Rick Pitino is the new men’s basketball coach at Iona.
The Gaels announced late Saturday that they’d hired Pitino, who was famously tossed out of Louisville during the college basketball corruption scandal. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Salary and contract details aren’t known at this time.
Welcome to #GAELNATION, Coach Pitino!
READ: https://t.co/fp5azFixcH pic.twitter.com/eK2qOdBlDJ
— Iona Men’s Hoops (@IonaGaelsMBB) March 14, 2020
In terms of making a splash, this is a monster hire for Iona. Rick Pitino might be the greatest coach to ever work for a school of Iona’s size, and he hasn’t even coached a game yet.
We’re talking about a guy who won a national title at Louisville and Kentucky. We’re talking about a guy who was a dominant force in college basketball before Louisville showed him the exit.
Guys like that don’t coach at schools like Iona. They just don’t. They coach the blue bloods. However, Pitino’s downfall from the Cardinals made him pretty much un-hirable for a major team.
He clearly still wants to coach, and Iona is giving him that opportunity. If you’re not excited to see how this plays out, then you’re not a real basketball fan.
I never thought I’d say that I’m interested in Iona basketball, but here we are. They just became a major team to watch next season.
Win or lose, Pitino’s return to college basketball is going to be incredible.