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John Calipari
Calipari at a press conference in November 2011
Sport(s)	Basketball
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Kentucky
Annual salary	5.2 million plus bonuses
Biographical details
Born	(1959-02-10) February 10, 1959 (age 53) Moon Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Playing career
1978–1980 1980–1982	UNC-Wilmington Clarion State
Position(s)	Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1982–1985 1985–1988 1988–1996 1996–1999 1999–2000 2000–2009 2009–present	Kansas (asst.) Pittsburgh (asst.) Massachusetts New Jersey Nets Philadelphia 76ers (asst.) Memphis Kentucky
Head coaching record
Overall	505-151 (.770)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (2012) Regional Championships – Final Four (1996-vacated, 2008-vacated, 2011, 2012) C-USA Tournament Championship (2006, 2007, 2008-vacated, 2009) C-USA Regular Season Championship (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008-vacated, 2009) NIT Championship (2002) A-10 Tournament Championship (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996) A-10 Regular Season Championship (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996) SEC Regular Season Championship (2010, 2012) SEC Tournament Championship (2010, 2011)
Awards Naismith College Coach of the Year (1996, 2008) NABC Coach of the Year (1996, 2009) Basketball Times Coach of the Year (1996) Sports Illustrated Coach of the Year (2009) A-10 Coach of the Year (1993, 1994, 1996) C-USA Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2009) Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year (2009) SEC Coach of the Year (2010, 2012)

John Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since April 2009, he has been the men's head coach at the University of Kentucky.

Calipari is the former head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, and the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. He is the only coach to direct three different colleges to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, although two of those appearances (1996 at UMass and 2008 at Memphis) have been officially vacated by the NCAA. Calipari is also one of only two coaches to direct three different schools to a Final Four (1996- UMass, 2008- Memphis, 2011, 2012- Kentucky), with the UMass and Memphis appearances later being vacated by the NCAA. As a result, he is the only head coach to have a Final Four appearance vacated at more than one school, ^[1] although Calipari himself was not personally implicated by the NCAA in either case.^[2] As a college coach, Calipari has 18 20-win seasons (17 official), 8 30-win seasons (7 official), and has been named National Coach of the Year 3 times.

In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Calipari led Kentucky to its 8th NCAA Tournament Championship, and the first of his career. ^[3]

Biography[link]

Calipari was born in Moon Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Playing career[link]

Calipari lettered two years at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington before transferring to Clarion University, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing. He played point guard at Clarion during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, leading the team in assists and free throw percentage.

Coaching career[link]

From 1982–85, Calipari was an assistant at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown.^[4] From 1985–88, he was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under Paul Evans. From 1988–96, he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts. From 1996–99, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999–2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his next position at the University of Memphis. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Calipari is famous for popularizing the dribble drive motion offense, developed by Vance Walberg, which is sometimes known as the Memphis Attack. He wrote three different books about basketball, including "Refuse to Lose," "Basketball's Half-Court Offense," and "Bounce Back: Overcoming Setbacks to Succeed in Business and in Life".

In his 19 official seasons (20 seasons overall, with one entire season later being vacated) as a collegiate head coach, Calipari's record is 505–151 (.770). His record in the month of March is 96–31 (.756). His record in the NCAA tournament is 38–13 (.745), and in the NIT is 15–5 (.750). His teams have made 14 NCAA tournament appearances (2 later being vacated), including reaching the Sweet Sixteen 10 times (2 later being vacated), the Elite Eight 8 times (2 later being vacated), the Final Four 4 times (2 later being vacated), and the NCAA Championship Game twice, winning the NCAA Championship at Kentucky in 2012 (with the previous 2008 Championship Game appearance at Memphis later being vacated by the NCAA). As a college coach, Calipari has 18 20-win seasons (17 official) and 8 30-win seasons (7 official). He has coached five teams to the NIT, winning the NIT Championship at Memphis in 2002. He is one of only four coaches in NCAA Division I history to direct three different schools to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament; North Carolina coach Roy Williams, Kansas coach Bill Self, and Louisville coach Rick Pitino are the others. Through the first 19 collegiate seasons, only Roy Williams has won more games than Calipari overall.^[5]

University of Massachusetts[link]

From 1988–96 at UMass, Calipari led the Minutemen program to five consecutive Atlantic 10 titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, including periods where the program was ranked first nationally. He finished with a 193–71 record overall, with a 91–41 record in Atlantic 10 conference games. Calipari was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 1992, 1993, and 1996. He was also named the Naismith, NABC, Basketball Times & Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 1996. He led UMass to its first-ever appearance in the Final Four with the play of the John R. Wooden Award winner and Naismith College Player of the Year Marcus Camby, although this appearance was later vacated by the NCAA because Camby had accepted about $28,000 from two sports agents.^[6]

Calipari helped accelerate the construction of the Mullins Center, UMass' basketball and hockey facility. He also reached out to eastern Massachusetts and Boston to enlarge the fan base. Before moving on to the New Jersey Nets, Calipari became the second winningest coach in UMass history behind Jack Leaman.^[7]

In February 2010, Pat Forde, at the time the writer of a regular college sports column called "Forde Minutes" for ESPN.com, recalled the 1992 team:

Calipari's greatest strength as a coach is his ability to create teams that play together. His 1992 Massachusetts team remains one of the most overachieving units The Minutes has ever seen, featuring a shooting guard with range so limited he made one 3-pointer all season (Jim McCoy), a 6-foot-3 power forward (Will Herndon), and a left-handed center who stood all of 6-7 (Harper Williams). Somehow, that collection of marginal talent went 30-5 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.^[8]

New Jersey Nets[link]

In an effort to start anew for the 1996–97 season, John Calipari replaced Butch Beard as head coach of the New Jersey Nets. After a 26–56 debut season, the Nets made a major draft-day trade in June 1997, acquiring Keith Van Horn, Lucious Harris and two other players for Tim Thomas.

The 1997–98 season was a lone bright spot for the Nets in the late 1990s. The team played well under Calipari, winning 43 games and qualifying for the playoffs on the last day of the season. The Nets were seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1998 playoffs in three straight games.

The 1998–99 season was delayed for three months due to an owners' lockout of the players. When the abbreviated 50-game season began, the Nets were a fashionable choice by experts as a surprise team. However, Sam Cassell was injured in the first game and the team started poorly. With the Nets underachieving at 3–15, the Nets traded Cassell to the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Nets acquired Stephon Marbury from the Minnesota Timberwolves. After two more losses, Calipari was fired as head coach with the team at 3–17. He then joined Larry Brown as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.^[9]

While coaching the Nets, Calipari became a resident of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.^[10]

University of Memphis[link]

In Calipari's first nine years as head coach at Memphis, he won 214 games (38 wins were vacated), posted seven consecutive 20-win seasons, plus one more in his final season (including an NCAA record four consecutive 30-win seasons, though the third season was vacated and this record no longer holds) and earned seven consecutive postseason bids (plus one in his final season). His 2007–2008 team's 38 victories set a new NCAA Division I Men's Basketball record for most victories in a season, a record that no longer stands due to NCAA violations that vacated all of Memphis' wins. The nine consecutive 20-win seasons and the nine consecutive postseason appearances would have been the most in school history, though that officially stands now at seven because of the vacated 2007-08 season. He was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2006, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he was named Naismith College Coach of the Year, receiving the honor for the second time.^[11] In 2009, he was named Sports Illustrated College Basketball Coach of the Year.^[12]

He built a national program by recruiting blue chip players from the Eastern part of the country, such as Dajuan Wagner from Camden (NJ), Darius Washington Jr. from Orlando (FL), Rodney Carney from Indianapolis (IN), Shawne Williams from Memphis (TN), Joey Dorsey from Baltimore (MD), Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit (MI), Antonio Anderson from Lynn (MA), Robert Dozier from Lithonia (GA), Derrick Rose from Chicago (IL), and Tyreke Evans from Aston (PA).

While at Memphis, Calipari popularized the Memphis Attack offense that was invented by former Pepperdine basketball coach, Vance Walberg.^[13][14][15]

On January 21, 2008, Calipari led the Tigers to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll for only the second time in school history.

In 2006 and 2008, Memphis earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. In 2008, Calipari's Tigers advanced to the national championship game, their first under his leadership. They also won 38 games, the most regular-season wins in NCAA history. His team, however, would lose to the Kansas Jayhawks, 75–68, in overtime. This team would later have its entire season record vacated by the NCAA due to the NCAA invalidating Derrick Rose's SAT. Despite this, Rose still denies any wrongdoing. If not for the vacated wins, Calipari would be the winningest coach in Tigers history, as he would have 252 wins to Larry Finch's 220.

University of Kentucky[link]

Calipari on the bench for the Kentucky Wildcats, 2009

On March 30, 2009, four days after Memphis' season ending loss to Missouri in the NCAA Tournament, multiple sources reported that Calipari would agree to be the head coach at the University of Kentucky, after UK's head coach, Billy Gillispie, was fired after two unsuccessful seasons at the school.^[16] Calipari rejected a counter offer by Memphis for Kentucky's 8 year, $31.65 million contract.^[17]

According to University officials, John Calipari signed a written contract on March 31, 2009. The contract was worth $34.65 million over 8 years, plus incentives.^[17] On April 1, 2009, the University of Kentucky Director of Athletics, Mitch Barnhart, formally introduced John Calipari as the new coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats. During the press conference, Calipari spoke at length about his relationships with former UK basketball players and coaches, and also in his difficulties in accepting the UK job, largely due to his deep emotional ties with both the city of Memphis and University of Memphis. Calipari stated, "Coming to UK was the easy part, it was leaving the city of Memphis that was the hard part." He went on to refer to the University of Kentucky coaching position as his "dream job". In the end, Calipari became the 22nd coach overall at Kentucky, and just the 7th coach in the last 79 years for the Wildcats.

2009-10[link]

In his first year as head coach, Calipari had a highly touted recruiting class, including the No. 1 overall rated recruit, John Wall, plus fellow 5-star recruits, Demarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Daniel Orton. Kentucky won its 44th SEC Regular Season Championship in 2009-10, with a 14-2 conference record. Calipari's team followed this up with the UK's 26th SEC Tournament Championship, with an overtime defeat of Mississippi State, 75-74, in the SEC Tournament title game. In the NCAA Tournament, however, No. 1 seed Kentucky (East Region) was upset by West Virginia in the Elite 8, to finish the season at 35-3.

2010-11[link]

In his second season at Kentucky, Calipari recruited the No. 1 rated point guard in the 2010 class, Brandon Knight. In addition to Knight, Calipari also signed two other 5-star recruits, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb. In 2010-11, Kentucky finished the regular season with a record of 22-8, with a 10-6 record in SEC regular season play. UK would go on to win its second consecutive SEC Tournament Championship, defeating Florida, 70-54, in the SEC Tournament title game. As a result, Kentucky received a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament (East Regional). During the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky would go on to defeat No. 1 overall seed Ohio State, 62-60, in the Sweet-16. In the Elite Eight, Calipari's team would avenge an early season loss to North Carolina, by defeating the Tar Heels, 76-69, securing Kentucky's first Final Four appearance since 1998. In the Final Four, UK fell to the eventual NCAA Champions, UConn, by one point, 56-55, finishing with a final record of 29-9.

2011-12[link]

In this third season, Kentucky landed another No. 1 recruiting class with four consensus five star players: Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kyle Wiltjer. Kentucky came into the season ranked #2 in the country. They finished the regular season with a 30-1 record, their only loss to Indiana by a buzzer-beater and went 16-0 in conference play. In the SEC tournament, Kentucky lost in the championship game to Vanderbilt 71-64. In the NCAA Tournament, Calipari's team was selected as the overall #1 seed in the tournament, representing as the South Region #1 seed. Kentucky avenged the early season loss to Indiana beating them in the Sweet Sixteen 102-90, and knocked off Baylor in the Elite Eight 82-70, to advance to their second consecutive Final Four. In the Final Four in New Orleans, Kentucky first faced their in-state rival, the Louisville Cardinals and Rick Pitino, winning 69-61. Two days later, in the National Championship game, Kentucky played in another early season rematch against the Kansas Jayhawks, winning a hard fought contest 67-59. The win secured Calipari his first NCAA Championship, a NCAA record 38-win season, and the 8th overall NCAA Championship for Kentucky. By doing so, John Calipari became the 5th head coach to win a NCAA Championship at Kentucky (a NCAA record), and the first coach to do so at the school since 1998.

Following the 2012 championship, UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart announced on May 4 that Calipari's contract had been renegotiated. Under the new contract, Calipari will make $5.2M annually ^[18] (not including bonuses), which further cements his status as the most highly-compensated college basketball coach in the country. Calipari will earn almost $2M more per year than the second-most compensated coach in the country, Tom Izzo ($3.5M annually).^[19]

Controversies[link]

Marcus Camby[link]

UMass had its 4-1 1996 NCAA Tournament record vacated when the NCAA discovered that UMass player Marcus Camby had accepted a reported $40,000 in cash and gifts from an agent. It was later reported that Camby's brother needed the money for groceries.^[20] Calipari was not implicated by the NCAA in this incident.^[21]

Racist insult directed at journalist[link]

While coaching the New Jersey Nets, Calipari referred to Newark Star-Ledger sports reporter Dan Garcia as a "fucking Mexican idiot".^[22] Garcia sued for $5,000,000 for emotional distress. Though the case was dismissed^[23] Calipari was still fined $25,000 by the NBA.^[24] Calipari apologized for his remarks:

"I would like to apologize to Dan Garcia for my ill-advised attempt at humor and insensitivity for the remark," Calipari said before the Nets lost to the Lakers, 109-84, tonight at the Meadowlands. "In retrospect, I can understand how the remark could have been misinterpreted. I have apologized to him personally and in writing. In no way was my intent to be derogatory in a racial context, and I am sorry for any pain my remarks have caused."

Derrick Rose[link]

The NCAA investigated allegations that a player on the 2007-08 team committed "knowing fraudulence or misconduct in connection with his entrance examination" and had an unknown individual complete his SAT examination.^[25] The NCAA informed Calipari in a letter that he was not considered "at risk" in this investigation.^[2]

The player was subsequently identified as Derrick Rose. Subsequently, allegations surfaced that Rose's brother, Reggie, had been allowed to travel to Tiger road games for free.^[26]

On August 20, 2009, the NCAA ruled that Rose was ineligible and forced Memphis to vacate the entire 2007-08 season, including the NCAA Tournament and its standing as runner-up. It took the line that even though Rose's score had not been thrown out by the Educational Testing Service, which administers the SAT, until after the season, strict liability required that Rose be ruled ineligible.^[27][28] The committee also determined that even without the questions about his SAT score, he would have lost his eligibility in December 2007 due to his brother being allowed to travel with the team for free.^[29]

On October 7, 2011, the Associated Press published a story about John Calipari and Derrick Rose settling a lawsuit with Memphis fans over the vacated 2008 season. According to the article, "Former Memphis coach John Calipari and ex-Tigers guard Derrick Rose agreed last year to pay $100,000 to avoid a lawsuit over the Tigers' season that ended in the 2008 Final Four with the wins later vacated by the NCAA. According to a settlement signed May 28, 2010, with attorneys representing some Memphis season ticket holders, not only did Calipari and Rose agree to pay $100,000, but Calipari and Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson committed to repaying Final Four bonuses."^[30]

Overall wins[link]

On February 26, 2011, after Kentucky beat the Florida Gators in Rupp Arena, Calipari was recognized for his 500th career victory as a Division I men's basketball coach. Over the course of the next few months, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions (COI) and the University of Kentucky exchanged letters debating whether Calipari had indeed reached the 500-win milestone. Due to games vacated by the NCAA in two different seasons (the 1996 season at UMass and the 2008 season at Memphis), the NCAA only officially recognized Calipari's 500th all time coaching victory on March 15, 2012. On June 13, 2011, Eamonn Brennan, of ESPN.com, broke the story on a college basketball blog, revealing that Calipari and other Kentucky officials may have to appear before the COI for the celebration previously mentioned and for lack of compliance.^[31]

NBA players coached[link]

UMass[link]

• Lou Roe (30th, 1995 NBA Draft)
• Marcus Camby (2nd, 1996 NBA Draft)

Memphis[link]

• Dajuan Wagner (6th, 2002 NBA Draft)
• Earl Barron (Undrafted, 2003 NBA Draft)
• Antonio Burks (36th, 2004 NBA Draft)
• Shawne Williams (17th, 2006 NBA Draft)
• Rodney Carney (16th, 2006 NBA Draft)
• Darius Washington, Jr. (Undrafted, 2006)
• Derrick Rose (1st, 2008 NBA Draft)
• Joey Dorsey (33rd, 2008 NBA Draft)
• Chris Douglas-Roberts (40th, 2008 NBA Draft)
• Tyreke Evans (4th, 2009 NBA Draft)
• Robert Dozier (60th, 2009 NBA Draft)

Kentucky[link]

• John Wall (1st, 2010 NBA Draft)
• DeMarcus Cousins (5th, 2010 NBA Draft)
• Patrick Patterson (14th, 2010 NBA Draft)
• Eric Bledsoe (18th, 2010 NBA Draft)
• Daniel Orton (29th, 2010 NBA Draft)
• Enes Kanter (3rd, 2011 NBA Draft)
• Brandon Knight (8th, 2011 NBA Draft)
• Josh Harrellson (45th, 2011 NBA Draft)
• DeAndre Liggins (53rd, 2011 NBA Draft)

Head coaching record[link]

College[link]

* UMass had its 4-1 record in the 1996 NCAA tournament and Final Four standing vacated after Marcus Camby was ruled ineligible due to his contact with a sports agent.
**Memphis had its entire 38-2 2007-08 season vacated by the NCAA due to academic fraud not directly related to the university.

***Under current NCAA official records, Calipari's record is 505-151 (.770), which accounts for the 4 vacated wins (and one vacated loss) in the 1995-96 NCAA Tournament at UMass, and the 38 vacated wins (and 2 vacated losses) at Memphis in the entire 2007-08 season.^[32]

NBA[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Bio at UK Athletics Site
• News Website

Rick Pitino
Pitino in the 2007 Big East Tournament
Sport(s)	Basketball
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Louisville
Biographical details
Born	(1952-09-18) September 18, 1952 (age 59) New York, New York
Playing career
1970–1974	UMass
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1974–1976 1976 1976–1978 1978–1983 1983–1985 1985–1987 1987–1989 1989–1997 1997–2001 2001–present	Hawaii (assistant) Hawaii (interim HC) Syracuse (assistant) Boston University New York Knicks (assistant) Providence New York Knicks Kentucky Boston Celtics Louisville
Accomplishments and honors
Championships NCAA Division I Tournament Championship (1996) Regional Championships - Final Four (1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012) America East Tournament Championship (1983) America East Regular Season Championship (1980, 1983) SEC Tournament Championship (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997) SEC Regular Season Championship (1995, 1996) C-USA Tournament Championship (2003, 2005) C-USA Regular Season Championship (2005) Big East Tournament Championship (2009, 2012) Big East Regular Season Championship (2009)
Awards NABC National Coach of the Year 6th time (1987) John Wooden National Coach of the Year (1987) SEC Coach of the Year (1990, 1991, 1996) C-USA Coach of the Year (2005)

Rick Pitino (born September 18, 1952)^[1] is 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 a Final Four. (John Calipari did the same, but two of his Final Four appearances were later vacated by the NCAA.) Pitino is also only one of three coaches ever to take his school to the Final Four in four separate decades. In addition, Pitino has achieved a measure of success as an author and a motivational speaker.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Pitino, a Sicilian American^[2] 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.^[3] 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 2009–10 season.^[4] He led the team in assists as a junior and senior.^[5][6] The 168 assists as a senior is the eighth-best single season total ever there.^[4][7] 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. Other teammates of Pitino's include Al Skinner, who also went on to become a successful college coach, and baseballer Mike Flanagan, who went on to pitch in the major leagues and win the AL Cy Young Award in 1979. Pitino earned his degree from UMass in 1974.

Collegiate coaching[link]

Pitino is currently head coach of 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.^[7]

Assistant coaching career[link]

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.^[8]

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."^[9]

Boston University[link]

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.^[10]

Providence[link]

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[link]

After spending two years coaching in the NBA, Pitino returned to the college level again in 1989, becoming the coach at Kentucky. The legendary Kentucky program was dusting off its shoulders 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 6th NCAA Championship. 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. The following year he left Kentucky for the NBA and Kentucky went on to win the 1998 national title. He would later refer to Kentucky as "the Roman Empire of college basketball".

Louisville[link]

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 first 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 top seed overall in the 2009 NCAA tournament and was planted as the first seed in the Midwest region. They defeated Morehead State, Siena and Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by Michigan State. In 2010 the Cardinals suffered a disappointing 15 point loss to their first round opponent, the California Golden Bears. In 2011, Louisville was upset by 13th seeded Morehead State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In 2012, Pitino coached the Cardinals to the Big East tournament championship and a berth as a 4 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals defeated Davidson College, University of New Mexico, and Number 1 seeded Michigan State to advance to the regional final against the Florida Gators and his former player and friend Billy Donovan. The Cardinals would go on to win that game, but lost to The University of Kentucky in the 2012 Final Four.

Professional coaching[link]

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.^[10]

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:

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.^{[verification needed]} 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.

Puerto Rico National Team[link]

On December 20, 2010, the Puerto Rico Basketball Federation announced Rick Pitino as the next head coach for Puerto Rico's Olympic team. The President of the Basketball Federation described the hiring as the highest impact coaching hire in the history of Puerto Rico Basketball. On April 29 2011, it was announced that Pitino would not coach the Puerto Rico national team due to scheduling conflicts and NCAA regulations disallowing it.

Author and accomplishments[link]

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 is one of two men's coaches in NCAA history to lead three separate schools (Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville) to the Final Four. The other coach is his in state rival, John Calipari (UMASS, Memphis, Kentucky).

Pitino's .744 winning percentage in 43 NCAA Tournament games ranks third among active coaches.

Thoroughbred horse racing[link]

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.^[12]

Personal life[link]

Pitino married his wife, the former Joanne Minardi, in 1976. They have five living children: Michael, Christopher, Richard (now the head coach at FIU),^[13] 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.^[14]

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.^[3]

Extortion attempt against Pitino[link]

On April 18, 2009, Pitino announced that he was a target of an extortion attempt.^[15] 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.^[16][17] On August 11, Pitino admitted to having engaged in sexual relations with Cunagin on August 1, 2003 in a Louisville restaurant, Porcini's. 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 abortion.^[18]In addition, Cunagin stated that her estranged husband, Tim Sypher, was paid to marry her.^[19]

At a press conference on August 12, Pitino made a statement, in which he apologized for his indiscretion and stated that he would remain as coach.^[20] 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.^[18]On August 26, Pitino demanded in a press conference that the media stop "reporting these lies." The conference was called even though University of Louisville officials advised that he was not obligated to respond.^[19]On August 6, 2010, a federal district court found Sypher guilty of extortion and lying to federal agents, carrying a maximum penalty of 26 years in prison. After her conviction, Sypher hired new attorneys and accused the judge, prosecutors, her former attorneys, and Pitino of taking part in a conspiracy to ensure she was found guilty.

Head coaching record[link]

College[link]

^Kentucky was ineligible for both the NCAA and SEC Tournaments in 1990 and 1991 due to sanctions from the Eddie Sutton-era.

^^Kentucky finished first in the SEC standings. However, due to their probation, they were ineligible for the regular-season title; it was awarded to second-place LSU instead.

NBA[link]

See also[link]

• List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
• List of NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coach
• List of NCAA Men's Division I Elite Eight appearances by coach

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Louisville profile