Post by ptctitan on Oct 29, 2018 17:13:55 GMT -5
Does this writing style sound familiar?
Rick Pitino back to the NBA? It's an idea that might be crazy enough to work
Rick Pitino is 66 and wants no part of retirement. He’s unemployed because his University of Louisville program kept running afoul of NCAA rules, and not just in routine ways.
There was an escort scandal in the basketball dorm. There was an FBI investigation, featuring wiretaps and recorded meetings. And, of course, there were the tabloid personal foibles that would have finished nearly anyone else.
Pitino survived as long as he did because he was a tremendous college basketball coach – taking three different schools (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville) to Final Fours. He won national titles at the latter two, at least until the Louisville championship was stripped because of the strippers.
It isn’t easy being so ridiculous that college basketball won’t touch you. Then again, college basketball is inherently ridiculous – Pitino is essentially the only coach, other than the ones who were actually indicted, to be held accountable in the federal fraud scandal that touched dozens of his peers, including fellow Hall of Famers.
With no options left, Pitino is now saying he wants to head back to the pros, where he coached the New York Knicks (1987-89) and Boston Celtics (1997-2001) with limited results.
“I just want to be a part of an organization,” Pitino told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “I want to develop young players. I want to be part of a team. I miss it terribly. I’m using this time to really study the NBA. If something opens up with a young basketball team, I’d have deep interest in it.
“I think the league is going to get younger, and player development will become even more important to every organization,” Pitino continued. “That’s my forte. I believe I can help an organization find a pathway to success.”
It’s unlikely anyone in the NBA needed Pitino to go to ZipRecruiter and put his name out there. Of course, he’d take a head coaching position. Who wouldn’t?
Anyway, Pitino is available and at least it appears he isn’t so overvaluing himself that he expects to get handed a contender. He’ll gladly take the worst rebuild imaginable. (Hello, Cleveland?)
There may be better candidates. There are certainly worse ones though.
Pitino is correct. He is very good at developing young players. Donovan Mitchell showed up in 2015 as the nation’s 31st-best recruit per Rivals.com. In 2018, he was the NBA Rookie of the Year runner-up. That’s just the most recent example.
If college recruiting was just about young talent seeking the best guy to prepare them for the league, he could have had the No. 1 class every year. That isn’t how it works, though, at least not completely.
Ironically, the recruit that sealed Pitino’s fate, Brian “Tugs” Bowen, chose Louisville because he wanted to have Pitino do for him what he did for Donovan Mitchell. It was Bowen’s father, unbeknownst to his son and even Pitino (at least not directly), who made a $100,000 side deal with Adidas that blew up everything.
Pitino can wear out relationships and has a history of displaying an amazing ego, but if you’re looking for someone to build something when making the lottery is the actual goal, well … here you go.
Maybe.
The chief question is whether Pitino really just wants “to be a part of an organization” or if he wants to run the organization. His dual role of coach-president in Boston was a disaster. Wherever he’s been, he’s basked in being the anointed savior and the biggest star in the organization. No one tells him what to do. That’s how he got here, both good and bad.
If he just wants to be part of a team, there must be an assistant coaching position out there for him. That would allow him to spend maximum time working on player development and leave the head-coaching duties to someone else.
Pitino is half-way there with that.
“I’m not looking for any of that [power and control] at this stage of my life,” Pitino told ESPN. “I want to develop teams and develop players and build a winner. I value analytics. I want to fit into an organization. At this stage, that’s all I’m interested in.”
But he wants to be the head guy, which is a measure of power and control.
Pitino’s ability to work with others should be the chief criterion for any NBA owner. If he thinks the humble routine is real, then he’s a candidate. If not, run the other way.
What shouldn’t matter is what put him in exile in the first place. NCAA amateurism rules, not those who violate them, are the core problem. By attempting to stop the wheels of capitalism in a capitalistic nation, the NCAA has long created a black market for talent.
Almost nothing is on the up-and-up. That’s how you have a sport overrun by shoe companies, agents, middle men, AAU directors and call girls. It’s the Wild West. Everything is on the table because the action is all under the table.
Pitino racked up too many demerits to remain employed, but he’s also sitting back watching Bill Self prepare for the season at Kansas with the No. 1 team in the country. College hoops barely cares about the rules. The NBA never should.
You know who else once got busted in Kentucky and had an NCAA scarlet letter pinned on him? Dwane Casey, reigning NBA Coach of the Year and currently in charge of the 4-1 Detroit Pistons.
Can Pitino find some late career bounce in the pros, a fresh start to get back to the part of the game he says he loves the most?
He deserves the chance. At least, if a front office believes he is enough of a changed man that he really just wants to work together.
Rick Pitino back to the NBA? It's an idea that might be crazy enough to work
Rick Pitino is 66 and wants no part of retirement. He’s unemployed because his University of Louisville program kept running afoul of NCAA rules, and not just in routine ways.
There was an escort scandal in the basketball dorm. There was an FBI investigation, featuring wiretaps and recorded meetings. And, of course, there were the tabloid personal foibles that would have finished nearly anyone else.
Pitino survived as long as he did because he was a tremendous college basketball coach – taking three different schools (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville) to Final Fours. He won national titles at the latter two, at least until the Louisville championship was stripped because of the strippers.
It isn’t easy being so ridiculous that college basketball won’t touch you. Then again, college basketball is inherently ridiculous – Pitino is essentially the only coach, other than the ones who were actually indicted, to be held accountable in the federal fraud scandal that touched dozens of his peers, including fellow Hall of Famers.
With no options left, Pitino is now saying he wants to head back to the pros, where he coached the New York Knicks (1987-89) and Boston Celtics (1997-2001) with limited results.
“I just want to be a part of an organization,” Pitino told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “I want to develop young players. I want to be part of a team. I miss it terribly. I’m using this time to really study the NBA. If something opens up with a young basketball team, I’d have deep interest in it.
“I think the league is going to get younger, and player development will become even more important to every organization,” Pitino continued. “That’s my forte. I believe I can help an organization find a pathway to success.”
It’s unlikely anyone in the NBA needed Pitino to go to ZipRecruiter and put his name out there. Of course, he’d take a head coaching position. Who wouldn’t?
Anyway, Pitino is available and at least it appears he isn’t so overvaluing himself that he expects to get handed a contender. He’ll gladly take the worst rebuild imaginable. (Hello, Cleveland?)
There may be better candidates. There are certainly worse ones though.
Pitino is correct. He is very good at developing young players. Donovan Mitchell showed up in 2015 as the nation’s 31st-best recruit per Rivals.com. In 2018, he was the NBA Rookie of the Year runner-up. That’s just the most recent example.
If college recruiting was just about young talent seeking the best guy to prepare them for the league, he could have had the No. 1 class every year. That isn’t how it works, though, at least not completely.
Ironically, the recruit that sealed Pitino’s fate, Brian “Tugs” Bowen, chose Louisville because he wanted to have Pitino do for him what he did for Donovan Mitchell. It was Bowen’s father, unbeknownst to his son and even Pitino (at least not directly), who made a $100,000 side deal with Adidas that blew up everything.
Pitino can wear out relationships and has a history of displaying an amazing ego, but if you’re looking for someone to build something when making the lottery is the actual goal, well … here you go.
Maybe.
The chief question is whether Pitino really just wants “to be a part of an organization” or if he wants to run the organization. His dual role of coach-president in Boston was a disaster. Wherever he’s been, he’s basked in being the anointed savior and the biggest star in the organization. No one tells him what to do. That’s how he got here, both good and bad.
If he just wants to be part of a team, there must be an assistant coaching position out there for him. That would allow him to spend maximum time working on player development and leave the head-coaching duties to someone else.
Pitino is half-way there with that.
“I’m not looking for any of that [power and control] at this stage of my life,” Pitino told ESPN. “I want to develop teams and develop players and build a winner. I value analytics. I want to fit into an organization. At this stage, that’s all I’m interested in.”
But he wants to be the head guy, which is a measure of power and control.
Pitino’s ability to work with others should be the chief criterion for any NBA owner. If he thinks the humble routine is real, then he’s a candidate. If not, run the other way.
What shouldn’t matter is what put him in exile in the first place. NCAA amateurism rules, not those who violate them, are the core problem. By attempting to stop the wheels of capitalism in a capitalistic nation, the NCAA has long created a black market for talent.
Almost nothing is on the up-and-up. That’s how you have a sport overrun by shoe companies, agents, middle men, AAU directors and call girls. It’s the Wild West. Everything is on the table because the action is all under the table.
Pitino racked up too many demerits to remain employed, but he’s also sitting back watching Bill Self prepare for the season at Kansas with the No. 1 team in the country. College hoops barely cares about the rules. The NBA never should.
You know who else once got busted in Kentucky and had an NCAA scarlet letter pinned on him? Dwane Casey, reigning NBA Coach of the Year and currently in charge of the 4-1 Detroit Pistons.
Can Pitino find some late career bounce in the pros, a fresh start to get back to the part of the game he says he loves the most?
He deserves the chance. At least, if a front office believes he is enough of a changed man that he really just wants to work together.