There's a clear top 3. Neither Tubby nor Eddie nor Joe B are in the discussion.
Rupp is clearly first.
So it's between Rick and Cal. Cal's first 6 years were better than Rick's (tournament eligible) 6. One title, 4 final fours > one title, 3 final fours. I don't think either one could keep up that pace. We know that's true for Cal, as he's dipped after those 6 years. I suspect it would have been true for Rick - his recruiting was already started to take a hit, plus he's self-destructive anyway. But we don't know that for certain. In short, I would rank them as tied for second, but wouldn't argue with anyone ranking one over the other.
I'm not sure I'd agree that Rick's recruiting was taking a hit.
His last class had Michael Bradley, Myron Anthony, Byron Mouton, Ryan Hogan, and the transfer Heshimu Evans coming in, and this after Tracy McGrady had all but committed to UK before Adidas offered him $10 million to go pro and sign with them.
I mean, if Pitino was recruiting in the OAD Era, T-Mac would be right up there with Anthony Davis as far as prestige and talent. T-Mac wanted Kentucky. Pitino was hardly a dinosaur when it came to convincing elite players UK was for them. I think some people look at that Shane Battier class and see Pitino whiff on him and William Avery and assume he lost his touch, but Coach K brilliantly played the "Pitino to the NBA" angle to get those two, and it worked (and it proved true).
Also, keep in mind that Pitino was recruiting guys to UK when there were already established Final Four veterans on the roster. His Michael Bradley class (his last one that you said was "taking a hit") had Wayne Turner, Scott Padgett, Jeff Sheppard, Cameron Mills, Allen Edwards, Scott Padgett, Nazr Mohammed, and Jamaal Magloire all coming back from a team that almost won a title. Even so, Pitino managed to convince three top 40 guys (Mouton, Bradley, Anthony) and an elite transfer (Evans) to come to Lexington. He had even convinced T-Mac that UK was the place for him before Adidas came calling.
Additionally, Pitino had Vincent Yarbrough locked up for the following year and had us in great shape for Tayshaun Prince, JaRon Rush, and others. Yarbrough is forgotten now, but he was the #1 player in his class when Pitino left for the Celtics.
There was no "hit". He had Kentucky rolling, both in recruiting and on the hardwood.