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.
“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.
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.
Rick Pitino calls NCAA's NET rankings system "fraudulent" in explaining why St. John's wasn't selected to the 2024 NCAA Tournament pic.twitter.com/JtFiALEjZc
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.
St. John's has told the NIT not to invite them to the tournament, per the school.
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.
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.
The apology should have been just as loud as the disrespect, Rick Pitino.
On Wednesday, Rick Pitino told the media that he apologized to the St. John’s men’s basketball team days after endorsing his wild postgame rant following a game against Seton Hall.
Somehow, Rick Pitino thinks we have forgotten what he’s done in the last four days, but we have not. The internet has the receipts. On Sunday, he ripped his team after a less-than-stellar performance against Seton Hall. Pitino described coaching St. Johns as the “most unenjoyable experience” of his lifetime. On Monday, Per ESPN, Pitino told Newsday that he stood by his words, saying, “I was pointing out exactly — in a monotone voice — why we lost… I was not ripping anybody.”
By Wednesday, Pitino was walking back his words by sharing that he apologized to his team after learning that his rant hurt several players.
"My family and my players, outside of breathing air, they're the most important thing in my life. That's why I'm still coaching today. They are the air that I breathe. I love them dearly. I would never want to embarrass them or hurt them."
If Pitino thought he was making his team tougher by ripping them, fine. At least stand by that. Be about the words you chose. But to endorse the words and then walk them back implies it was always about escaping accountability and saving an image.
What Pitino fails to realize is that — right or wrong — how a team performs is a reflection of its leader. So, if a team isn’t up to standard, you address it with them and ask yourself what you can do better as a leader, not deflect responsibility and embarrass them in public.
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us at For the Win today. We greatly appreciate your time.
That’s something Rick Pitino has probably never said to his players. He doesn’t seem to appreciate much of anything they do at St. John’s.
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the rant Pitino went on about his team after their latest loss to Seton Hall. He publicly undressed his entire squad and its problems in front of cameras for the world to hear.
He called this job the “most unenjoyable experience” of his life. Honestly, is he sure about that? Because I can surely think of more than a few Pitino circumstances that seem like they might’ve been a bit more unenjoyable than coaching at St. John’s. I mean, that’s why he’s there in the first place, right?
Look, I get the frustration. St. John’s isn’t very good. The team is 2-8 in its last 10 games. But this isn’t just frustration — it’s bullying. It’s Rick Pitino using his power as a head coach to make his players feel as small as possible. He groaned on and on about how his players are “slow laterally” and “physically weak.” Those aren’t critiques — those are insults.
Plus, I’m sorry, but did I miss the part where somebody was holding him hostage and forcing him to coach this team? Everybody and everything suck so bad! …but he won’t leave.
Of course he won’t. There’s no cushy buyout and a clear path to a bigger job he can leech off of at the end of the road. He may never coach again if he does that because the sad reality is he just might not be good enough anymore. His best days as a head coach might be in the rearview mirror.
Ah, yes. There it is. The personal accountability Rick Pitino is terrified of taking here.
What he didn’t let us know in that rant is that these are all his players. This is the team that he orchestrated. This squad added 12 new players this offseason. This is the team he wanted. If they’re so bad and slow and weak, that’s on him.
As the head coach, it’s your job to get your players to play their best ball. It’s your job to make sure they’re able to sustain the 12-point lead they built. It’s your job to get your house in order after your team loses eight of the last 10 games. That’s why you’re paid what you’re paid.
Taking out your shortcomings on your unpaid “amateur” workforce while you literally make millions to fail is feckless. Period.
Be better, Rick Pitino. If you have it in you.
This is what being an adult looks like
(AP Photo/Matthew Putney)
Rick Pitino could probably learn a thing or two at his big age from Sheryl Swoopes here.
Remember the whole Caitlin Clark thing where Swoopes got some numbers wrong? She called the Iowa star and apologized for it. Meghan Hall has more here.
“It’s been a whirlwind month regarding the alleged beef between Sheryl Swoopes and Caitlin Clark. Fans have been in a frenzy since Swoopes said that she didn’t think Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark would make an immediate impact in the WNBA and implied that Clark’s previous pace to break Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record was seemingly unimpressive. Those comments ignited hoops fans and even led to the team’s social media account getting involved. Then, things quickly escalated to “Don’t Be a Sheryl” and “Be a Sheryl” shirts flooding the internet. It was A LOT.
However, per Chantel Jennings of The Athletic, Swoopes recently revealed during a Baylor-Texas Tech broadcast that she had a conversation with Angel Reese via phone, and she also reached out to Clark to clear the air.”
Swoopes left out the glorious details here but, long story short, she apologized and told her that she respected her game. And I’m sure that means a lot to Clark, considering that Swoopes is a basketball legend.
It’s great to see the air cleared between these two.
The Nationals are not for sale
Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
If you were in the market to purchase a baseball team, it sounds like you should take Washington off of your radar. The Nationals are not for sale anymore. At least, that’s what Mark Lerner is telling the Washington Post.
Add this latest announcement to the list of confounding moves the Nationals have made since winning a World Series in 2019.
— And now the family has completely backed away from the idea of a sale
The Lerners are unpredictable. It’s hard to know what the future of this team holds or when it’ll even be competitive again.
The rebuild is moving along according to plan with Washington completely rebuilding its farm system. Ownership just has to be willing to spend again. Maybe, now that the Lerners are fully committed to the Nationals again, they will.
Don’t hold your breath on that, though.
Quick hits: Behold! MLB’s new awful jerseys … The 102 best NFL free agents … and more
“This is the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime.”
Rick Pitino isn’t mincing words about the 2023-2024 St. John’s men’s basketball team. He thinks they stink, and Pitino let anyone who would listen know it during a postgame meltdown.
The relationship between the St. John’s men’s basketball team and head coach Rick Pitino may not be the same after a recent postgame presser. St. John’s was up by as much as 19 points during their Sunday matchup against Seton Hall, including a 12-point lead at halftime. But, extremely leaky defense and lackluster energy down the stretch let Seton Hall back in the game. Eventually, it was too much for the Red Storm to handle, and Seton Hall would go on to win 68-62.
It’s not unreasonable to think a head coach would be steaming after a performance like that. Still, during Sunday’s postgame presser, Rick Pitino ripped the entire team with insult after insult and things got awkward in a hurry.
Among the things he fired off, Pitino called the team “unathletic” and said that it was the “most unenjoyable experience” he’s had since he’s been coaching. When asked if he was second-guessing his time at St. John’s, Pitino said, “No, not at all. It’s not St. John’s. It’s my team.” (See the 1:14 mark of the YouTube video below.)
YIKES.
On this morning's edition of "Get Up," during a conversation about St John's facilities, Bart Scott jokingly asked if the program isn't getting residuals from "Coming to America."
More Scott on Rick Pitino: "He looks dead inside. Let's take the gray out, man." pic.twitter.com/AMQYNnPHoK
Legendary college basketball coach Rick Pitino is a believer in New York Giants QB Daniel Jones: Give him protection and he’ll be “terrific.”
With many calling for the New York Giants to move on from quarterback Daniel Jones, one legendary coach is calling for the team to be a little more patient.
Rick Pitino, who has had massive success in both the college and pro basketball realms as a head coach, believes the Giants can still be rewarded if they simply just build around Jones.
Working out n these shows keep asking should the Giants trade @Daniel_Jones10 . Why not talk about things that possibly could happen. Give Danny Dimes some protection n he will be terrific. Patience is a virtue – no more Geno Smith's becoming outstanding elsewhere
Pitino is talking mainly about the Giants’ offensive line, which has been the poster child for their offensive woes over the past decade.
The truth is, the team has been addressing the line with top picks and expensive free agents, but has not experienced the desired results due to several players ‘busting’ out and others’ inability to stay healthy.
In 2023, the Giants’ offensive line surrendered 85 sacks, the second-most in NFL history. Jones was also injured twice and was lost for the season in Week 9 due to a torn ACL.
On this day, Boston made what was widely regarded as one of the worst trades in franchise history.
On this day in 1998 in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise’s impatient coach and President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino sent veteran point guard Dee Brown and his rookie backcourt teammate Chauncey Billups to the Toronto Raptors. This remains a wildly unpopular trade in many corners.
It sent Brown and Billups as well as power forward Roy Rogers and big man John Thomas to the Raptors in exchange for guard Kenny Anderson, power forward Popeye Jones, and big man Zan Tabak. The deal, often included on lists of the worst the club has made, netted Anderson in exchange.
He hadn’t even been with the Raptors for a week after having been traded to the team for point guard Damon Stoudamire, refusing to report to the Canadian franchise.
Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano talks about NIL.
Greg Schiano believes that college athletes deserve to be paid, but he said that there is “unruliness” when it comes to Name, Image and Likeness. The Rutgers football head coach laid out his thoughts while appearing on PIX 11 with Marc Malusis and Nelson Figueroa Jr.
Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) is the predominant driving force in this new era of college athletics. This, along with the transfer portal, has led to massive changes in college football and across the athletics landscape.
Schiano agreed with Pitino that NIL is powerful and should exist. However, the Rutgers coach said that the implementation of NIL has led to the current state of unrest in college athletics.
Ok – we all want solutions to preserve our great game. Today I’m going to suggest solution one:
For basketball – have the Power 5 & Big East conference commissioners get together and create a salary cap between 1.5 n 2.0 million. All contracts delivered to the league and school…
The original intent of NIL is not being fulfilled in the way things are currently set up.
“Well, it’s certainly a transformational time, right? I mean, players are -you know, I’ve always thought players should have been paid my whole career. I always thought it was not right the way things were done in college athletics,” Schiano said to a question from Malusis.
“We probably could have taken care of this a long time ago and not had the unruliness that we have right now. I think the problem with NIL is just the way that it’s formatted. It’s -in theory, it’s not a bad issue at all. It’s actually what’s right. It’s just the way that it’s being executed.”
Pitino’s tweets on Tuesday also suggested that players sign a multi-year contract, thereby cutting down on the rampant use of the transfer portal which makes things difficult for college coaches to build teams.
[lawrence-related id=35024,35016,34997]
Remember this is only food for thought. All possible solutions.
Solution 2:
Do away with letters of intent, make athletes sign a two year binding contract, no different than professional athletes – which they are. With that, the collective puts together their NIL contract based…
Schiano addressed the portal as well, even drawing a correlation between the portal and coaches leaving a program.
“Now on the transfer portal. You know, I think guys should be able to go if they don’t want to be at their school and not be penalized, I think maybe unlimited is a little different,” Schiano said.
“You know, guys, they said, ‘Well, coaches can leave.’ But the reality is when coaches leave, they pay a pretty hefty…they ao their next employer plays a pretty hefty buyout to get them.
“I think eventually things are going to settle where they need to be but hold on right now because it’s just a transformational time in college athletics is probably there’s ever been.”
[lawrence-related id=35063,35049]
Given the recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, the landscape of major college athletics is on the precipice of massive change. Tuesday on “SportsNation Nightly’ @Rutgers Head Football Coach Greg Schiano joined @MarcMalusis and @FiggieNY to discuss what lies ahead pic.twitter.com/axIasGwVwS
