Coach Rick Pitino prepared for Iona Gaels long-term success
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Rick Pitino is widely recognized as the former Louisville Cardinals men鈥檚 basketball head coach from 2001-2017.
Despite the trials he鈥檚 overcome in recent years, Pitino has groomed the Iona Gaels men鈥檚 basketball roster into a 鈥渂elieve team鈥� with hopes of winning an NCAA championship.
March Madness is widely known for upsets with moderately skilled teams defeating favorites who are expected to advance to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four or National Championship.
With the 2021-22 season set to tip off in November, Pitino plans to push his team in his second season. Last season, the Gaels went 12-6 overall in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after recovering from a 12-17 record under Tra Arnold the year prior.
In March, the Gaels were defeated by the Alabama Crimson Tide 68-55 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good first step toward building a culture, a winning culture, to play against the Alabamas of the world,鈥�
Alabama will meet Iona on Nov. 25 this season, which will be a chance for Pitino to execute defense and revisit past mistakes from their NCAA Tournament loss.
Pitino helped lead the Gaels to a fifth straight conference championship and the ceiling is high if their team is capable of remaining healthy this season.
In 2013, Pitino faced a vicious Michigan team led by Trey Burke in the NCAA championship game. The Cardinals defeated the Wolverines in an 82-76 victory, capturing their third national championship. History always repeats itself and if Pitino could find himself on the right side, this will add to his trophy case as one of the all-time greats.
Born in New York, Pitino鈥檚 knowledge of the game from the 鈥淢ecca鈥� blossomed into playing the game of basketball at St. Dominic High School. As a point guard, Pitino’s game was predicated on pass-first as opposed to becoming a traditional scorer.
In July, Pitino spoke on his first season under Iona鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball program during COVID-19. Although it was an unexpected year of uncertainty, Pitino knows what it means to punch his ticket to the big stage.
鈥淎nytime you make the NCAA Tournament, it’s a success, but I wouldn’t call it a measuring stick for us,” . “We only played 13 games, and we had the most days out in the country with COVID-19. How much better could we have gotten? I’m not sure, but certainly we were quite limited in terms of practice and how many games we played. Coming out of our last COVID-19 pause, four games in five nights, I would say that was a huge success.”
Pitino is not only one of the few head coaches to coach at every professional level (NBA, NCAA, Euroleague), he’s a member of the Basketball Naismith Hall of Fame.
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