Richard Pitino Needs Rashod Bateman…

Richard Pitino was lucky to escape 2020 with his job. If I had been AD at the University of Minnesota, when the basketball season ended abruptly, I’m not so sure he’d still have it (though firing the leader of your team this offseason, given the coronavirus circumstances, would be a difficult move to make).

But, Richard is still the basketball coach and he still needs more talent to help turn the tide of his program. I wonder if he knows, the game changer he needs… is already on campus. He plays football for PJ Fleck and might be the best wide receiver in the nation.

But he can ball on the basketball court, too.

Look at this skinny kid tearing up the Georgia hardwood. Anyone who has watched Rashod Bateman on the football field, won’t be surprised when they see him jumping through the gym ceiling and piling dunks into faces of unsuspecting children… but holy fuck, look at that touch from deep!

As a kid who won every 3-point contest through Varsity, but rode the bench throughout my high school “career”, I’m blown away. These aren’t pickup games, either. Some of these highlights look like they’re from the Georgia State Tournament, given the crowd size and Georgia Tech logo on the floor… and Bateman is showing up.

That’d make sense too, because Bateman scored 18 points in the championship game of the Georgia State Championship back in 2017, as a Junior, helping Tift County to a title. He was highly sought after in basketball back then too, receiving scholarship offers from places like Penn State and Virginia Tech.

Would it be stupid for Bateman to become a 2-sport athlete this late in his college career, especially when he’ll likely be preparing for the NFL draft when the 2020 football season ends? Yes. But, this is my blog and I want to dream the dreams I want to dream. Do whatever it takes, Little Ricky… you need Rashod Bateman.

via GIPHY

Shoutout to Ryan Burns, who posted this video to the GopherIllustrated.com boards, where I saw it.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan