On This Day In 1989, Kentucky Hired Rick Pitino.
- Thread starter villefan76
- Start date
I was 8, and I remember my parents getting excited about it. I’m 44 now. Time flies.
I will always remember it like this:
My uncle got married in Chicago for NYE in 1988. My family went to a Bulls game at the old Chicago Stadium. Bulls vs. Knicks. The Knicks coach went absolutely bonkers, got T'd up, was ejected and refused to leave the area after his ejection. I was 9 at the time and called him a "crazy man" as he was being escorted off the floor.
Fast forward to the day he was hired, and my parents said I would never believe who UK just hired as our coach. I asked who.
"The crazy man from the Knicks/Bulls game we went to."
Crazy man turned out to be a damn good coach.
Edit: I googled to make sure my memory was correct. It was.
My uncle got married in Chicago for NYE in 1988. My family went to a Bulls game at the old Chicago Stadium. Bulls vs. Knicks. The Knicks coach went absolutely bonkers, got T'd up, was ejected and refused to leave the area after his ejection. I was 9 at the time and called him a "crazy man" as he was being escorted off the floor.
Fast forward to the day he was hired, and my parents said I would never believe who UK just hired as our coach. I asked who.
"The crazy man from the Knicks/Bulls game we went to."
Crazy man turned out to be a damn good coach.
Edit: I googled to make sure my memory was correct. It was.
I remember seeing the 1986 Sutton team win the SEC and seeing Eddie reload the roster -- looking like an imminent final four -
Eddie seemed charming fm where i sat
Then the hideous news leakage like RANCID SEWER - from EVERYWHORE "sat
Score faked - academic fraud - cash to the west coast- prop 48 shenanigans
It was like seeing the Roman Empire pulled over for speeding tickets
Pitino was the PERFECT man to resurrect the whole damn thing!!
Eddie seemed charming fm where i sat
Then the hideous news leakage like RANCID SEWER - from EVERYWHORE "sat
Score faked - academic fraud - cash to the west coast- prop 48 shenanigans
It was like seeing the Roman Empire pulled over for speeding tickets
Pitino was the PERFECT man to resurrect the whole damn thing!!
Eddie Sutton resigned on March 27th. Could you imagine this board if it took 2 months to hire a new coach?
We went from April 9 to April 12 this year without a coach and people were losing their damn mind wondering why it was taking too long.
We went from April 9 to April 12 this year without a coach and people were losing their damn mind wondering why it was taking too long.
Good point. I think people, society were more patient in those days. And we didn’t have social media, reducing attention spans to mere seconds and throwing gasoline on small fires everywhere
Yep. And its not just the fans. Our athletic director panics too. Not to relitigate, but he didn't want to wait couple week for Billy Donovan. Which fine, given history. But also couldn't wait a week for Tom Izzo so moved on to BillyG?
Annoying part of the off season carousel now. It's the most important decision for a program for years. Screw the portal for a few days, wait till coaches are available from the tournament, and hire the best guy.
I remember the day C.M. signed Pitino as HC of the cats. I was stationed in Atlanta and I learned the news from my neighbor who was a head bb coach of an Atlanta private high school. He came rushing over to my house raving about the Pitino hire and telling me Ky just hired the best young coach in the country and he will have the cats ranked in the top 10 within two years. He brought with him several of Pitino's instructional tapes he had purchased at one of Rick's seminars. After listening to my neighbor and viewing the tapes I became a big Pitino fan and remain so to this day. The Pitino era was one of the most exciting funfilled periods in Ky BB history.
I was 10 and the most memorable of my teenage years by the time he was done. He sure turned the program around and had us churning on all cylinders!
I promise to you people in this room today, you’ll see Kentucky on the cover of Sports Illustrated once again,” Pitino said, “and it will be cutting down certain nets.
Yes it was! I'll never forget that epic comeback at LSU. I was living in Nashville at the time and watching the game with friends (all rabid Vol fans) and one of them kept yelling Hail Ceasar the whole game LOL.
His first season was still under the television ban against UK wasn't it?
Zero televised games?
I remember 91-92 I think was the first season with all sanctions lifted
I THINK that's about right
Zero televised games?
I remember 91-92 I think was the first season with all sanctions lifted
I THINK that's about right
I went to that Press Conference. I was begging for the Knicks to lose at the end of their year as Pitino couldnt come to UK till they did. Pitino said one thing that day I have never forgotten. Some reporter asked the question how long do you think it will take you to win here?
Pitino, answered just as you would expect him to as a brash young coach. "We will win, and we will win NOW!!" Honestly when he said it I had tears in my eyes. I knew he was EXACTLY what Kentucky needed and we would set the standard. We did exactly that,,,,,,,,,,,
Pitino, answered just as you would expect him to as a brash young coach. "We will win, and we will win NOW!!" Honestly when he said it I had tears in my eyes. I knew he was EXACTLY what Kentucky needed and we would set the standard. We did exactly that,,,,,,,,,,,
