Who is Rick Pitino?

Who is Rick Pitino? The the college and pro basketball world knows him as an American basketball coach. Since 2001, he has been the head coach at the University of Louisville. He has also served as head coach at Boston University, Providence College and the University of Kentucky, leading that program to the NCAA championship in 1996. He has coached on the professional level for the NBA's New York Knicks and Boston Celtics with mixed results.
Pitino holds the distinction of being the only men's coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools (Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville) to the Final Four. In addition, Pitino has achieved a measure of success as an author and a motivational speaker.

Biography

 Early years

Pitino was born September 18, 1952(1952-09-18) an Italian American and native of New York City, grew up in the Village of Bayville and was captain of the St. Dominic High School basketball team in nearby Oyster Bay, Long Island. He enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1970. He was a standout guard for the Minutemen basketball team. His 329 career assists rank tenth all-time at UMass, as of the 2008-2009 season. He led the team in assists as a junior and senior. The 168 assists as a senior is the eighth-best single season total ever there. Pitino was a freshman at the same time future NBA legend Julius Erving spent his junior (and final) year at UMass, although the two never played on the same team because freshmen were ineligible to play varsity basketball at the time. Another teammate of Pitino's was Al Skinner, who also went on to become a successful college coach. Pitino earned his degree from UMass in 1974. He was an inductee into the UMass Hall of Fame.

Collegiate coaching

Pitino is currently head coach at the University of Louisville. Previous college coaching assignments include Boston University, Providence College, and the University of Kentucky. As a collegiate head coach, Pitino has compiled a 521–191 record, for a .732 winning percentage that is ranked 10th among active coaches and 29th all-time among all collegiate basketball coaches entering the 2009 season.

Pitino is considered by many to be one of the first coaches to promote fully taking advantage of the 3-point shot, first adopted by the NCAA in 1987. By exploiting the 3-point shot, his teams at Kentucky in the early 1990s were known as Pitino's Bombinos, as a significant portion of the offensive points came from the 3-point shot. Even now, Pitino's teams are known for the 3-point threat and all of his teams rank towards the top in 3-point attempts per season.
Many of Pitino's players and assistant coaches have gone on to become successful collegiate coaches. In total, 21 former Pitino players and coaches have become Division I head coaches, including Florida's Billy Donovan, Minnesota's Tubby Smith, Arizona State's Herb Sendek, and Cincinnati's Mick Cronin.

 Assistant coaching career

Pitino started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii in 1974, and became a full-time assistant (and interim head coach) in 1975. He was then the first assistant hired by Jim Boeheim in 1976 as Boeheim began his tenure at Syracuse University.
Pitino served as Hawaii's interim head coach late in the 1975-76 season. Coach Bruce O'Neil was fired after the Rainbow Warriors' started the season 9-12. Pitino led Hawaii for their final six games, going 2-4 in the span.
Pitino's time at Hawaii was marred by a 1977 NCAA report on sanctions against the program. According to the report, Pitino was implicated in 8 of the 64 infractions that led the University to be placed on probation. The violations involving Pitino included providing round-trip air fare for a player between New York and Honolulu, arranging for student-athletes to receive used cars for season tickets, and handing out coupons to players for free food at McDonald's. He was also cited, along with the head coach, Bruce O'Neil, for providing misinformation to the NCAA and University of Hawaii officials. Also in 1977, the NCAA infractions committee recommended that Pitino and O'Neil be disassociated from Hawaii athletics. In 1989, Pitino would dismiss the report, saying "I didn't make any mistakes, I don't care what anybody says."

 Boston University

Pitino's first head coaching job came in 1978 at Boston University. In the two seasons before his arrival, the team had won a mere 17 games. Pitino led the team to its first NCAA appearance in 24 years.

 Providence

Pitino left Boston University to become an assistant coach with the New York Knicks under Hubie Brown. Pitino returned to college coaching to become head coach at Providence in 1985. Providence had gone a dismal 11–20 in the year before he took over. Two years later, Pitino led the team to the Final Four. That Final Four team featured point guard Billy Donovan, who would go on to be an assistant coach under Pitino at Kentucky and then win back-to-back national championships as head coach at the University of Florida.

Kentucky

After spending two years coaching in the NBA, Pitino returned to the college level again in 1989, becoming the coach at Kentucky. The once legendary Kentucky program was reeling from a major recruiting scandal brought on by former coach Eddie Sutton that left it on NCAA probation. Pitino quickly restored Kentucky's reputation and performance, leading his second school to the Final Four in the 1993 NCAA Tournament, and winning a national title in the 1996 NCAA Tournament, Kentucky's first NCAA championship in 18 years. The following year, Pitino's Kentucky team made it back to the national title game, losing to Arizona in overtime in the finals of the 1997 NCAA Tournament. Pitino's fast-paced teams at Kentucky were favorites of the school's fans. It was primarily at Kentucky where he implemented his signature style of full-court pressure defense.

Louisville

Pitino went back to the NBA in 1997, but returned to college—and his adopted home state—on March 21, 2001 to coach the University of Louisville following the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. In the 2005 season, Pitino led Louisville to their first Final Four in 19 years, and became the only men's coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to the Final Four. Immediately following their Final Four run, several players graduated or entered the 2005 NBA Draft. The inexperience caused the Cardinals to limp into the Big East Tournament seeded 12th, and miss the NCAA tournament. They made the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), where they were defeated by eventual champions University of South Carolina. The 2007 Cardinal team was primarily the same team, with added freshmen. Picked to finish towards the bottom of the Big East Conference again, Pitino led them to a second-place finish, 12–4 (tied with the University of Pittsburgh, but Louisville beat them earlier in the season) in the conference standings and a first round bye in the conference tournament. Pitino implemented a 2-2-1 and 2-3 zone defense midway through the season. The 2007 team's season ended when the Cardinals lost to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2008 Cardinals finished second in the Big East and ranked 13th in both the AP and Coaches' polls. Louisville was the third seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament's East region. They defeated Boise State, Oklahoma and Tennessee to advance to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by North Carolina. Louisville was the first seed in the 2009 NCAA tournament's Midwest region. They defeated Morehead State, Siena and Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by Michigan State.

 Professional coaching

Pitino became head coach of the New York Knicks in 1987. The year before he arrived, the team had won only 24 games. In just two years, Pitino led the Knicks to their first division title in nearly twenty years.
His NBA coaching experience often demonstrated a deep frustration with the dynamics of the league, especially in Boston, where he amassed a 102–146 record from 1997 to 2001. After being beaten by the Toronto Raptors on March 1, 2000 on a buzzer-beater by Vince Carter, Pitino's frustration reached critical mass as he addressed the press. Referring to the expectations of Boston Celtics fans and media, Pitino challenged each of them to let go of the past and focus on the future:

“

Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they're going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hard-working, and we're going to improve. People don't realize that, and as soon as they realize those three guys are not coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us because there are young guys in that (locker) room playing their asses off. I wish we had $90 million under the salary cap. I wish we could buy the world. We can't; the only thing we can do is work hard, and all the negativity that's in this town sucks. I've been around when Jim Rice was booed. I've been around when Yastrzemski was booed. And it stinks. It makes the greatest town, greatest city in the world, lousy. The only thing that will turn this around is being upbeat and positive like we are in that locker room... and if you think I'm going to succumb to negativity, you're wrong. You've got the wrong guy leading this team.

”

Pitino struggled in his roles with the Celtics, and statistics like 1999's 19–31 record made him little better in the eyes of many Boston fans than his inexperienced predecessor, M.L. Carr. Pitino's remarks became a cornerstone of Boston Celtics lore, and has served as a metaphor for other sports franchises and their inability to relive past successes. Pitino himself reprised the speech in a tongue-in-cheek manner at Louisville in November 2005, challenging his freshmen players to play as tough as past seniors and drawing laughter from sportswriters in a post-game press conference. During his time in Boston he had complete power serving not just as Head Coach but as General Manager, CEO, and President of the team.

Author and accomplishments

Pitino is the author of a motivational self-help book (and audio recording) named Success is a Choice. He published an autobiography in 1988 entitled Born to Coach describing his life up until his time with the Knicks. His most recent book "Rebound Rules," was the top seller at the 2008 Kentucky Book Fair.
In 2005, Pitino's Louisville team posted a tie for the most single season wins in school history (33) while he became the only men's coach in NCAA history to lead three separate schools (Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville) to the Final Four.
Pitino's .744 winning percentage in 43 NCAA Tournament games ranks third among active coaches.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Beyond basketball, Pitino has been involved in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing as the lead partner in Celtic Pride Stable and the Ol Memorial Stable. Among his notable horses have been A P Valentine and Halory Hunter.

 Personal life

Pitino married his wife, the former Joanne Minardi, in 1976. The have five living children: Michael, Christopher, Richard (an assistant coach for the University of Florida Gators), Ryan and Jacqueline. Another son, Daniel, died in 1987 from congenital heart failure at the age of six months. Rick and Joanne established the Daniel Pitino Foundation (along with a Daniel Pitino shelter in Owensboro, Kentucky) in his memory, which has raised millions of dollars for children in need.
Their son's death was not the last tragedy for Rick and Joanne. Both were especially hard-hit by 9/11, as Joanne's brother and Rick's closest friend, Billy Minardi, was working as a bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 105th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center when it was struck by American Airlines Flight 11. Since 2002, the University of Louisville has designated a December home game as the Billy Minardi Classic, and the university named a dorm on campus as "Billy Minardi Hall." Only a few months earlier, another brother-in-law of Rick, Don Vogt, was killed after being hit by a New York City cab.

 Extortion attempt against Pitino

On April 18, 2009, Pitino announced that he was a target of an extortion attempt. On April 24, Karen Cunagin Sypher, the wife of Louisville equipment manager Tim Sypher, was arraigned and charged in US District Court with extortion and lying to federal agents. On July 9, Sypher told police that Pitino had raped her on two occasions, but the state declined to file charges against Pitino.

On August 11, Pitino admitted to having consensual sex with Cunagin on August 1, 2003 in a Louisville restaurant, Porcini's, where the two supposedly engaged themselves in sexual intercourse under a table. Several weeks later, Cunagin told Pitino that she was pregnant and wanted to have an abortion, but she did not have health insurance. Pitino paid her $3,000 for an unidentified healthcare expense. In addition, Cunagin stated that her estranged husband, Tim Sypher, was paid to marry her.
At a press conference on August 12, Pitino made a statement, in which he apologized for the affair and stated that he would remain as coach. While Pitino's contract allows for his firing for "acts of moral depravity or misconduct that damages the university's reputation," University of Louisville president James Ramsey announced on August 13 that Pitino would be retained in his position.
On August 26, Pitino demanded in a press conference that the media stop "reporting these lies." The conference was called against the recommendations of the University of Louisville and the Louisville police department.

 Head coaching record

 College

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Boston University Terriers (Independent) (1978–1979)
1978–79	Boston U.	17–9	N/A	N/A
Boston University Terriers (America East) (1979–1983)
1979–80	Boston U.	21–9	N/A	N/A	NIT Second Round
1980–81	Boston U.	13–14	N/A	N/A
1981–82	Boston U.	19–9	6–2	T–2nd
1982–83	Boston U.	21–10	8–2	1st	NCAA Preliminary
Boston U.:		91–51	14-4
Providence Friars (Big East Conference) (1985–1987)
1985–86	Providence	17–14	7–9	5th	NIT Elite Eight
1986–87	Providence	25–9	10–6	4th	NCAA Final Four
Providence:		42–23	17–15
Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1989–1997)
1989–90	Kentucky	14–14	10–8	T-9th
1990–91	Kentucky	22–6	14–4	T-8th
1991-92	Kentucky	29–7	12-4	1st / 1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1992–93	Kentucky	30–4	13-3	2nd / 1st	NCAA Final Four
1993–94	Kentucky	27–7	12-4	2nd / 1st	NCAA Second Round
1994-95	Kentucky	28–5	14-2	4th / 1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1995–96	Kentucky	34–2	16–0	1st / 2nd	NCAA Champion
1996-97	Kentucky	35–5	13-3	2nd / 1st	NCAA Finalist
Kentucky:		219–50	104–28
Louisville Cardinals (Metro Conference) (2001–-)
2001-02	Louisville	19–13	8-8	T-8th	NIT Second Round
2002-03	Louisville	25-7	11-5	3rd / 1st	NCAA Second Round
2003-04	Louisville	20-10	9-7	T-6th	NCAA First Round
2004-05	Louisville	33-5	14-2	1st / 1st	NCAA Final Four
Louisville (Conference USA, 2001-2005):		97-35	42-22	}}
2005–06	Louisville	21-13	6-10	T-11th	NIT Semifinals
2006–07	Louisville	24-10	12–4	T–2nd	NCAA Second Round
2007–08	Louisville	27-9	14-4	T–2nd	NCAA Elite Eight
2008–09	Louisville	31-5	16-2	1st / 1st	NCAA Elite Eight
2009–10	Louisville	20-13	11-7	T-5th	NCAA 1st Round
Louisville (Big East, 2005-present):		123-50	59-27
Louisville (total):		220–85	96-46	[20]
Total:		572-209
National Champion Conference Regular Season Champion Conference Tournament Champion Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion Conference Division Champion

NBA

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	Result
NYK	1987–88	82	38	44	.463	2nd in Atlantic	4	1	3	Lost in First Round
NYK	1988–89	82	52	30	.634	1st in Atlantic	9	5	4	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
NYK		164	90	74	.549		13	6	7
BOS	1997–98	82	36	46	.439	6th in Atlantic	0	0	0	None
BOS	1998–99	50	19	31	.371	5th in Atlantic	0	0	0	None
BOS	1999–2000	82	35	47	.471	5th in Atlantic	0	0	0	None
BOS	2000–01	34	12	22	.371	5th in Atlantic	0	0	0	None
BOS		248	102	146	.436		0	0	0
Career		412	192	220	.466		13	6	7	.461

 Coaching succession

Preceded by Roy Sigler	Boston University Head Basketball Coach 1978–1983	Succeeded by John Kuester
Preceded by Joe Mullaney	Providence College Head Basketball Coach 1985–1987	Succeeded by Gordon Chiesa
Preceded by Bob Hill	New York Knicks head coach 1987–1989	Succeeded by Stu Jackson
Preceded by Eddie Sutton	University of Kentucky Head Basketball Coach 1989–1997	Succeeded by Tubby Smith
Preceded by M. L. Carr	Boston Celtics head coach 1997–2001	Succeeded by Jim O'Brien
Preceded by M. L. Carr	Boston Celtics Director of Basketball Operations 1997–2001	Succeeded by Chris Wallace
Preceded by Red Auerbach	Boston Celtics Team President 1997–2001	Succeeded by Red Auerbach
Preceded by Denny Crum	University of Louisville Head Basketball Coach 2001–	Succeeded by

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