Former Boston University men’s basketball coach and current University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino has accumulated many accolades in his storied career: seven Final Four appearances, one national championship with the University of Kentucky in 1996, another with University of Louisville Monday night and the honor of being the only men’s coach in NCAA history to lead three different programs to Final Four appearances.
Despite these heralded accomplishments, Pitino received arguably the biggest honor of his career Monday, as he heard he will be one of 12 individuals enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in September.
Other members of the Class of 2013 include University of Houston coach Guy Lewis, University of Nevada, Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkanian and former NBA stars Gary Payton and Bernard King.
After a successful four-year collegiate playing career at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Pitino served as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaii and Syracuse University between 1974 and 1978.
Pitino’s first head coaching job was at BU in 1978.
In five seasons, Pitino coached the Terriers to a 91-51 record and took a team that won just 17 games in the two seasons before his arrival to the NCAA tournament in his final season with the team.
He then served as the head coach of Providence College from 1985 to 1987, leading the Friars to a Final Four appearance in his second season with the team.
After two successful seasons as head coach of the New York Knicks, Pitino served as the coach of the University of Kentucky from 1989 to1997, leading the Wildcats to a national championship in 1996.
After leaving Kentucky, Pitino was named head coach of the Boston Celtics, leading the team to a lackluster 102-146 record over four seasons.
Since 2001 to the, Pitino has been the head coach of Louisville, leading the Cardinals to three Final Four appearances during the 12-year tenure.
Pitino’s Cardinals defeated the Michigan Wolverines 82-76 in the NCAA national championship game Monday night.
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