LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – If the past weekend has reminded us of anything, it’s that when Rick Pitino sets foot in the Bluegrass State, the atmosphere becomes more charged. And because he coached national championship teams at Kentucky and Louisville, it becomes charged in either direction.
The positive ions coming out of Lexington will surely produce negative in Louisville. And vice versa. That’s the balance of basketball existence in the Commonwealth.
So when Pitino showed up at Big Blue Madness on Friday night at the invitation of new Kentucky coach Mark Pope, it was a full circle moment for some, and was perhaps unexpectedly emotional for Pitino, and for many fans. He was clearly moved by everything he encountered during the weekend, from getting to see former players to the reaction he encountered at Rupp.
“I came within inches of crying my eyes out,” Pitino said. “In every job that coaches have, there's ups and downs in the profession. But the amazing thing about Kentucky is I was here, eight years, I never had a down moment, not a down day, down week, down month. And that's rare for a college basketball coach or a professional coach. Never have a down day, and that's why I always call it Camelot, because I never had a down day, and I got treated like royalty.”
Pitino went to a UK men’s practice on Saturday, visited his old house in Lexington, now owned by former UK women’s coach Matthew Miller, and was on the sidelines for Kentucky’s football game against Vanderbilt Saturday night, at the invitation of Mark Stoops, whom he met through a mutual friend, Eddie Gran. Pitino even has donated NIL money to Stoops program.
“I think I probably paid for a shoulder pad or something,” he joked.
But for all the good feeling in Lexington, there was a natural negative reaction from some in Louisville. Those of us who knew Pitino (and full disclosure, I wrote a book with him) were happy to see this warm return to Lexington. It was the right thing. Pitino loves Pope, and got to see many of his former players. Fans were able to express appreciation (and a few of them, frustration).
Rick Pitino on the sidelines of Kentucky's football game against Vanderbilt in Kroger Field on Oct. 12, 2024.
And people I know in Louisville, former players or assistants, were glad to see him be able to have that experience.
David Padgett, a former player and assistant and the man who was thrust into Pitino’s vacated seat after he was let go at Louisville, took to the social media platform X and said, “The overreaction and outrage was strong last night. Calm down, people. Focus on the road ahead, not the one in the rear view mirror.”
Asked on the same platform what he thought of things, former Pitino player and current assistant coach Peyton Siva said, “(He) went back to support his former player that he won a national championship with. I know if I ever became a head coach he’d do the same in a heartbeat (or any other player he coached) I don’t like seeing him in that color, but I understand.”
Some agreed. Many didn’t. I know how this works. When you get to know the people involved, it becomes more about them and their lives than about institutions or rivalries. Yeah, basketball is life, but it also isn't. On Saturday, in Kroger Field, Pitino was asked about reaction in Louisville.
“Well, I love my players, and I love the fans of Louisville,” Pitino said. “I've never been invited back to Louisville. They fired me quite abruptly and not very nicely, but I harbor nothing against the fans, and certainly nothing against my players. I love them dearly. I love the fans dearly, but I've never been invited back one time. I’ve just been fired. So, Mark Stoops invited me back. Mark Pope invited me back, and so I accepted the invitation. So it's nothing to do with -- it's not this Louisville-Kentucky stuff. That's out the window. This is about people inviting me back to Camelot, where I coached, and I'm very appreciative to Mark Stoops coming in to play golf with me (in a charity event), and it has nothing to do with Louisville. This is my captain of one of the greatest teams ever assembled.”
Asked if he could foresee a similar reconciliation with Louisville, Pitino seemed doubtful. Clearly, he is still stung with how things went down in the wake of the FBI announcing its pay for play investigation, showing up on Louisville’s campus, and the school’s rapid response. He was locked out of his office. The board of trustees moved against him without a hearing, before he had his attorney step in. He was dismissed anyway, and sued the school, until the parties settled, a move that paved the way for him to get back into college coaching.
(The NCAA, through its IARP, later exonerated Pitino. It found that the coach did not know of adidas’ illicit payments to a Louisville recruit, nor could he have been reasonably expected to see “red flags” during the responsible course of his duties.)
Pitino has not disagreed with the proposition that the university needed a change. But he took issue with how it happened. And even before it happened, he had taken issue with the makeup of Louisville’s board of trustees, which had been reconstituted by Gov. Matt Bevin.
He has several times told me that he doesn’t foresee any reconciliation with Louisville until there is a more public reconciliation with Tom Jurich, the athletic director who also was let go as a result of the scandal – and his unwillingness to fire Pitino. Jurich and U of L later settled a suit against the school, changing the terms of Jurich’s departure to a resignation.
So, when asked about Louisville on Saturday, Pitino said, “I don't think it's going to happen. It's sort of like Bob Knight in Indiana. I'll always treasure my players. I'll always treasure the fans, but I think all I wanted was an apology, and they never gave me that apology, just, ‘Sorry for the way we did you in. That's all. I've always said, ‘Hey, maybe I deserved to be fired.’ Coaches get fired, but it's the way they did it that was so bad. But there's a new administration, there's new trustees, and I wish them nothing but the best. And, to the fans and my cherished players in Louisville, I love you dearly.”
Of course, with Pitino, the last word is never the last word.
Rick Pitino with a fan in Kroger Field before Kentucky's game against Vanderbilt on Oct. 12, 2024.
It's worth remembering that Knight did return to Indiana, though far too late. But his return was no doubt a healthy thing for him, and for the Indiana fan base, and for the memory of Knight in the hearts and minds of many fans.
If Pitino is looking for an example, I might suggest one even closer to home. It doesn’t get much more bitter than Denny Crum’s departure from Louisville was, after 30 seasons and two national championships.
Crum didn’t like how he was treated on the way out. He also, from the day he was out, decided there was nothing to be gained from public bitterness or a long absence. Of course, he remained in Louisville. He kept coming to games.
He spent a lot of years (during which Pitino was coach and Jurich athletic director) following the program and enjoying the affection of fans, if not exactly commensurate recognition from the school or the basketball program.
He showed a remarkable ability to let all that go. The old poker player kept any resentments he had close to his vest, and instead went to work as a university ambassador, working for charitable causes. It was when Padgett took over that all of a sudden Crum was sitting on the baseline with the new head coach before an exhibition game, and not up in a seat in the crowd.
How institutions treat their institutions matters. Time does heal wounds, but grace heals them, too.
I don’t know if that will be the case with Louisville and Pitino, or even Jurich. But I know it will be what’s best for everyone if that is how it plays out.
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