For the first time since 2017, Rick Pitino is coaching in the NCAA tournament. The coach of Iona Giles led his team, the No. 9 seed in the Mid-American Athletic Conference to a title in the MAAC Championship game.
As a result, Pitino will make his first appearance since losing to the Louisville Cardinals in the second round of NCAA March Madness in 2017.
So, why did Rick Pitino leave Louisville? How has his coaching career been till date? Here is all you need to know about NCAA coaches for a long time as an NCAA coach.
Why did Rick Pitino leave Louisville?
Pitino left Louisville after the third major scandal was under his supervision. The final straw was a pay-for-play scam in which corporate sponsor Adidas allegedly paid $ 100,000 to a recruiting family to come to Louisville. That recruit was later revealed to be Brian Bowen. That scandal affected six universities and their college basketball programs. Pitino was thrown out in the wake of widespread allegations.
While Pitino has denied any wrongdoing – though he has revealed this He thought he should be fired In a recent interview – revealed without court documents Pitino called Adidas executive Jim Gatto Agents pay the $ 100,000 requested from Adidas Bowen at the request of Christian Dawkins. Putino’s phone records showed Gatto making three calls when Bowen announced he was going to Louisville.
During his time in Louisville, it was revealed that Pitino had an affair with Karen Qinagin Sirferre and paid $ 3,000 to have an abortion. Cyraff, wife of Louisville equipment manager Tim Cyphore, demanded that Pitino pay him $ 10 million in an extortion attempt. That scandal damaged Pitino’s image, but Louisville chose to keep him as head coach, despite an ethics clause in his contract.
Additionally, there was another scandal between the two: the 2015 Louisville Basketball Sex Scandal. The scandal centered on Andre Louis McGhee, a former Louisville player and director of basketball operations, and was offering undue advantage to current and future Louisville players. This included strippers and prostitutes that were provided to players spanning from 2010 to 2014.
As a result of that scandal, Pitino was suspended for five games because he failed to properly monitor recruiting activity. That suspension was taken to begin the 2017–18 season. Ironically, after those incidents, Pitino refused to resign, claiming that he would one day “go to the festivities”.
“I will not resign and disappoint you,” Pitino said. “Someday I will go on to celebrate many memorable years, but that time is no longer there.”
Of course, this did not happen. Pitino was fired for a pay-for-play scandal before he could serve a five-game suspension as a result of a sex scandal.
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Where did Rick Pitino take coaching?
Pitino started his career airy As an assistant after a four-year college career at UMass. He briefly served as Hawaii’s interim head coach in the wake of allegations of unfair advantage and later quit after being tied to eight of the 64 charges.
From there, Pitino was an assistant Syracuse For three years under Jim Boehm and later to coach Boston University. Pitino led BU to a record of 91–51 and got them to the NCAA Tournament in 1983 when it was a 52-team field. After spending two years as an assistant at the New York Knock, Pitino took coaching Frugality And Billy Donovan helped to turn the friars along with running the point.
After that, Pitino was given the chance to become the head coach new York Knicks. Pitino stayed with the Nucks for two years, taking him to a record of 52–30 in his final year. The Knights made the semi-finals of the Eastern Conference, but the 36-year-old Pitino wanted to return to college sports. He finished coaching Kentucky For eight years, posting a 219–50 record and under the previous regime helped rebuild the school’s reputation after the scandal. Pitino has the fifth-largest win in Kentucky history and helped the Wildcats win the national title in 1996.
Pitino made another jump in the NBA after falling during the 1997 championship game. He controlled Boston Celtics From 1997-2001 and put together what was easily the worst coaching stent of his career. The Celtics of Pitino never recorded more than 36 wins in a season and missed the playoffs in each of their three-and-a-half years as the team in charge. He set a 102–146 record with the team and is remembered for trading Chauncey Billops less than a year into his NBA career, and Ron Mercer just a year after that.
Despite Pitino being injured in Boston, he was still a widely respected college coach. After his resignation in ’01, Louisville hired him and by 2017 he took coaching there. He led the Cardinals to a 293–143 record in his own clock. His 293rd rank ranks third in Louisville basketball history. He also led the team to a national title and another Final Four, but those titles have since been vacant.
Louisville fired him amid scandal, Pitino coaching Greek club Panathinaikos Back-to-back Greek League Championship and 2019 Greek Cup win. Now, he is in Iona and led the Gaels to a 12–5 record and tournament berth in his first season.
Rick Pitino’s record in NCAA tournament
During his career, Pitino has recorded 55 NCAA tournament victories, including those vacated as a result of various scandals. Therefore, he technically ranks at No. 5 in the March Madness win, but no longer appears in the leaderboard as it deserves an empty win in season three, including a trip to the Final Four, a national title, and another trip. Includes The Sweet 16.
Pitino’s teams have made the NCAA tournament 21 times. In the opening round of the tournament, they have set a record of 17–4 overall, so Pitino’s chances of winning in the opening round look good.
However, it is worth noting that Louisville lost in the first round in 2010 and 2011 in back-to-back years under Pitino. They were 9-seed in their first loss but 4-seed in their second loss. Therefore, it is possible for Pitino-coached teams to lose early. It is also worth noting that each of Louisville’s two-time Pitino had a first-round underdog, they lost. This means that shutting down an SEC powerhouse like Alabama can be difficult for 15th-seeded Iona.
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