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
The whole NIT we're playing great defense, that's what we're trying to stress. We talked about, we can't hang our heads because we had injuries, we can't hang our heads because we're young. If you can head to the NIT Final Four, it means you're playing good basketball.
I've tried to talk to him about it. He's not playing with Francisco, Larry (O'Bannon) and Ellis. And they know every little move that each other makes. He's playing with all new people. They don't know each other. He's got to let the game come to him and trust his teammates. And the more he goes inside to (center) David (Padgett) the more open shots he's going to get.
It's a big hindrance. If we were playing in the Maui Classic, we'd be in seriously bad shape. But we're not. We're starting at home. We think we can withstand these injuries.
He's playing on one leg. We're a banged-up team, a young team. Our backs are to the wall a little bit in this league.
I think Connecticut is a very easy game. They're playing to be number one in the country. It's senior afternoon. It's on national television. It should be an easy game.
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.
They are tough, they get after you. They have quick hands and are hard-nosed. They drive so much and draw fouls. I am impressed with them. They have the toughness to compete in the Big East. They are tough guys.
We just wanted to lock down defensively. We made great defensive plays down the stretch. Inexperienced teams find a way to lose, tonight we found a way to win.
What I wanted to see was, were we proud of being in the NIT? We worked our tails off.