Timing Perfect For Rick Pitino’s College Hoops Return

Almost three years ago to the day, Rick Pitino coached his final game at the University of Louisville. It took that long for the legendary (and disgraced) coach to get another Division-I job; on Saturday, it was reported that Pitino would be the next head coach of the Iona Gaels men’s basketball program. Pitino was axed in October of 2017 by Louisville amidst a corruption scandal that reached all corners of the sport.

Judging from history, it was just a matter of time before he got another job. The native New Yorker gets the best out of his teams, plus he’s likable and more marketable than 99 percent of the job market. Timing also played a role, I’m sure. Enough time had gone by since his ouster from Louisville and the likelihood for blowback was limited because there are other things to worry about (cough, cough, coronavirus, cough). Instead of backlash, it was a good story, a comeback tale from a guy everyone knows and, at some point, was fond of.

“We’ve had such a thorough interview process,” Iona director of athletics Matthew Glovaski told ESPN. “Rick’s values aligned with the goals and values for the college. He was the right leader at the right time in his life for this job.”

Tim Cluess was the coach at Iona previously but announced he’d be stepping down due to health concerns. Despite their KenPom ranking falling to №221 at the end of this past season, their lowest since 2007, Cluess led the Gaels to six NCAA Tournament appearances since 2012 and NIT bids in 2014 and 2015.

Even if the coronavirus wasn’t a thing right now and there was an NCAA Tournament on deck, Pitino and Iona would have probably linked up. Having said that, if that was the case, I would have expected a little different reaction. I’m happy for Rick Pitino, and it’s something others should be happy about, too. In a weird way, it signifies business as usual, even if that’s not the case whatsoever.