to get him match fit but once he was match fit, he was phenomenal.He was incredibly robust, didnt get injured all that much. He was fantastic.One anecdote Wood offered remembered when Dominos Pizza used to give a pizza to whoever scored the first try at Thomond Park and Anthony got a hat-trick to just make sure.Wood continued: He had a wicked, dry sense of humour but talking about him in the past tense is unbelievably surreal.I dont know how long itll take for the funeral but its trying to get those nice memories out and to try and smile a little bit at the moment if its possible. Its heart-breaking. ' ' '