Iona Hires Rick Pitino as Its New Coach

Pitino, 67, has a 770-271 record in college and became the first coach to take three different programs to the Final Four. He won national championships at Louisville (2013) and Kentucky (1996) and also went to the Final Four with Providence in 1987.

Pitino twice coached in the N.B.A., with the New York Knicks (1987-89) and the Boston Celtics (1997-2001), where he was also team president.

Last June, Pitino coached Panathinaikos to the championship in the Greek League.

Pitino still planned to coach the Greek national team in the Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled for June, he told The New York Times in a text message. “I’m honoring all my commitments in Greece,” he said.

Iona President Seamus Carey said, “after a thorough interview process we are confident that Rick’s experience and commitment to Iona and our community make him the right person to continue to build on Tim Cluess’ success.”

Pitino’s return to college basketball comes nearly six months after he and Louisville settled lawsuits stemming from his departure in 2017 in the wake of a federal investigation of corruption in college basketball.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/sports/ncaabasketball/rick-pitino-hired-iona.html