Rick Pitino is Back, but Should He Be?

Rick Pitino is a coaching genius and that cannot be questioned. If you look at what he did at Boston University (NCAA Tourney), Providence (Final 4), Kentucky (National Championship), and Louisville (National Championship), his ability to scheme, and more importantly win, is legendary. In truth, Iona would be crazy to turn Pitino down!

With this one hire money will start rolling into the school and attention will follow. guarantee you Iona will be prominent on ESPN next season. So why would this not be a good hire?

From the beginning Pitino has had issues

Rick Pitino committed eight NCAA violations, then misled the NCAA, and it was ugly enough that the NCAA recommended the school disassociate itself from him. This was in 1977. Pitino was an assistant at Hawaii at the time, his first job!

Pitino has a history of not worrying about the rules. He is a slimy car salesman in that regard. Sure he can coach but his moral ineptness is absolutely astounding. Remember colleges are supposed to mold the students into productive members of society. Do you really want Pitino molding your kid?

Now, the one big thing Pitino has going for him and why he can keep getting jobs like this Iona gig is that the NCAA is no better. The NCAA makes billions of dollars off these young men and a guy like Pitino brings in even more money, which is why he can still coach at the college level. The NCAA just sees dollar signs, so integrity is a word that the NCAA knows.

Pitino is always a victim

His program hired hookers to lure in high school students and Pitino sold himself as the victim. Louisville apparently paid six figures for a recruit and he released a statement saying it was “initiated by a few bad actors… our fans and supporters deserve better and I am committed to taking whatever steps are needed to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”

Really? Pitino is supposed to be running a program and if he really has no clue what is going on in his own program, is he really that great of a coach?

Unfortunately, almost every coach has a hustle, an angle, a pitch for players and fans and especially the media. Some coaches see their hustle as a necessary evil. Pitino saw it as his calling. And he IS good at it! Pitino knows that coaching college basketball is less about actual basketball and more about marketing yourself. Trust me, nobody markets themselves like Pitino!

Iona should be ashamed of themselves

Iona is doing it for the money, but is it really worth it to sell your soul to make the NCAA Tournament? Let’s face it, no matter how many times Pitino says this is the last job he is always going to be angling for something better. Maybe a major university will not give him another chance, but he brings money to any program he is coaching at and that’s all that matters in this case. My guess is Pitino does what he has to do (cheat) to get the Gaels to March Madness  and within two years he will be on his way to a bigger program.

Iona will have sold their souls for two years with a used car salesman.