Kevin Keatts fired: 5 NC State basketball head coach candidates
Richard Pitino
Pitino will likely be in the mix for multiple high-major vacancies during this cycle. Pitino, the son of St. John鈥檚 head coach Rick Pitino, has some familiarity with the ACC as he was an assistant on his father鈥檚 staff at Louisville, where he coached briefly alongside Keatts. Richard also spent time as an assistant at Florida before becoming a first-time head coach at FIU in 2012. He spent the following eight seasons at Minnesota, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice while also winning an NIT title. Across four years at New Mexico, the 42-year-old has gone 86-47 and has the Lobos on the precipice of back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances after winning a regular-season Mountain West title. With his recent success and experience at a young age, Richard could be a nice hire who excels in his second stint at a high-major program.
