Tag: Rick Pitino

Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness on Friday featured a surprise guest

Former Kentucky basketball coach Rick Pitino was a surprise guest at Big Blue Madness on Friday.

Friday night saw Kentucky basketball officially begin the 2024-25 season. The annual event showcases the current rosters, coaches, and sometimes some surprises. The biggest of those was the appearance by former coach Rick Pitino, who is also attending Saturday’s football game.

Despite being the current head coach at St. John’s, Pitino showed up in Lexington decked out in Kentucky regalia to support Mark Pope. He seemed to almost tear up as he addressed the crowd, who very loudly showed their approval of his being there.

Related: Kentucky gets official prediction for Acaden Lewis

He told fans:

Mark Pope is going to lead you to greatness in every sense of the word.

It was a special moment for everyone involved, and the fans clearly were excited to have him attending.

Former players like Doron Lamb and Willie Cauley-Stein were in attendance as well, and football coach Mark Stoops also spoke to the crowd. It was an exciting night for fans, and getting Coach Pitino back in Lexington for a night helped make this another successful Big Blue Madness.

Rick Pitino is returning to coming back to Kentucky on Saturday

Former Kentucky basketball coach Rick Pitino will attend Kentucky football’s game on Saturday.

Most Kentucky basketball fans will say that Rick Pitino is one of the greatest coaches in Wildcats history. He is a beloved figure in Lexington, despite not having been around since the mid 1990’s.

Now, however, he is returning to Lexington, though not for basketball. Pitino will be at Kroger Field, attending Kentucky football’s Homecoming game on Saturday against the Vanderbilt Commodores. This was confirmed by Adam Zagoria on the social platform X.

Related: Kentucky football bowl projections after week six

Pitino’s relationship with Kentucky hasn’t always been the best. He spent several years coaching the Louisville Cardinals, Kentucky’s biggest rival. It was contentious during those years, but he was quickly forgiven once he left Louisville.

Earlier this year, Pitino said he had donated to Kentucky football’s NIL funds, and was one of the biggest supporters of the Mark Pope hire. Wildcats fans will always have a soft spot for their former coach, and it will be fun to have him on the sideline on Saturday.

Thieves broke into Rick Pitino’s St. John’s office, but he was at least in good spirits about it

Well, at least he’s in good spirits about the whole ordeal.

St. John’s men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino was recently the victim of an office theft.

ESPN reported that the St. John’s break-in happened on Tuesday evening and that the thieves stole a ceremonial sword and a bullhorn from Pitino’s office during the incident, among other items.

“Police said in a statement that the two men somehow gained entry ‘without authorization’ and removed a number of items before fleeing on a moped heading westbound on Union Turnpike,” ESPN’s news service reported.

To Pitino’s credit, he seemed to have a good sense of humor about the whole ordeal. He joked on Twitter (X) about a very expensive bottle of wine being part of the thieves’ haul before clarifying that the bottle was safely in his wine cellar.

Hey, if you’re going to be the victim of a break-in at your job, at least be like Pitino and make sure the good stuff is left at home.

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Rick Pitino loves what he sees with former USC big man Vince Iwuchukwu

Rick Pitino gets to mold Vince Iwuchukwu into a top-tier center.

Saint John’s is coming off a 20-win season with its most Big East victories in 14 years under legendary head coach Rick Pitino. They are looking to build off that success. Adding former USC big man Vincent Iwuchukwu should help their cause.

Iwuchukwu spent the past two seasons with the Trojans. He appeared in 45 games including 16 starts. In those games, Iwuchukwu averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 50.6% from the field.

Iwuchukwu went into cardiac arrest two seasons ago during a summer basketball workout. He also had a back injury in that same season. These health problems limited the 7-1 center to 193 minutes of play in 14 games in 2023-24.

Prior to USC, Iwuchukwu was rated as the No. 16 overall recruit in the Class of 2022 according to Rivals.com. He helped lead Southern California Academy to a 24-4 overall record and a No. 10 national ranking by the end of the season as a senior.

The former five-star standout also starred on the Nike EYBL circuit playing for Drive Nation and averaged 19.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 2021.

“After putting Vince Iwuchukwu through a player development session, I knew we had to have him in a Johnnies uniform,” said St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino. “Awesome attitude and work ethic. [Vince is] agile, mobile and shoots the heck out of it. Excited to have him [join our program] with so much upside and potential.”

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Kentucky football has a new booster and it’s… Rick Pitino?

We’re guessing Kentucky fans didn’t have this one on their bingo cards entering 2024.

Here’s something no one had on their bingo cards back at the beginning of 2024: former Kentucky basketball coach Rick Pitino is now a Kentucky football booster.

No, really.

Once beloved by Big Blue Nation and then reviled after accepting the head coaching job at Louisville in 2001 and eventually leading the Cardinals to the national championship 12 years later, Pitino revealed the news Thursday during a sit-down with Kentucky Sports Radio’s Pardon My Take podcast.

Pitino cited his friendship with coach Mark Stoops for why he donated to the football program. He added that he would also be willing to donate to the basketball program after making similar remarks months earlier when Mark Pope was announced as Kentucky’s coach following John Calipari’s exit.

Pope is a former player of Pitino’s and was a member of the school’s 1996 national championship team.

“Well, I actually cut a check to the football program because I’m a casual friend of Mark Stoops and Eddie Gran,” Pitino said. “I cut a check to the football program, but I would definitely cut a check if Mark needs me for anything, no matter what — except for my firstborn Michael — he could have it.“

Added Pitino: “I absolutely love Mark and would do anything for his program. I always called the University of Kentucky ‘Camelot’ for me. Never had a bad year, never had a bad day. They treated me like a king.“

Pitino left Kentucky to coach the Boston Celtics in 1997. He returned to the college ranks in 2001 after Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum retired and spent the next 16 seasons with Louisville. Pitino left Louisville amid a cloud of controversy in 2017 that involved allegations of “pay for play” recruiting violations.

Pitino returned to the coaching ranks in 2020 when he accepted the head coaching job at Iona. He is currently the head coach at St. John’s, a program with its own unique tradition and history in college basketball.

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Kentucky basketball will get to face former coach Rick Pitino in 2025

Rick Pitino and St. John’s will play a home and home series with Kentucky basketball starting in 2025.

There has been a lot of scheduling news in the previous week, with Kentucky basketball scheduling Western Kentucky this season and their SEC opponents announced. On top of that, fans got the exciting news that the Wildcats will get the opportunity to face former head coach Rick Pitino soon.

On Monday, it was reported by Adam Zagoria (subscription required) that an agreement is in place for the Wildcats to meet Pitino’s current team, the St. John’s Red Storm, in a home and home series beginning in 2025.

Related: Kentucky basketball predicted to land Ansley Almonor

According to the report, the opening game will take place at Rupp Arena in Lexington with the Cats hosting. The following year, the re-match will take place at Madison Square Garden.

Kentucky fans still have a soft spot for Pitino, even after his years with rival Louisville. He won a national championship in 1996 with current Wildcats coach Mark Pope and is one of the all-time great Kentucky coaches. It should be a fun match-up and it’s one fans have wanted to see.

Report: Louisville considering Richard Pitino as next basketball coach

The Louisville Cardinals are considering Rick Pitino’s son Richard as their next head coach after a successful season at New Mexico.

The Louisville Cardinals have an opportunity to bring a very familiar face back to campus in Richard Pitino, the current New Mexico head coach and son of former Cardinals and current St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.

Reports indicate Pitino is the top candidate to become the head coach at Louisville, and that athletic director Josh Heird has been in contact with Richard “several times over the past few days.”

Pitino led the Lobos to a 26-10 record and their first Mountain West tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 this past season, his third at New Mexico.

Pitino served as an assistant coach at Louisville from 2007-2009 under his father Rick, before serving as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan.

He was back at Louisville in 2011-12 during the team’s Final Four run, and then spent one year as the head coach at Florida International before taking over at Minnesota in 2013 and leading the Golden Gophers to the NIT championship in his first year and two NCAA Tournament appearances before departing in 2021.

Hiring the son of the coach who led you to a national title may sound good on paper, but the elder Pitino’s transgressions at Louisville are well documented and bringing the family back into the mix is certainly a unique situation.

However, Louisville struck out on top targets Scott Drew and Dusty May, and Pitino is a reasonable candidate based on his head coaching experience, recent success, and familiarity with the program.

Rick Pitino slammed the NCAA after St. John’s missed the 2024 men’s tournament

“I think we should all never mention that word again because I think it’s fraudulent.”

Rick Pitino’s highly underwhelming season with the St. John’s men’s basketball team unraveled even more on Sunday when the team was not selected to participate in the 2024 NCAA tournament. Afterward, Pitino ripped the NCAA’s NET rankings system, which evaluates a team’s resume throughout the season.

St. John’s men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino is still not having fun. Just weeks ago, he went on an unhinged rant about his team after a disappointing loss. He left no stone unturned when finding words to express his displeasure. Pitino eventually apologized for his behavior, but old habits die hard.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

After St. John’s failed to qualify for the 2024 NCAA tournament, Pitino panned the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking system that the selection committee utilizes to help determine who should be eligible.

Following Selection Sunday, he shared his thoughts on the NET system:

“I think we should all never mention that word again because I think it’s fraudulent…We tried to play a tough schedule. We tried to do things the right way, and we didn’t get in.

I never make excuses. I respect the committee for what they do. They give their time. They give their energy to it. They didn’t think that we measured up to their standards, and we’ll take it very positively like men and move forward. We’re not gonna gripe [or] say we got screwed. None of that helps. Bitterness does not help. I’ve had enough bitterness in my life to last a lifetime.”

Per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, St. John’s has declined to play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), a postseason tournament for teams that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

On this day: Infamous rant by Rick Pitino; Chris Babb debut; Fred Scolari born; John Richter passes

On this day in Celtics history, team president Rick Pitino unleashed an epic postgame diatribe, and Chris Babb made his debut.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, one of the legendary (some would say infamous) postgame speeches was given by Celtic team president and head coach Rick Pitino.

Pitino, whose impatience with Boston’s roster was matched only by the fan base’s disdain for the moves he made to try to improve it, had something of a rough tenure as the head of the Celtics organization. He was also Boston’s head coach after being hired out of the University of Kentucky for both positions. After making a number of ill-advised trades in hopes of jump-starting the Celtics’ roster with little to show in the way of results, the situation came to a head after a loss to the Toronto Raptors on this date in 2000.

Despite 27 points from Antoine Walker and 22 from Paul Pierce, the team lost 96-94, falling to 23-34 on the season.

St. John’s responds to Rick Pitino’s criticism, pulls off major upset over Creighton

Rick Pitino and St. John’s pulled off an upset victory over the Creighton Blue Jays on Sunday, could it put them into the NCAA Tournament?

After St. John’s 68-62 loss to Seton Hall last weekend, coach Rick Pitino lit into his players in a postgame press conference – repeatedly citing their lack of toughness and skill limitations while indicating this season has been the least fun he has had in a while.

Since then the Red Storm have picked up a pair of victories, first a five point win on the road at Georgetown followed by a massive 14 point home victory over the No. 15 ranked Creighton Blue Jays on Sunday.

Creighton, who upset UConn earlier this week, fell to 11-6 in Big East play and 20-8 overall while St. John’s moved to 8-9 and 16-12 overall.

The Red Storm were carried by transfer guards Daniss Jenkins (27 points, six assists) and Jordan Dingle (18 points). St. John’s only turned the ball over three times as a team, while they outrebounded the Blue Jays 42-35.

The win should sneak St. John’s back into the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation, although they will likely need a strong performance in the Big East Tournament to end up in the Big Dance.

But, with regular season games left at Butler, at DePaul, and home against Georgetown, Pitino’s team could carry some momentum into Madison Square Garden – and that could lead to said run, and ultimately a return for Pitino to the NCAA Tournament.