Rick Pitino

Rick Pitino
Pitino in a press conference for the 2013 Final Four
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamSt. John's
ConferenceBig East
Record51–18 (.739)
Biographical details
Born (1952-09-18) September 18, 1952
New York City, New York, U.S.
Playing career
1971–1974UMass
Position(s)Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1974–1976Hawaii (assistant)
1976Hawaii (interim HC)
1976–1978Syracuse (assistant)
1978–1983Boston University
1983–1985New York Knicks (assistant)
1985–1987Providence
1987–1989New York Knicks
1989–1997Kentucky
1997–2001Boston Celtics
2001–2017Louisville
2018–2020Panathinaikos
2020–2023Iona
2023–presentSt. John's
Head coaching record
Overall885–311 (.740)[a] (college)
192–220 (.466) (NBA)
Tournaments55–22 (NCAA Division I)
6–5 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 2 NCAA Division I tournament (1996, 2013*)
  • 7 NCAA Division I regional – Final Four (1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012*, 2013*)
  • America East tournament (1983)
  • 2 America East regular season (1980, 1983)
  • 5 SEC Tournament (1992–1995, 1997)
  • 2 SEC regular season (1995, 1996)
  • 2 C-USA tournament (2003, 2005)
  • C-USA regular season (2005)
  • 4 Big East tournament (2009, 2012*, 2013*, 2025)
  • 3 Big East regular season (2009, 2013*, 2025)
  • AAC tournament (2014*)
  • AAC regular season (2014*)
  • Greek Cup (2019)
  • 2 Greek League (2019, 2020)
  • MAAC tournament (2021, 2023)
  • 2 MAAC regular season (2022, 2023)
Awards
  • AP Coach of the Year (2025)
  • Henry Iba Award (2025)
  • NABC Coach of the Year (1987)
  • John Wooden National Coach of the Year (1987)
  • Adolph Rupp Cup (2009)
  • 3× SEC Coach of the Year (1990, 1991, 1996)
  • C-USA Coach of the Year (2005)
  • 2× MAAC Coach of the Year (2022, 2023)
  • Big East Coach of the Year (2025)
* Vacated by the NCAA[1][2]
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2013 (profile)

Richard Andrew Pitino (/pɪˈtn/; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA Division I and in the NBA, including Boston University (1978–1983), Providence College (1985–1987), the New York Knicks (1987–1989), the University of Kentucky (1989–1997), the Boston Celtics (1997–2001), the University of Louisville (2001–2017), Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague (2018–2020), and Iona University (2020–2023).

Pitino led Kentucky to an NCAA championship in 1996.

In 2013, while in Atlanta with his team for the Final Four, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[3]

In June 2017, the NCAA suspended Pitino for five games of the 2017–18 season for a perceived lack of oversight in an escort sex scandal at the University of Louisville involving recruits. Louisville's national championship from 2013 was eventually vacated and is being appealed by the university. In September, Pitino was implicated in a federal investigation involving bribes to recruits, which resulted in Louisville firing him for cause. He was later exonerated of these accusations and soon returned to coaching after a brief stint as a broadcaster.

On March 20, 2023, he was named head basketball coach at St. John's University.[4]


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  1. ^ Bogage, Jacob (December 21, 2018). "Rick Pitino might finally have another coaching job — with Greek EuroLeague team Panathinaikos". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 28, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  2. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (December 20, 2018). "Rick Pitino agrees to coach EuroLeague power Panathinaikos". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 28, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2013". April 8, 2013. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "St. John's Names Hall of Famer Rick Pitino Head Men's Basketball Coach". redstormsports.com. St. John's University Athletics. March 20, 2023. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.