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Louisville Hires Rick Pitino As Head Men's Basketball Coach
March 21, 2001 | Men's Basketball
March 21, 2001
The University of Louisville announced that Rick Pitino is their new men's basketball coach in a press conference Wednesday evening. Archived video available.
Pitino Hired As Louisville Coach
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Rick Pitino, one of the most brilliant minds in coaching, has been named head coach of the University of Louisville men's basketball team.
In 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach at three different schools, Pitino has compiled a 352-124 record, a .739 winning percentage that ranks him 16th all-time (entering the 2000-01 season).
Among active coaches, Pitino has the third-highest winning percentage in NCAA Tournament games, winning 78.8 percent of his games in the post-season event with a 26-7 record in eight tournament appearances. He is one of just eleven coaches who have taken teams from two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. He is also one of 14 coaches all-time who have reached the Final Four on at least four occasions.
Only seven coaches all-time have taken more teams to the NCAA Final Four than Pitino's four appearances, a figure also matched by six other coaches.
For the last three and a half years, Pitino has served as president and head coach of the NBA's Boston Celtics. With the Celtics, he took over a team that had posted a franchise worst 15-67 record before his arrival. He quickly made an impact, improving the Celtics' victory total by 21 games in his first season. He resigned his position with the storied franchise on Jan. 8 after compiling a 102-146 record there.
He guided Kentucky to three NCAA Final Four appearances in his last five years at Kentucky, winning the 1996 NCAA Championship and reaching the national title game in 1997. In eight seasons with the Wildcats, he amassed a 219-50 record (.814) while winning two league crowns and an impressive 17-1 record in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
While at Kentucky, Pitino coached three Wildcats who earned All-America honors and eight players who were drafted by the NBA, including six in the first round (three lottery picks).
Pitino, 48, got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Hawai'i in 1974 and served as a full-time assistant there in 1975-76. He served two seasons as an assistant at Syracuse under Jim Boeheim from 1976-78.
Pitino was only 25 years old when he accepted his first head coaching job at Boston University in 1978. He produced a 91-51 record in five years there, departing as the most successful coach in BU history. In his final season there, he guided the Terriers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 24 years. He was twice named New England Coach of the Year.
Pitino left Boston U. to become an assistant coach for the New York Knicks from 1983-85, where he worked with head coach Hubie Brown. It was a team he would return to lead as its head coach in two seasons.
He was head coach at Providence College for two seasons (1985-87), producing a 42-32 record there. He guided the Friars to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1986 and a trip to the NCAA Final Four in 1987, winning the regional championship in Louisville's Freedom Hall.
Before his stint at Kentucky, Pitino served as head coach of the New York Knicks for two seasons. In his initial year there in 1987-88, the Knicks improved by 14 victories and made the NBA Playoffs for the first time in four seasons. The Knicks won 52 games in 1988-89 and swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Pitino is an accomplished author, producing such books as the best seller "Success Is A Choice" and "Lead to Succeed."
He earned his degree at Massachusetts in 1974, where he captained the Minutemen's basketball team and played his freshman year with NBA legend Julius Erving. Pitino's 329 career assists ranks eighth all-time at UMass. His 168 assists as a senior is the sixth-best single season total ever at Massachusetts.
Born Sept. 18, 1952, Pitino is a native of New York City where he was a standout guard for Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, Long Island. There, he captained his team and established several school scoring marks.
Pitino and wife Joanne have five children: Michael, Christopher, Richard, Ryan and Jaclyn.
Pitino becomes the 18th Louisville head coach and just the fourth Cardinal coach in the last 57 years. He succeeds Denny Crum, who compiled a 675-295 record in 30 years at Louisville.
Rick Pitino's Coaching Record
Collegiate Coaching CareerYear Team Record Conf. Postseason1978-79 Boston University 17-91979-80 Boston University 21-9 NIT1980-81 Boston University 13-141981-82 Boston University 19-9 6-21982-83 Boston University 21-10 8-2 NCAA1985-86 Providence 17-14 7-9 NIT1986-87 Providence 25-9 10-6 NCAA F41989-90 Kentucky 14-14 10-81990-91 Kentucky 22-6 14-41991-92 Kentucky 29-7 12-4 NCAA1992-93 Kentucky 30-4 13-3 NCAA F41993-94 Kentucky 27-7 12-4 NCAA1994-95 Kentucky 28-5 14-2 NCAA1995-96 Kentucky 34-2 16-0 NCAA Ch1996-97 Kentucky 35-5 13-3 NCAA F4Totals 16 years 352-124
NBA Coaching CareerYear Team Record Playoffs1987-88 New York Knicks 38-44 1-31988-89 New York Knicks 52-30 5-41997-98 Boston Celtics 36-461998-99 Boston Celtics 19-311999-00 Boston Celtics 35-472000-01 Boston Celtics 12-22Totals Six Years 192-220
