LOUISVILLE, Ky. Rick Pitino's love for the state of
Kentucky outweighed the opinions of a few bitter fans.
| | Kentucky Governor Paul Patton shakes hands with Rick Pitino as Pitino is introduced as the new Louisville head coach Wednesday. |
Pitino became the University of Louisville's coach on Wednesday,
five years after he led Kentucky to its sixth national championship.
"Now it's my time to lead the Cardinals back to prominence,"
Pitino told several hundred Louisville fans, city leaders and past
and present players at a pep rally where he was introduced.
About six hours earlier, Pitino was ready to turn down Louisville and fill Michigan's coaching vacancy. His wife, Joanne, talked him out of it.
"She said, 'I think you love the state of Kentucky, you love
the people you met at U of L. I think you should go back to the
place you love,"' Pitino said.
Pitino said his biggest reservation about accepting the
Louisville job was the backlash from UK fans who felt insulted that
he would even consider coaching the Wildcats' archrival.
Pitino said Wednesday that UK fans should respect his decision.
"When I took over (Kentucky), everyone was embarrassed," Pitino said. "It had to be built back up with integrity. When I left, it was not only built up, but it was a model program.
"One game a year, we'll get it on. Outside of that, I'll always
root for them."
|
|
|
|
Wed., March 21
This news is not surprising. Rick Pitino had given verbal assurances to the administration at Louisville that he would take that job. This process has been ongoing for longer than people have been aware. And when Pitino signed on the dotted line, it marked the end of a saga that had been in the works long before it was ever reported and a lot longer than people were willing to say.
|
|
|
Pitino resigned as coach and president of the Boston Celtics in
January after 3½ disappointing seasons.
His hiring at Louisville follows a bold, aggressive courtship by
athletics director Tom Jurich, who acted as a one-man search
committee. Jurich said two weeks ago that Pitino was his only candidate for the job.
"It's been the year from hell, but I see heaven on the
horizon," Jurich said.
Pitino has not signed a contract, but Jurich said he's agreed to a six-year deal, worth about $1 million per year. Pitino said money was not a factor in his decision.
"I am back in the state that I love, coaching at a great
university that hasn't had an opening in 30 years," Pitino said.
"I'm totally pumped up. I can't wait to get started."
Pitino replaces Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum, who retired after
months of strained relations with Jurich. The 64-year-old Crum, who
led Louisville to NCAA championships in 1980 and '86, had two
seasons left on his contract, but accepted a $7 million buyout.
Speculation began immediately that Pitino was Jurich's top
choice, and even former Louisville players voiced support.
"This was the guy we had to have," Jurich said. "There was no
other answer to fixing this program."
Jurich flew to Pitino's Miami home on March 9 and persuaded him
to visit the Louisville campus last week.
Pitino left impressed, but said he wanted to consult his family before making a decision. He worked the NCAA Midwest Regional in Dayton, Ohio, as an analyst for CBS before flying to Boston to meet his family Sunday night.
Pitino's contract includes a $5 million bonus if he completes the six years of the
deal. The total package makes Pitino's compensation worth $12.25
million, not including incentives for the academic and on-court
performances of his players, summer camp revenue and shoe contract
money.
Pitino has not yet signed the contract. The deal would put him near the top of the college coaching
salary list. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is believed to be the
highest-paid basketball coach, at a reported $1.6 million a year.
Pitino, 48, took the Celtics' job in 1997 after eight seasons at
Kentucky that solidified his reputation as a master rebuilder. He
previously turned around mediocre programs at Boston University and
Providence, guiding both to the NCAA tournament. He also coached
the New York Knicks from 1987-89.
The season before Pitino arrived at Kentucky, the team went
13-19 -- its first losing record in 62 years -- and was hit with NCAA
probation. He inherits a Louisville program in similar disarray.
The Cardinals finished this season 12-19, capping the worst four-year run in Crum's 30 years. Louisville is 62-62 since reaching the NCAA regional finals in 1997 and was twice put on probation in the 1990s.
The school hopes Pitino can guide the Cardinals back to the
national prominence they enjoyed in the 1980s.
"It doesn't happen with a coach arriving, it happens by
recruiting good student-athletes, it happens by improving the
current players," Pitino said. "It's going to take some
outstanding recruiting to turn things around. But it won't happen
unless we turn around the players that are currently here. And
that's what I fully intend to do."
The current players can't wait to start practicing.
"Every one of us is excited," freshman guard Bryant Northern
said. "How many guys get to play for not one, but two national
champion coaches in their lifetime? I get butterflies just thinking about it."
It took Pitino three seasons to return Kentucky to prominence.
The Wildcats went 14-14 in his first season and 22-6 in his second.
In his third, the Wildcats went 29-7, losing to Duke in the
memorable 1992 East Regional final.
Kentucky reached the Final Four the following season and went
124-19 the next four, winning the school's sixth national title in
1996. The Wildcats reached the title game in 1997, losing to
Arizona, before Pitino accepted a 10-year, $50 million contract to
coach the Celtics.
Pitino turned the Wildcats over to Tubby Smith, a former
assistant. Smith congratulated Louisville from Philadelphia, where
Kentucky is preparing to play Southern California on Thursday in
the East Regional semifinals.
"They're getting one of the great coaches in basketball,"
Smith said. "I'll welcome him back." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
ALSO SEE
Vitale: Louisville's pitch sways Pitino
Pitino timeline
User Feedback: Rick Pitino
Division I basketball coaching changes
AUDIO VIDEO
Rick Pitino returns home to Kentucky to accept the Louisville job. RealVideo: 28.8
Dick Vitale discusses Rick Pitino's decision to take the Louisville job. RealVideo: 28.8
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim on Louisville hiring Rick Pitino. wav: 5452 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Rick Pitino got plenty of encouragement to come back to the state of Kentucky. wav: 337 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Rick Pitino still plans on supporting the University of Kentucky, and he hopes the Wildcats will support him. wav: 148 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
ESPN's Dick Vitale breaks down the reasons Rick Pitino chose Louisville. wav: 832 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|