Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino
Richard Andrew "Rick" Pitino is an American basketball coach. Since 2001, he has been the head coach at the University of Louisville, and coached the Cardinals to the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. As a college head coach, Pitino has also served at Boston University, Providence College and the University of Kentucky, leading that program to the NCAA championship in 1996. In addition to his college coaching career, Pitino also served two stints in the NBA, coaching the...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth18 September 1952
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Billy coached as perfect a game as I've ever seen in a national championship game. It reminded me of 1987 when he carried an average Providence team to the final weekend.
I plan to coach at University of Louisville for as long as I can maintain the passion I have for the game of basketball. I don't want to coach anywhere else. I don't believe in anything else as much as I believe in this university and this state. I want to coach as long as they will have me.
I never thought that shoes would be the reason that you recruit players, but it's a factor. I think we need to get the shoe companies out of the lives of the athletes. I think we need to get it back to where parents and coaches have more of a say than peripheral people, but that's easier said than done.
They're going to have to get a coach as good as Bob Huggins, and that's not easy to find. But if they can attract someone of the caliber of Bob Huggins, they can certainly continue.
Learning what not to do is sometimes more important than learning what to do.
The basic premise of my system is to fatigue your opponents with constant pressure defensively and constant movement offensively.
Failure is good. It's fertilizer. Everything I've learned about coaching I've learned from making mistakes.
Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.
I'm just tired of getting out-rebounded. When you have a young team, you're going to have one problem after another. But I've been tired of this rebounding situation this entire year.
This is a very difficult conference. I don't think anyone in Louisville besides me knew that. Now they all know.
The new format is great. It's run just like the women's tournament used to be.
It's my wedding night, and we're in a posh New York City hotel ready to ... you know ... when I get a call. It's Jim, and he's down in the lobby and he wants to meet with me. He tells me there's this kid named Louie Orr in Cincinnati that we just have to land, and he says he needs me to get there and seal the deal. I tell him, 'Jim, it's my wedding night.' He was single at the time and totally consumed with basketball, so I guess he didn't understand.
I'm extremely proud. We talked this morning and everything he said he wanted this team to do, it's done. It's really amazing to see.
It worked OK. It was to our favor. The only problem is our point guard (Andre McGee) is breaking down physically. He's doing a good job, but he's wearing out.