Rick Pitino is Back: New Coach at Iona

[KyCatFan]

I agree 100%. He's far from a perfect person, but I doubt very much that he's further from perfect than most basketball coaches. (or fans). I never bought into the thought that UK fans should despise him because he accepted a job with UL. He didn't leave UK to go there, he left UK to be a pro coach. When that didn't work out, he took the best college job that was open to him. Its more than a little presumptuous to think fans can dictate that he can't work for a "rival" long after he moved on from UK. Not that it matters, but it's really stretching the term to call UL a rival anyway. Rivals have more or less equal chances of winning games played over the years and that's never been the case with UL/UK.

No one said he couldn't work for a rival. The problem is he was so arrogant and thought that all but a small % of the fans (what was it 5%) would love him still even though he went to that hated rival. It shows you he thinks he was bigger than UK if that's how he felt.

About the only good thing I can say about him going to UL is that he ended up wrecking that place. I hope more NCAA issues come down on him and that job is short lived. It's time for him to go off into the sunset and not be heard from again.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

He can burn in Hell

"For with what measure you judge, you shall be judged."

 

[Swimcat20]

We don't hate Pitino, seriously we don't. It's Louisville we hate. I wish him well in his new job. I'm sure he's thrilled to be home.

 

[ORCAT]

How you too my teasing you as negative confuses me.
I may disagree but I never name call or get rude
Sorry you took it that way.

Didn't see it as sarcasm or teasing at all, seemed very much that you were mocking as it was pretty direct without any indication of being in fun. I've been on this board and and older boards before it and rarely ever had a problem with anyone ever. Sorry if I misunderstood your intentions.

 

[Elliott Tim]

Didn't see it as sarcasm or teasing at all, seemed very much that you were mocking as it was pretty direct without any indication of being in fun. I've been on this board and and older boards before it and rarely ever had a problem with anyone ever. Sorry if I misunderstood your intentions.

Sorry for offending you. Glad it's cleared up.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

He took the UL job for selfish reasons re UK. Just as we all discovered it was all about him.

The fact that UK benefitted from his tenure is ancillary to him. He doesn’t get a pass nor does any coach who USES UK.

 

[transpac]

He went to a our biggest rival period no matter where he was in between.And there were other jobs at the time he could’ve had that was as good. Michigan and Vegas are 2. He’s a flipping traitor and flipped us off!

I've already expressed my opinion about UL being a rival, let alone our biggest one. The only reason we started playing them is because the state legislature forced the issue for the potential revenue. And, the won/loss record is so one-sided it's comical to call them a rival. If Pitino had gone to a SEC team, maybe Tennessee, I could better understand the bitterness. (But, UT has been so bad in recent years they seem to have lost ther old "biggest rival" status). How about EKU/WKU as our rivals? They have good teams every now and then too. It was four years after Pitino left UK until he went to UL That's a long time to try to control the career of an ex-employee. As far as flipping "us" off, I'm amazed that he didn't do far more. Some fans at Rupp yelled every insult in the book at him every time he showed up. I always felt this was childish and petty since the entire state owed him big for resurrecting the UK BB team from the dead and making Kentucky a big name in college BB again. It is nice of you to offer that he could go to his choice of two out of state schools. I reckon just because the teams were a very long way from where he wanted to live shouldn't matter. I've been mistakenly thinking the Mafia was the only organization that required an employee to never leave its control.

 

[kl40504]

Except that Pitino is probably one of the 5 best coaches in the country....Big difference. He will win wherever he goes.

One of the 5 biggest cheaters

 

[Mojocat]

Not sure he would have won 4 but he would have done just as well if not better. IMO, both he and Tubby were better x/o coaches than Cal. RP could not recruit as well and TS could not recruit.

You realize only 2 coaches in the country have even tried to win with consistently freshmen dominated teams, right? You also realize Pitino famously doesn’t play freshmen much, owing to the complexity of his schemes, mostly on defense.

So you’re going to have to explain to me how Pitino will not only get over his reluctance to play freshmen, but suddenly be willing to play almost only freshmen. Otherwise, he’s not winning anything with the rosters Cal has had at UK.

 

[transpac]

He took the UL job for selfish reasons re UK. Just as we all discovered it was all about him.

The fact that UK benefitted from his tenure is ancillary to him. He doesn’t get a pass nor dies any coach who USE UK.

I'm trying to think of a non-selfish reason that would motivate a coach to take a job. Whether it's money, experience, lifestyle, chance to gain national exposure, or just plain old job satisfaction from coaching top talent...all are selfish to some extent. Maybe Mother Teresa will get into BB coaching in her next life.

 

[transpac]

One of the 5 biggest cheaters

But, he didn't cheat at UK! Right?

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

 

[BlueSince92]

Good luck to him.

He’s not at a rival.

And since the FBI uncovered what it uncovered on him (a phone call where he was supposed to be one of the buzzwords, but he never got to confront his accuser and I thought we guaranteed that in America...), the FBI itself has looked more and more corrupt and sleazy by the hour.

Here’s to him outgrowing his old bad choices, whatever they really were all told, and becoming relevant again.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

Cluess won 20+ games every season except the past 2 at Iona. I’d guess Pitino within 2 years will have them winning 25+. Obviously won’t be a legit contender but he can easily win there on a high level for them.

“Obviously “? Lol no.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

Good luck to him.

He’s not at a rival.

And since the FBI uncovered what it uncovered on him (a phone call where he was supposed to be one of the buzzwords, but he never got to confront his accuser and I thought we guaranteed that in America...), the FBI itself has looked more and more corrupt and sleazy by the hour.

Here’s to him outgrowing his old bad choices, whatever they really were all told, and becoming relevant again.

Serious question. Why wish him “good luck”? He cheated on his wife (and not just cheated...had stank sex with a woman in public on a freaking restaurant table lol) and also cheated/ paid for players and also was privy/ okay with strippers/escorts for his players and potential recruits.

I can maybe understand not wishing him ill will, but wishing him good luck?

 

[USNNFOCAT]

I actually believe he will have that team near the top of their league if not win most seasons. The guy is a tireless worker and never needed to cheat to win, that was just plain stupid on his part.

But he couldn't beat Kentucky and Cal and that ate him up thus the middle finger to BBN. His ego, all big time coaches have over-sized one's, was his downfall mainly I think because his devolved into narcissism.

 

[michaeluk26]

Incorrect. He flipped about two dozen trolls the bird for calling him names and mocking him.

How you translated that to "thousands of UK fans" is beyond me.

You're really minimizing that for some reason. Have you heard what fans say to Cal?

 

[michaeluk26]

Look, I grew up with the Pitino era. My first memory of UK is the Duke game. I loved his style of play. But even as a kid i could tell he thought he was better than Kentuckians. But we all overlooked it because he was winning.

Him leaving for Boston sucked but I understood. Believe it or not I understood why he took the Louisville job.

But I can't stand him for his snide remarks towards us. Him taking shots at us, implying certain thing. Finally he flipped us off. Thanks for resurrecting our program. But he can GTH for all I care.

 

[michaeluk26]

If Pitino had been here the last 11 yrs and had the talent Cal has had he would have 4 titles at least. No doubt.

How in the hell do you figure that? Did you see how his highly ranked recruits performed? Not good. I'd love to watch him fail miserably coaching freshman laden teams. It would be a shit show. Cal has proven he can succeed in radically different ways.

You're also forgetting recruiting is half the job in college. He didn't land Cals talent and that's on him. He cheated in multiple ways to try and compete with Cal. And Cal owned him, I mean absolutely owned him.

 

[AirRaidFreshman76]

I hope Rick succeeds. He’s been through hell since he left his Camelot (UK) much of it his own doing. He will forever be scarred among UK fans for taking the Louisville job when he could have had his pick of any school. His hell began with that decision. He went from being one of the most beloved people in Kentucky to one of the most despised.

Still, at a critical time in UK’s basketball history, when we were at the precipice of becoming nationally irrelevant in college basketball, Pitino instantly rescued us. He gave us credibility. He put UK on the front page again about its basketball accomplishments and not its basketball scandal. I know there are many UK fans who will hate Pitino until the day he dies and even thereafter, I’m not one of them. I will always be grateful to Rick for what he did for UK and especially when he did it.

people actually still hate rick for coaching Louisville? Basketball is a business there's no reason to take it personally. It's like the packers fans who hate Brett favre because he played for Minnesota at the end. Don't get it

 

[Wildcats1st]

Get ibona on the schedule so we can honor the man

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

people actually still hate rick for coaching Louisville? Basketball is a business there's no reason to take it personally. It's like the packers fans who hate Brett favre because he played for Minnesota at the end. Don't get it

But you should get it. Favre didn’t take the Minny job to stick it in the eye of c Green Bay.

Pitino’s decision was not just a business decision. It was almost assuredly to stick it in the eye of UK. Scuttlebutt at the time was he thot the UK fans would start supporting UL instead of UK. Didn’t happen, was never going to happen.

UK owes him nothing, zip, nada.

Joe B., Sutton, and Tubby all had the goal of extending the UK legacy. Others have and do but not their main goal.

 

[ram1955]

I agree 100%. He's far from a perfect person, but I doubt very much that he's further from perfect than most basketball coaches. (or fans). I never bought into the thought that UK fans should despise him because he accepted a job with UL. He didn't leave UK to go there, he left UK to be a pro coach. When that didn't work out, he took the best college job that was open to him. Its more than a little presumptuous to think fans can dictate that he can't work for a "rival" long after he moved on from UK. Not that it matters, but it's really stretching the term to call UL a rival anyway. Rivals have more or less equal chances of winning games played over the years and that's never been the case with UL/UK.

This is the absolute truth of the matter.

 

[ram1955]

But you should get it. Favre didn’t take the Minny job to stick it in the eye of c Green Bay.

Pitino’s decision was not just a business decision. It was almost assuredly to stick it in the eye of UK. Scuttlebutt at the time was he thot the UK fans would start supporting UL instead of UK. Didn’t happen, was never going to happen.

UK owes him nothing, zip, nada.

Joe B., Sutton, and Tubby all had the goal of extending the UK legacy. Others have and do but not their main goal.

How do you know he took the ul job as a jab at Ky??? We don't know what he was thinking. What if he thought: "I loved Ky so much and want to go back to that area. The only job available is ul, so that will do" ?

 

[ram1955]

No one said he couldn't work for a rival. The problem is he was so arrogant and thought that all but a small % of the fans (what was it 5%) would love him still even though he went to that hated rival. It shows you he thinks he was bigger than UK if that's how he felt.

About the only good thing I can say about him going to UL is that he ended up wrecking that place. I hope more NCAA issues come down on him and that job is short lived. It's time for him to go off into the sunset and not be heard from again.

Don't know what he thought. He owed UK nothing. UK owed him nothing. He did what 99% of the people on this board would do if he needed a job...he took the best available. mb should have hired him.

 

[kl40504]

We don't hate Pitino, seriously we don't. It's Louisville we hate. I wish him well in his new job. I'm sure he's thrilled to be home.

I wonder if they play Louisville will Pitino give the middle finger to the Louisville fans like he did the UK fans?

 

[ram1955]

He took the UL job for selfish reasons re UK. Just as we all discovered it was all about him.

The fact that UK benefitted from his tenure is ancillary to him. He doesn’t get a pass nor does any coach who USES UK.

I bet he never even thought about UK when he took the job. Why should he? He simply took the best job available.

 

[kl40504]

How do you know he took the ul job as a jab at Ky??? We don't know what he was thinking. What if he thought: "I loved Ky so much and want to go back to that area. The only job available is ul, so that will do" ?

So you think the only job in college Pitino could get was the UofL job. It was Pitino's way of giving the middle finger to UK and he did it again in person in Rupp.

 

[ram1955]

I wonder if they play Louisville will Pitino give the middle finger to the Louisville fans like he did the UK fans?

He might if the ul fans heckle him the way that group of UK fans did.

 

[kl40504]

I bet he never even thought about UK when he took the job. Why should he? He simply took the best job available.

Did he think of UK when he walked off the floor at Rupp and gave the UK fans the middle finger?

 

[ram1955]

So you think the only job in college Pitino could get was the UofL job. It was Pitino's way of giving the middle finger to UK and he did it again in person in Rupp.

or so you think. Believe what you want. He gave a group of fans the finger.

 

[kl40504]

He might if the ul fans heckle him the way that group of UK fans did.

I was there and a few fans hollered at him but a classy coach would have never given all the fans at Rupp the middle finger. I never heckled him but he looked straight at me when he gave us all the middle finger. He is a arognant person.

 

[ram1955]

Did he think of UK when he walked off the floor at Rupp and gave the UK fans the middle finger?

He didn't give me the finger. He didn't do a 360, holding it up to the whole crowd. He gave a group of fans near the tunnel the finger due to their heckling him.
He should not have done that.
The idiots should not have been heckling him.

Interesting how we can love or hate a person based on something as trivial as what bball team he coaches; or because he broke our little hearts when he took a job with another school.

 

[ram1955]

I was there and a few fans hollered at him but a classy coach would have never given all the fans at Rupp the middle finger. I never heckled him but he looked straight at me when he gave us all the middle finger. He is a arognant person.

He gave the fans in that area the finger is far from giving UK the finger. He may be arrogant. He may be egotistical. He may be self-centered. Many great coaches have that in common with him.

 

[KyCatFan]

or so you think. Believe what you want. He gave a group of fans the finger.

Cal gets berated all the time by opposing fans but yet he doesn't lose his composure and flip off the fans. Pitino cares about no one else but himself. Just look at how he treated his wife by cheating on her in a public place. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was doing it. I'm glad he left Kentucky before his destructive behavior ended up taking us down with him.

 

[kl40504]

He didn't give me the finger. He didn't do a 360, holding it up to the whole crowd. He gave a group of fans near the tunnel the finger due to their heckling him.
He should not have done that.
The idiots should not have been heckling him.

Interesting how we can love or hate a person based on something as trivial as what bball team he coaches; or because he broke our little hearts when he took a job with another school.

Of course all the other things he has done means nothing to you. The affairs, the providing of prostitutes to 16 year old recruits, cheating on his wife, paying for his girlfriend to have an abortion.

 

[ram1955]

Did he think of UK when he walked off the floor at Rupp and gave the UK fans the middle finger?

Don't know what he thought other than, from a therapist's view, he thought flipping the bird to a group of hecklers was the thing to do at the time in response to people yelling "niceties" to him.

 

[North Carolina Blue Wildcat]

Uh, UK was next to level zero on the college bball landscape when he took over. He led the program back from near death to a championship level. By the end of his stay, his teams were every bit as good as what Cal has put on the floor, many cases better and that's not a knock on Cal.

Let’s not forget that Cal did the same....Billy G had many believing that Hunter McClintock and some other 7th grade YouTube stud were going to take us back to the promise land. Lots of drinking going on back then and not Billy G.

 

[kl40504]

Cal gets berated all the time by opposing fans but yet he doesn't lose his composure and flip off the fans. Pitino cares about no one else but himself. Just look at how he treated his wife by cheating on her in a public place. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was doing it. I'm glad he left Kentucky before his destructive behavior ended up taking us down with him.

I agree totally. The only good thing he did after leaving UK was destroy the Louisville program.

 

[ram1955]

Of course all the other things he has done means nothing to you. The affairs, the providing of prostitutes to 16 year old recruits, paying for his girlfriend to have an abortion.

He didn't do it to me, or you. Because I've not done those things does not make me better, more righteous, or even a better man than him. I have my own issues that render me every bit as bad as anyone else. He didn't do it to Ky. He didn't do it to uk. Based on what I know, it appears he did some wrong things. None of us knows about the prostitutes, but granted he should have known.
I hate it for him that he seems to be miserable.