Rick Pitino

[HRE Otto IV]

We’re giving him extra credit for choosing to (or being forced to) bounce around from job to job.

The rebuilds are very impressive and he is an elite coach. He belongs in the top 5.

Sustained success shouldn’t be discounted though. We don’t know what the other greats who didn’t bounce around would have done if they coached at a handful of schools. We don’t know what Pitino would have done if he stayed one place forever (L’ville is the best clue). We could speculate he’d have fists full of championship rings. We could also speculate that the best to ever do it would be excellent at building teams quickly.

I wouldn’t buy the argument that K, Roy, Wright, Self, Izzo, etc., were/are on cruise control. They attracted the talent and developed the talent, not the name on the front of the jerseys. If any of them dropped down to lower tier schools, with the pedigree they all had, they’d be expected to draw talent and win a lot of games.

IMO "eye test" he is the best HC in the 64+ team NCAAT era. But on paper Coach K is the GOAT. He has the proof. I think Pitino is clearly #2. The only other HC IMO that you could argue is #2 would be Calhoun. He had 3 titles and the team he left behind won another.

I don't think Roy, Self, Izzo belong in the conversation. Wright if he continued to coach could have been.

 

[Bill Orange]

I believe Iona also got him a membership to Winged Foot. I bet he didn't even move houses when he got the St Johns job.


Pitino also had success coaching in Greece.

Rick has been a member at Winged Foot for years.

 

[Chip]

It was a huge mistake not hiring him. Huge. He would have taken this roster to the tournament, no question. He would have put together a much better roster, though.

How do you hire a guy that doesn't want the job?

 

[Brooky03]

IMO "eye test" he is the best HC in the 64+ team NCAAT era. But on paper Coach K is the GOAT. He has the proof. I think Pitino is clearly #2. The only other HC IMO that you could argue is #2 would be Calhoun. He had 3 titles and the team he left behind won another.

I don't think Roy, Self, Izzo belong in the conversation. Wright if he continued to coach could have been.

I’d rank him above Self, Izzo, and Wright. It would take a deeper dive to determine his spot relative to Roy. Roy and Self both absolutely belong in that conversation, though, to me.

Also, I didn’t realize Pitino was at Louisville quite as long as he was.

 

[Hopkins16]

It was a huge mistake not hiring him. Huge. He would have taken this roster to the tournament, no question. He would have put together a much better roster, though.

What makes him a great coach is that he inspires players to play hard. They want to listen, learn, be better and win. He makes players believe that as a team, if they accept their roles and duties in his system, they will win. I truly believe the roster that we now have would be in the tournament if Rick was our coach. Coaching matters.

 

[elimunelson]

Rick has been a member at Winged Foot for years.

Exactly.

I think he takes the Syracuse job if offered before St. John’s gig. It’s an elite job (or was)

 

[Brooky03]

Exactly.

I think he takes the Syracuse job if offered before St. John’s gig. It’s an elite job (or was)

I think he would have taken the Cuse job if offered. But he would not have taken it with the plan to stay long. That’s not saying much for a coach his age, but he would be poached by a school with deeper pockets before year 3 and we’d be back to square one.

 

[CuseTG2003]

Rick has been a member at Winged Foot for years.

Lives on the third hole I believe.

 

[Scooch]

All the negativity in this thread sucks.

Rick Pitno is not walking through that door. And if you expect him to walk through that door he's going to be old and need a pill to screw a waitress on a table.

 

[Eric15]

Gotta love one thread a week about Rick Pitino. With the same people and the same graphics posted in all of them.

My thread appears to have acquired a bnorovirus.

 

[miamicuse]

I think he would have taken the Cuse job if offered. But he would not have taken it with the plan to stay long. That’s not saying much for a coach his age, but he would be poached by a school with deeper pockets before year 3 and we’d be back to square one.

If he is here for two years we won't be back to square one.

He would have stopped the decline and have us on a turnaround track.

We would be free of the JB and continuity thing that has been haunting the program and can freely do a search wuthout all the handcuffs.

We just need a transition and he would have been perfect for that role.

In this day and age it's unrealistic to expect long tenure with any new coach. There are hundreds of Mark Coyle and one JB.

 

[Day2]

How do you hire a guy that doesn't want the job?

Is that the new narrative? Hilarious.

 

[bnoro]

If he is here for two years we won't be back to square one.

He would have stopped the decline and have us on a turnaround track.

We would be free of the JB and continuity thing that has been haunting the program and can freely do a search wuthout all the handcuffs.

We just need a transition and he would have been perfect for that role.

In this day and age it's unrealistic to expect long tenure with any new coach. There are hundreds of Mark Coyle and one JB.

Perfect, if you have no qualms about morality.

 

[Chip]

Is that the new narrative? Hilarious.

Did I just set my first new narrative? Kinda feels good.

Is there a world where he's JB's successor instead of taking the St. John's job? I know there's an internal struggle of Pitino good vs evil here, one which I don't care to participate in (I'd hire anyone that wins). But everything I've heard from people I trust is that he never wanted to come back here.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Perfect, if you have no qualms about morality.

I don’t. The sport is depraved and has been for decades.