Big Ten Daily (March 16): Richard Pitino Hired at New Mexico, Five PSU Players Transfer

Richard Pitino is hired at New Mexico, five Penn State players transfer, Isaiah Livers will likely be out for the NCAA Tournament and four Big Ten players make AP All-American teams.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Richard Pitino didn't have a job for about 12 hours.

The former Minnesota coach, who was let go from the Gophers' program on Monday, has already found his next head coaching destination.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Tuesday morning that Pitino has been hired by New Mexico.

Pitino coached for eight seasons at Minnesota in which he went 141-123 overall and 54-96 in the Big Ten. The Gophers were ranked inside the top 25 this season and were squarely in the NCAA Tournament before losing their final seven regular season games and falling out of the tournament conversation.

Pitino will replace Paul Weir at New Mexico, who was fired after four seasons in Albuquerque. The Lobos haven't made the NCAA tournament since 2014.

Five Penn State Players Transfer

After Penn State hired former Purdue assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry to be the next head coach, the Nittany Lions' roster has already started to turn over.

Five players on Penn State have already entered the transfer portal as of Tuesday afternoon. Those five are center John Harrar, forward Trent Buttrick and guards Myreon Jones, Izaiah Brockington and Jamari Wheeler.

All five of those players were recruited by former Penn State head coach Pat Chambers, who resigned before the start of the 2020-21 season. Chamber was replaced on an interim basis by then-assistant Jim Ferry, who coached all of last season.

Harrar, Buttrick, Brockington and Wheeler will all be seeking grad transfer options, which is possible because each athlete was given an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. Jones was a junior last season.

Penn State finished 11-14 last season and 7-12 in the Big Ten.

Livers Likely Out for NCAA Tournament

It wasn't good news for Michigan's Isaiah Livers, who spoke to WTKA on Monday morning regarding his injury that kept him out of the Big Ten semifinal versus Ohio State.

Livers said it was a foot soreness that he has been dealing with for awhile, but it really flared up against Maryland in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. It was in that moment where Livers thought he had to go get it checked out, and it was reveled he had a stress fracture.

Livers isn't ruling out playing in the NCAA Tournament, but the odds aren't very high.

"We can put it to a chance. I wouldn’t say it’s expected, just talking with the doctors and talking with coach Howard,” he said. “If I do, that’s miraculous, it will get talked about, the world is full of possibilities. Honestly, you never know but it’s definitely one of those things where it takes a minute to fully recover. That will be a huge question. Coach Howard, my family and my trainer will speak of that in the coming weeks. As I said, if I can feel good enough, if I feel good to go, then I’m out there because we’re going to make a tourney run and I want to be out there with this team.”

Four Big Ten Players Make AP All-America Teams

Ayo Dosunmu and Luka Garza were named to the Associated Press All-American First Team on Tuesday afternoon. Dosunmu and Garza join Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham, Gonzaga's Corey Kispert and Baylor's Jared Butler to round out the first team.

Two more Big Ten players made the AP All-American Second Team in Kofi Cockburn and Hunter Dickinson. They are joined by USC's Evan Mobley and Gonzaga's Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs on the second team.

The third team consists of Baylor’s Davion Mitchell, Houston's Quentin Grimes, Alabama's Herb Jones, Loyola Chicago's Cameron Krutwig and Oregon's Chris Duarte.

Related Stories on Indiana Basketball:

• ARCHIE MILLER FIRED: Indiana fires Archie Miller on Monday after four subpar seasons at the helm of the Hoosiers program. CLICK HERE
• SCOTT DOLSON VIDEO: Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson met with the media Monday and explained why he fired Archie Miller, how tough the decision way, and his vision for the future. Watch all 26 minutes here. CLICK HERE
• DURHAM ENTERS TRANSFER PORTAL: Indiana guard Al Durham played four years for Miller, but he's entered the transfer portal to take advantage of that fifth-year opportunity granted by the NCAA. CLICK HERE