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Perhaps, if, in May of 1997, Rick Pitino had resisted the clarion call of the NBA in general and the Boston Celtics in particular, stayed coaching the Kentucky juggernaut he had reconstructed and — and this is a big one — over the next few decades avoided his often self-destructive tendencies, then I think the following question would be fairly common:
Is Rick Pitino the best coach in the history of college basketball?
Pitino is rarely mentioned in such a debate in part because his 758 career victories, his .712 winning percentage and even his two NCAA titles (one of which the NCAA “vacated” due to sanctions) fall far short of other contenders.
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Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, for example, won 1,202 games with a .766 winning percentage at Duke and Army, while taking home five national titles with the Blue Devils. John Wooden won 10 national championships at UCLA. Bob Knight won 902 games and three titles at Indiana despite coaching only one player who would ever become a NBA all-star (Isiah Thomas).
Meanwhile, Adolph Rupp won 82.2 percent of his games at Kentucky, and in a more modern era, Roy Williams was victorious 77.4 percent of the time at North Carolina and Kansas. There are others.
As such, Pitino rarely finds his name among the greatest of the greats. He wasn’t a college lifer though, entrenched for decades at a single program. Part of this was his NBA dalliances — four seasons (two as head coach) in two stints with the New York Knicks, four more years with the Celtics. And part of it was due to the various scandals that seemed to crop up across the decades, leaving him to be seen with caution by some schools. That meant either re-climbing the coaching ladder or even bouncing him out of the college game. (From 2018-2020, for example, he coached in the Greek Professional League and won two titles).
Yet where consistent longevity is costing him in sheer numbers, the job-hopping and rebuilds he constantly produces offers a different resume point. The guy can coach anyone, anywhere at any time.
The 72-year old is currently in his second season with St. John’s. He took over a storied but middling program and is about to lead them to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019. The Johnnie’s are 27-4 and won the Big East regular season title … by three games.
This will be the sixth different school Pitino has led the NCAA tournament — the most of any coach in tournament history — joining Boston University (1983), Providence (1987), Kentucky (1991), Louisville (2003) and Iona (2021). It took five seasons as a young coach at BU, but other than that each program he has led made it within two years of being eligible for March Madness.
And while some of the school’s have had historic success and great resources, none were in good shape when he arrived. In the season prior, the programs went a combined 76-105 (.419). Kentucky was even saddled with crippling sanctions, including a two-year postseason ban.
That’s Pitino’s career, though, a savior who saves and then, well, sometimes leaves under wild circumstances. His career has been, shall we say, colorful.
It’s seen the highest of highs — a Final Four run with Providence, national titles with Kentucky and Louisville. And it’s seen the lowest of lows — personal and NCAA scandals that hung over him, including ending his time at Louisville.
He’s been innovative — his embrace of the three-point shot with Providence, where guard Billy Donovan would drive and kick out, was decades ahead of its time. He’s been relentless — his teams always play full-throttle defense, often with a full-court press. He’s been resilient — he coached in an era where the NCAA once charged him as an assistant at Hawaii with giving players coupons for free food at McDonalds to today’s open market transfer portal where players could buy their own restaurant.
None of it mattered.
Has whistle; will win.
Always.
What does that count for? Perhaps Coach K could have done the same at six different schools and he certainly shouldn’t be diminished for just churning along at Duke every year. But could Pitino have done that if he just stayed, say, in Lexington? It would seem likely.
Whatever it is, you live your life and run your career. Pitino’s path has been his own making, but at the end of the day the same result inevitably occurs — clipped nets and trophies in cases.
His work just the last few years, after the age of retirement for many Americans, is astounding. He took a job at Iona of the low-major Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and immediately reached the NCAAs twice in three seasons. Then after the age of 70 he did what few thought was even possible at St. John’s and restored the program to local and national prominence.
Now he heads to the Big East Tournament again, looking to win the league again, in the same Madison Square Garden where after a high school game in 1970 he signed on the scorer’s table his scholarship papers with the University of Massachusetts.
His numbers and accomplishments may never register up there with the others.
But if you needed someone to take over a listless program, who else are you calling?
