Help building the largest human-edited directory of the web Suggest URL - Open Directory Project - Become an editor

directopedia.org uses links and structure from dmoz Open Directory Project.
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.

Rick Pitino (born September 18, 1952 in New York City) is a highly successful and noted basketball coach with experience both at the professional and collegiate levels. He is currently head coach at the University of Louisville. Previous coaching assignments include Boston University, Providence College, and the University of Kentucky, all part of the NCAA. As a collegiate head coach Pitino has compiled a 449-159 record, a .738 winning percentage that is ranked eighth among active coaches and 27th all-time among all collegiate basketball coaches entering the 2005-06 season. Pitino coached both the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics of the NBA. Pitino started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii in 1974, and became a full-time assistant in 1975 and 1976.

His 1987 Providence team advanced as far as the Final Four in that year's post season tournament. That team was lead by point guard Billy Donovan, (now a prominent college coach in his own right). In 1989, he left for the University of Kentucky, which was then reeling from a major recruiting scandal. In 1992, he brought the Wildcats to the brink of the Final Four, losing to Duke in an overtime classic often regarded as "the greatest college basketball game ever." He would bring his University of Kentucky team to the Final Four the following year, and win a national title in 1996. Pitino's 1997 University of Kentucky team would lose to the Arizona in overtime in the NCAA finals.

He is the author of a motivational self-help book (and audio recording) named Success is a Choice. He published an autobiography in 1988 entitled Born to Coach describing his life up until his time with the Knicks.

Pitino, a native of New York City, was captain of the Dominic High School basketball team in Oyster Bay, Long Island. He enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1970, where he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was a standout guard and captain of the UMass basketball team, and an inductee into the UMass Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Pitino's University of Louisville team posted a tie for the most single season wins in school history (33), and became the first coach in NCAA history to lead three separate schools (Providence College, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville) to the Final Four.

Pitino's 0.756 winning percentage in 41 NCAA Tournament games is third best among active coaches.

External links

• Official Website
• Rick Pitino's bio at Official Collegiate Sports Network
• UofL Men's Basketball website

Preceded by: Eddie Sutton	University of Kentucky Head Basketball Coach 1989–1997	Succeeded by: Tubby Smith
Preceded by: Denny Crum	University of Louisville Head Basketball Coach 2001–present	Succeeded by: (current)

This article is based on the article "Rick Pitino" from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Here you find the list of authors of this article. The article can only edited within Wikipedia. Edit this article in Wikipedia.