Rick Pitino

He's a damn good one, thats for sure.

I have posted on here for years... He is the best college basketball coach in my lifetime, and I watched UKBB when the backboards were wooden. No telling how many banners would be in Rupp had the Celtics not offered him generational money to leave UK.

Would have loved to have him back after his NBA stint. Some bad blood with BBN after going to UL but I’d take him back in a heart beat. Never or don’t have anything but respect for Rick.

Would take him back in a heartbeat.

3 Putts said:

Would have loved to have him back after his NBA stint. Some bad blood with BBN after going to UL but I’d take him back in a heart beat. Never or don’t have anything but respect for Rick.

The mouth breathers that attacked him when he returned to Rupp with his UL team are just that.. Did they expect him to retire after the Celtics fired him? UL was (and still is) one of the top D-1 BB jobs in the country.

In three seasons, Pitino has made St. John’s the best program in the big east, winning the regular season and the tournament two straight years. I would love to see him win the national championship at St. John’s.

Pitino has had a great career, but has not had success in the ultimate goal. He has one championship at the age of 73. Calhoun won 3 titles at UConn which had never previously won 1. Coach K won 5 titles at Duke which had previously never won 1. As bad as everyone thinks of Calipari as a coach, he treated Pitino as an ugly stepson.

My favorite years for UK basketball was the 90's and Pitino. I would have done anything if the man would have stayed here and just dominated College basketball for years. We would easily be ahead of UCLA for championships and it wouldn't be close.

UKnine said:

Pitino has had a great career, but has not had success in the ultimate goal. He has one championship at the age of 73. Calhoun won 3 titles at UConn which had never previously won 1. Coach K won 5 titles at Duke which had previously never won 1. As bad as everyone thinks of Calipari as a coach, he treated Pitino as an ugly stepson.

Really? You are comparing RP to Calhoun and K? Go look at win percentages in college.... Had Pitino stayed at UK, K would have never have had the spotlight like he did. Cal was good at UK. Pitino was great at UK, and didn't calf his last 5 years like Cal did...

bassworship said:

My favorite years for UK basketball was the 90's and Pitino. I would have done anything if the man would have stayed here and just dominated College basketball for years. We would easily be ahead of UCLA for championships and it wouldn't be close.

This. Yet some on here have a case of red behind due to him taking the Celtics job when the NBA was paying a lot more than any D-1 school was.

Pitino’s as talented of a coach as I’ve ever seen.

UKnine said:

Pitino has had a great career, but has not had success in the ultimate goal. He has one championship at the age of 73. Calhoun won 3 titles at UConn which had never previously won 1. Coach K won 5 titles at Duke which had previously never won 1. As bad as everyone thinks of Calipari as a coach, he treated Pitino as an ugly stepson.

He won a title at UL

Yellow Man said:

Really? You are comparing RP to Calhoun and K? Go look at win percentages in college.... Had Pitino stayed at UK, K would have never have had the spotlight like he did. Cal was good at UK. Pitino was great at UK, and didn't calf his last 5 years like Cal did...

You would rather have Pitino than Coach K??? K won FIVE titles at a school that had never won anything before him. I don’t know why you would compare win percentages in your argument because Coach K whipped him in that also.

UKnine said:

Pitino has had a great career, but has not had success in the ultimate goal. He has one championship at the age of 73. Calhoun won 3 titles at UConn which had never previously won 1. Coach K won 5 titles at Duke which had previously never won 1. As bad as everyone thinks of Calipari as a coach, he treated Pitino as an ugly stepson.

Pitino has 2 championships.

I would love for him to retire from coaching after this season and come back to Kentucky in some front office position like associate AD for basketball like Dewayne Peevy used to hold or a senior advisor to the HC.

I hated him for years after he left, coaching UL, etc. But when he stopped coaching a hated rival I started liking him again. It’s nuts. Will be the same for Cal. Til then, screw him.

*Bleedingblue* said:

He won a title at UL

No he didn't.

KentuckyCat420 said:

Pitino has 2 championships.

No he doesn't.

jdsdrummer said:

No he didn't. No he doesn't.

I watched em. NCAA can’t do magic like they think they can.

jdsdrummer said:

No he didn't. No he doesn't.

jdsdrummer said:

No he didn't. No he doesn't.

He literally did. The NCAA simply decided to take it away. That doesn’t change the fact that he still won the title.

UKnine said:

You would rather have Pitino than Coach K??? K won FIVE titles at a school that had never won anything before him. I don’t know why you would compare win percentages in your argument because Coach K whipped him in that also.

Are you old enough to remember when RP arrived in Lexington?? Eddie Sutton had run the program into the dust.. RP walked into a program on probation, and a depleted roster... They went 14-14 their first season.

UKnine said:

You would rather have Pitino than Coach K??? K won FIVE titles at a school that had never won anything before him. I don’t know why you would compare win percentages in your argument because Coach K whipped him in that also.

Let's throw in a few facts versus the bs info you just provided... 1. K's win percentage at Duke- .785 Pitino's win percentage at UK .814 2. Duke has been a basketball power since the 1960's. 3. When Pitino arrived in Lexington he was looking at a depleted roster and probation. That team went 14-14. Take that season out (K never had to deal with probation) and RP's win percentage at UK goes up to .850. Duke was a BB power long before K showed up... When he got there Duke already had enough money to buy players. When Pitino got to UK, Eddie Sutton had run the program into the ground. Any BB coach at Duke that doesn't win in today's CBB climate is a real loser... They have more $$$ than any of the other historically successful program have had. UK was buy cars for players, and Duke buys houses for theirs.

*Bleedingblue* said:

He won a title at UL

That title is probably his best coaching job...

This article was written before Cal and Pitino played in the tournament last year: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/rick-pitino-vs-john-calipari-record-matchups-kentucky-connection/aa102a7bf6ab72f5262fdcea

Yellow Man said:

That title is probably his best coaching job...

I am unsure any other coach could’ve won the title with that team.