How Did 1989 Coach Search Play Out?

[KYExtemper]

I'm always curious, how did the 1989 coach search play out? I know Pitino wasn't our first choice, right? I've read where PJ Carlisimo was possibly offered after taking Seton Hall to the title game in one of the strangest NCAA tournaments ever.

Always interesting to me how these go and all the what ifs that stem from them.

 

[HoopsDavid]

Lute Olsen and PJ were both ahead of Pitino on the call list.
That turned out pretty good.

 

[Kats meow]

Lute Olsen and PJ were both ahead of Pitino on the call list.
That turned out pretty good.

Lute is dead. He’s probably not interested. PJ is 74. I guess we could give him a call.

 

[gossie21]

Lute Olsen was the first choice if I remember.

 

[Saven]

I think Pat Riley was contacted about the job and he referred Pitino to Kentucky after refusing according to the documentary about UK basketball in 2012/13.

 

[UK90]

We first pursued PJ Carlesimo and Lute Olson (for the second time, we also offered him in 85). When those two didn’t work out, we turned to option three: Pitino.

The third time was definitively the charm with that search.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Here's a funny old article where the press got it wrong.

Carlesimo Said to Be Hired by Kentucky

P.J.

www.latimes.com

 

[JeepCSC]

PJ was getting a $240,000 salary then (roughly $600k accounting for inflation). Wowzers.

 

[MegaBlue05]

PJ was getting a $240,000 salary then (roughly $600k accounting for inflation). Wowzers.

We got Pitino for 7 years for $6 million ($15M with inflation). What a steal.

 

[The_Godfather]

That search was a nightmare at the time because NOBODY wanted the job due to UK getting crushed with NCAA sanctions.

CM Newton had just been hired away from Vandy as their (successful) head coach to become our new AD. This was viewed as a great hire and there was optimism that he’d land a big time hire.

And the search began in late March, early April. The first names I recall were Lute Olsen and Coach K during the Final Four. K made it clear he wasn’t interested and Olsen did after milking the job for another raise from Arizona.

Eventually, PJ Carlesimo was targeted and he came in to visit. The belief is that he verbally agreed to take the job, but got cold feet. He had been caught by a Lexington TV crew at the Lexington airport while on his visit to town and looked scared to death!

CM was getting turned down over and over in April and May to the point of him considering naming himself interim Coach just to get thru the season. It was incredibly depressing to follow as a fan. Not only were we on our way to 2 seasons of major NCAA sanctions, but no decent coach was willing to take the job.

In the meantime, nearly half of the scholarship players on the roster had decided to transfer. The NCAA gave those players special ability to transfer with immediate eligibility. Since there was no transfer portal or ability for UK to rebuild with transfers (incoming players would need to sit out 1 year), CM had to recruit high school seniors in the hopes of being able to field a team. He is the one that actually signed Jeff Brassow to UK during this period.

The Knicks were coming off a 50 win season and in the playoffs and got knocked out by the Bulls. The rumors began to fly that Pitino was unhappy in New York because he didn’t get along with their GM. Pitino was viewed much like people had viewed Brad Stevens after what he did at Butler having taken lowly Providence to the Final Four just 2 years prior.

To our amazement, he seemed interested and he came in for a visit. Of course, the Herald Leader took that opportunity to put out a banner headline front page article about how Pitino once was caught breaking NCAA rules 14 years prior while a young assistant at Hawaii. Pitino said after the fact that he nearly walked away at that moment, but CM convinced him to not pay attention.

I believe Pitino was hired in June and fans were ecstatic! Not only because Pitino was viewed as a great coach with a fun style of play and how he CRUSHED the opening press conference, but also fans were so thankful to be excited again after a full year of negativity.

 

[Wildcats1st]

That search was a nightmare at the time because NOBODY wanted the job due to UK getting crushed with NCAA sanctions.

CM Newton had just been hired away from Vandy as their (successful) head coach to become our new AD. This was viewed as a great hire and there was optimism that he’d land a big time hire.

And the search began in late March, early April. The first names I recall were Lute Olsen and Coach K during the Final Four. K made it clear he wasn’t interested and Olsen did after milking the job for another raise from Arizona.

Eventually, PJ Carlesimo was targeted and he came in to visit. The belief is that he verbally agreed to take the job, but got cold feet. He had been caught by a Lexington TV crew at the Lexington airport while on his visit to town and looked scared to death!

CM was getting turned down over and over in April and May to the point of him considering naming himself interim Coach just to get thru the season. It was incredibly depressing to follow as a fan. Not only were we on our way to 2 seasons of major NCAA sanctions, but no decent coach was willing to take the job.

In the meantime, nearly half of the scholarship players on the roster had decided to transfer. The NCAA gave those players special ability to transfer with immediate eligibility. Since there was no transfer portal or ability for UK to rebuild with transfers (incoming players would need to sit out 1 year), CM had to recruit high school seniors in the hopes of being able to field a team. He is the one that actually signed Jeff Brassow to UK during this period.

The Knicks were coming off a 50 win season and in the playoffs and got knocked out by the Bulls. The rumors began to fly that Pitino was unhappy in New York because he didn’t get along with their GM. Pitino was viewed much like people had viewed Brad Stevens after what he did at Butler having taken lowly Providence to the Final Four just 2 years prior.

To our amazement, he seemed interested and he came in for a visit. Of course, the Herald Leader took that opportunity to put out a banner headline front page article about how Pitino once was caught breaking NCAA rules 14 years prior while a young assistant at Hawaii. Pitino said after the fact that he nearly walked away at that moment, but CM convinced him to not pay attention.

I believe Pitino was hired in June and fans were ecstatic! Not only because Pitino was viewed as a great coach with a fun style of play and how he CRUSHED the opening press conference, but also fans were so thankful to be excited again after a full year of negativity.

I remember being concerned lee rose would end up as the coach. CM Newton though was a hell of AD to bring basketball back. I think AD turnover should occur every 7 years or so so that things don’t become stale. Our biggest problem is our AD has been here too long and made mistakes over and over again. Unfortunately this time we can’t afford another Barney error. Someone needs to step up like CM and find that coach who has the fire pitino did.

 

[NC Weasel]

The Godfather from the nail at the FT line, nothing but net.

CM is a state treasure.

 

[CROCAT]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7432671/how-rick-pitino-got-kentucky

 

[Kats meow]

I remember being concerned lee rose would end up as the coach.

The same Lee Rose who took 2 different teams to the FF (UNCC and Purdue)?

 

[Wildcats1st]

The same Lee Rose who took 2 different teams to the FF (UNCC and Purdue)?

Yep he was in the nba by then and his coaching had become stale. I don’t think he was every a HC again.

 

[cats#1again]

We got Pitino for 7 years for $6 million ($15M with inflation). What a steal.

Basketball has grown tremendously since 1989

 

[cats#1again]

Here's a funny old article where the press got it wrong.

Carlesimo Said to Be Hired by Kentucky

P.J.

www.latimes.com

Crazy they put in there "called his hotel room". Times were so different

 

[KYExtemper]

That search was a nightmare at the time because NOBODY wanted the job due to UK getting crushed with NCAA sanctions.

CM Newton had just been hired away from Vandy as their (successful) head coach to become our new AD. This was viewed as a great hire and there was optimism that he’d land a big time hire.

And the search began in late March, early April. The first names I recall were Lute Olsen and Coach K during the Final Four. K made it clear he wasn’t interested and Olsen did after milking the job for another raise from Arizona.

Eventually, PJ Carlesimo was targeted and he came in to visit. The belief is that he verbally agreed to take the job, but got cold feet. He had been caught by a Lexington TV crew at the Lexington airport while on his visit to town and looked scared to death!

CM was getting turned down over and over in April and May to the point of him considering naming himself interim Coach just to get thru the season. It was incredibly depressing to follow as a fan. Not only were we on our way to 2 seasons of major NCAA sanctions, but no decent coach was willing to take the job.

In the meantime, nearly half of the scholarship players on the roster had decided to transfer. The NCAA gave those players special ability to transfer with immediate eligibility. Since there was no transfer portal or ability for UK to rebuild with transfers (incoming players would need to sit out 1 year), CM had to recruit high school seniors in the hopes of being able to field a team. He is the one that actually signed Jeff Brassow to UK during this period.

The Knicks were coming off a 50 win season and in the playoffs and got knocked out by the Bulls. The rumors began to fly that Pitino was unhappy in New York because he didn’t get along with their GM. Pitino was viewed much like people had viewed Brad Stevens after what he did at Butler having taken lowly Providence to the Final Four just 2 years prior.

To our amazement, he seemed interested and he came in for a visit. Of course, the Herald Leader took that opportunity to put out a banner headline front page article about how Pitino once was caught breaking NCAA rules 14 years prior while a young assistant at Hawaii. Pitino said after the fact that he nearly walked away at that moment, but CM convinced him to not pay attention.

I believe Pitino was hired in June and fans were ecstatic! Not only because Pitino was viewed as a great coach with a fun style of play and how he CRUSHED the opening press conference, but also fans were so thankful to be excited again after a full year of negativity.

Thanks for the great run down. Does anyone know if there's footage of Pitino's press conference? I've always been interested to watch it but can never find the whole thing.

 

[jamo0001]

Thanks for the great run down. Does anyone know if there's footage of Pitino's press conference? I've always been interested to watch it but can never find the whole thing.

I was looking for it just today, actually. Shockingly, it doesn't seem to be anywhere online. Newspaper articles mention "two dozen TV cameras" in the board room at Patterson but I can't find the footage online anywhere. I have faint memories of seeing a ~5sec clip of footage as part of a subsequent documentary, but I might be misremembering.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

What was Pitino's quote? "We're going to win, and we're to win right away."

Wasn't it something like that?

 

[CROCAT]

What was Pitino's quote? "We're going to win, and we're to win right away."

Wasn't it something like that?

After the sanctions were announced, three key players from last year's team left. LeRon Ellis, the 6-foot-10-inch center, transferred to Syracuse. Chris Mills, whose family allegedly received the $1,000 payment, left for Arizona. Eric Manuel, the player involved in cheating, is enrolled in a junior college.

What Pitino is left with is an inexperienced group led by Hanson, a 6-7 junior who averaged 9.8 points a game last season before being injured, and Miller, a sharp-shooting guard who averaged 13.9 points a game last season. When he accepted the Kentucky job, Pitino said, ''We will win, and we will win right away.'' Now with a schedule that includes Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina and Louisville in its first nine games, Pitino, who signed a seven-year contract, says he expects the transition to be completed in five years.

''The most important thing here for the next two years is to develop talent for the third year,'' he added, referring to the time Kentucky will again be able to participate in post-season play. ''I don't believe that Kentucky will be a consistent top 10 or top 20 team until you get your first recruiting class into its senior year. That's five years.'' Beyond that? ''In the past I've come in, turned the program around, then left for another challenge and never gave myself a chance to enjoy it,'' he said. ''I want to turn this around and enjoy it. I want to stay here. The only way I'm leaving is if they get rid of me.''

 

[jrm693]

I believe he also said "Buy your tickets now because they will be the hottest ticket in town soon"

 

[bthaunert]

What was Pitino's quote? "We're going to win, and we're to win right away."

Wasn't it something like that?

Yep, something like, ‘We will win and we will win right away. Whether that shows up in wins and losses is yet to be seen. But the Kentucky fans will walk away knowing they saw a winner.”

 

[littlecreek]

Kentucky is in a similar situation with a mass exodus of players. The ones that stayed then were the Kentucky boys plus Sean Woods and Derrick Miller. As someone mentioned transfers had to sit out a year before playing so RP did a great job getting that team to be competitive. Though they had a 14-14 record they were one of the funnest Kentucky teams to watch. The heart that the Kentucky boys showed was incredible. This team will be much the same. With transfers being able to play immediately will help Pope and I believe they will play an identical style, probably shooting even more 3s. I would love to see Noah from Harlan come to this team. Recruiting rankings won't matter anymore because he's going to bring in great shooters who will be good COLLEGE players that results in a GREAT college team. No more individual one on one play to impress NBA scouts for draft position and a coach who is mostly concerned with that. It's all about KENTUCKY now and winning banners. We have got to be patient because we might have a 14-14 type season or two but it will be worth it in the long term.

 

[cathouse]

The Godfather from the nail at the FT line, nothing but net.

CM is a state treasure.

Nah. That was a swisher three pointer from half court as time expired.
It is almost like Godfather was there for it.

Wait. Could @The_Godfather actually be Coach Pitino????

 

[The_Godfather]

Nah. That was a swisher three pointer from half court as time expired.
It is almost like Godfather was there for it.

Wait. Could @The_Godfather actually be Coach Pitino????

My last name does end in a vowel and I also arrived on campus in the fall of 1989.

 

[NKYWildcat]

Godfather definitely nailed it. It took a long time. I think part of the plan for CM to take over was to bring on Kyle Macy to be his coach in waiting. Thank goodness we never found out how they would have turned out.

Pitino's press conference was an all timer. He didnt just win the press conference, he torched it. It was thought that the team that returned would have a hard time competing in the OVC...and he got them to 10-8 in the SEC, and the rest is history.

 

[cathouse]

My last name does end in a vowel and I also arrived on campus in the fall of 1989.

Wow!!
Coincidence???
I think not!!!
It's Coach Pitiner!!! My hero!!

 

[NKYWildcat]

Also, Derrick Miller and Reggie Hanson stayed on knowing that they would never get to play in the NCAA tournament for the rest of their careers. That may have not have been the case had the rules been like today, but as was mentioned, the NCAA allowed transfers out to play immediately at new destinations....except for Eric Manuel, who was pretty much banned from ever playing NCAA ball again.

 

[cathouse]

Yep, something like, ‘We will win and we will win right away. Whether that shows up in wins and losses is yet to be seen. But the Kentucky fans will walk away knowing they saw a winner.”

I had that same feeling IMMEDIATELY when the hiring of Mark Pope was announced as our HC.
"Win or lose, Kentucky fans will walk away knowing they saw a WINNER."

That 14-14 season was one of the most exciting seasons in my lifetime.......knowing we had hired a WINNER, ans better days were coming.

And boy, were they ever better days for UK fans. The BEST.

 

[BigE_44]

We first pursued PJ Carlesimo and Lute Olson (for the second time, we also offered him in 85). When those two didn’t work out, we turned to option three: Pitino.

The third time was definitively the charm with that search.

He had actually accepted the job in 85. Can't remember who, but a player recalled being introduced to him in the Lodge. I believe Oscar and Ralph Hacker get into it in this episode, though it may be part 2.

Episode 23 – Conversations with Oscar Combs – Ralph Hacker – Pt. 3

https://soundcloud.com/user-44275480/episode-23-conversations-with-oscar-combs-ralph-hacker-pt-3/s-uf3jU

oscarcombs.com

 

[UK90]

He had actually accepted the job in 85. Can't remember who, but a player recalled being introduced to him in the Lodge. I believe Oscar and Ralph Hacker get into it in this episode, though it may be part 2.

Episode 23 – Conversations with Oscar Combs – Ralph Hacker – Pt. 3

https://soundcloud.com/user-44275480/episode-23-conversations-with-oscar-combs-ralph-hacker-pt-3/s-uf3jU

oscarcombs.com

Yeah, I’ve long heard the rumor that Olsen first accepted but then changed his mind, but never heard it officially confirmed. I do recall that there was a day or two there when everybody was assuming Olsen would be our next coach.

But instead we got Eddie Sutton and tough times.

 

[rick64]

Pitino went 14-14 in his first season with a bunch of nobodies with no one taller than 6-7 C Reggie Hanson.

 

[BigE_44]

Yeah, I’ve long heard the rumor that Olsen first accepted but then changed his mind, but never heard it officially confirmed. I do recall that there was a day or two there when everybody was assuming Olsen would be our next coach.

But instead we got Eddie Sutton and tough times.

The night Joe retired in Denver President Singletary, Hagan, Host, Hacker etc were all in the presidents suite and Tom Hammond of all people threw out the name Eddie Sutton. Singletary said "absolutely not". Lute came to town and loved it but I think (tale as old as time) his wife didn't want to move and eventually they offered Eddie the next week at the final four. Eddie would have done well here and probably could have survived the scandal if it weren't for his drinking. I believe Brooks Downing remained close with the Suttons and said Eddie told him years later he just didn't realize how big Kentucky Basketball was until he got here.

 

[BigE_44]

The night Joe retired in Denver President Singletary, Hagan, Host, Hacker etc were all in the presidents suite and Tom Hammond of all people threw out the name Eddie Sutton. Singletary said "absolutely not". Lute came to town and loved it but I think (tale as old as time) his wife didn't want to move and eventually they offered Eddie the next week at the final four. Eddie would have done well here and probably could have survived the scandal if it weren't for his drinking. I believe Brooks Downing remained close with the Suttons and said Eddie told him years later he just didn't realize how big Kentucky Basketball was until he got here.

A side note on Eddie- Dad was close with some of the folks in the Vandy basketball offices when CM was there and met Eddie from time to time on the golf course or at events. Once Eddie told him to buy apple and walmart stock, sometime around 86. We all had a good laugh about taking stock tips from Eddie Sutton. lol

 

[anonymous_2011]

Rick Barnes head coach of Providence took his name out of consideration despite UK having no interest.

 

[littlecreek]

Sutton was a really good coach and he would have Kentucky competing for championships but his drinking got the best of him. Also, he had his son, Sean, playing for him so it could have been a Tubby/Saul scenario where better point guards would have avoided coming here. He did well at Oklahoma State after Kentucky.

 

[Blueaz]

I'm always curious, how did the 1989 coach search play out? I know Pitino wasn't our first choice, right? I've read where PJ Carlisimo was possibly offered after taking Seton Hall to the title game in one of the strangest NCAA tournaments ever.

Always interesting to me how these go and all the what ifs that stem from them.

IIRC PJ was first, then Lute and at least one other... Lute got serious talks (but then took a raise)
RP was actually barely asked...CM tried to talk him out of it... RP had no idea what he was getting into. He called our frat house (LXA, he was former member), asking all these questions about students, support etc. Promised he would help us in return... never talked to him again.
He jilted us at every opportunity.
He found out how big UK basketball was and that is was it's own machine.

Also had two close friends, that worked directly with him in sports information, He became a huge ass after a couple of years (as most of thought), but he was a dick to everyone, except his beloved secretary... I can't remember her name, I want to say Beverly...

 

[FtWorthCat]

One thing I remember is Pitino saying the "UK season tickets are going to be worth more than gold", as if he needed to sell tickets. I wanted to say, hey coach you may want to check our attendance figures from last season. Selling tickets is not a problem. We had an atttendance of 23,022 at Sutton's last home game at the end of a 13-19 season.

Mississippi at Kentucky (March 1, 1989)

 

[c1doc]

Thank Kenny Walker for us getting Rick Pitino from the Knicks….😳🤷‍♂️