Rick Pitino made his long-awaited return to the University of Kentucky over the weekend and received a hero’s welcome. He does not foresee a similar reunion with the University of Louisville.
The legendary college basketball coach does not think the Cardinals will ever accept him back.
Pitino is currently the head coach at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. It is the final stop of his well-decorated and controversial career. He will not coach another team after the Red Storm.
Even though Pitino is actively employed with a member of the Big East Conference, the 72-year-old has been very vocal in support of Kentucky over the last few months after his former player, Mark Stoops, was named as the replacement for John Calipari. In fact, he pledged a large sum of money to the Wildcats’ NIL fund in support of the team’s new head coach and “cut a check” to the football program to ensure it never loses to its in-state rival.
Pitino coached at Kentucky from 1989 to 1997. The Boston Celtics hired him later that year and ultimately cut him loose in 2001. At that point, he went and coached 17 years at Louisville.