On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics President of Basketball Operations and head coach Rick Pitino was born in 1952 in New York City, New York. A product of the University of Massachusetts, Pitino went into coaching after his collegiate playing career with the Minutemen ended.
The New Yorker would secure stints at the University of Hawaii and Syracuse University as an assistant coach before landing the head coaching job at Boston University. He would leave that post to become an assistant coach for the New York Knicks, moving on to take over the head spot at Providence College.
Pitino would get his first shot coaching an NBA team with the Knicks in 1987, resigning two seasons later.