Rick Pitino is one of the greatest coaches in college basketball, and he is closing in on more NCAA history. Pitino has the chance to get the 900th win of his career against his own son, Richard Pitino, as St. John’s faces Xavier on Saturday.
The CBB on Fox Instagram page posted a video of Rick Pitino previewing the game on Monday, and the St. John’s coach said:
“I think he will do everything humanly possible to stop it. The amazing thing about it is that I really don’t think too much about number wins. But the amazing thing to me, when Kenny Klein told me about [900th win] four games ago. He said if you keeping winning, you could have your 900th win against your son. And I said what’s the chances of that happening that you coach 900 games, 50 years and your 900th win is against your son.”
He added, “So I think it’s a big treat for me and the family. Either way we know we’re going to have a difficult game against them because of their style of play. He [Richard] is doing a fabulous job. And so this is going to be a lot of fun. Great game. If we lose I’ll leave my team in Cincinnati.”
Rick Pitino started his illustrious coaching career in 1974. He started his journey in Hawaii and even coached in the NBA. He was the assistant coach and head coach for the New York Knicks, then went back to college basketball to coach Kentucky. In 1997, the Boston Celtics hired Pitino as their head coach.
His longest coaching stint came in Louisville, where he coached for 17 years from 2001 to 2017. He became the head coach of St. John’s in 2023 and has an impressive record of 65-23. Last season, Rick Pitino led St. John’s to a regular-season championship, conference tournament championship and the NCAA tournament.
In his 38 years of coaching, he has seven Final Four appearances and two national championships. He won the NCAA title in 1996 with Kentucky and in 2013 with Louisville.
However, one of the most impressive feats in his career has been his overall win percentage, which currently stands at .740. Per Sports-Reference, that win percentage is inside the top 30 all-time in terms of top men’s major college basketball coaches.
Fans react to Rick Pitino chasing 900th win vs his son
Fans showed excitement to see a father-son battle for NCAA history on Saturday.
“Awh, so special, what a great week for sports..,” one fan said.
“Like father like son!” Another fan showed excitement.
“St. Dom’s magic! It’s real!” Another commented.
“The NCAA should give him back 150 of those wins,” another joked.
“The absolute GOAT 🐐!!! Nobody does it better. Good luck Coach Pitino!!!” One fan said.
Pitino’s Red Storm are 14-5 (7-1 Big East) on the season will come into the game against Xavier looking for their sixth straight win.
Read more:
Amid John Calipari’s Rants, Helpless Matt Painter Sends an Appeal to NCAA About NIL Rules
Can NBA Players Still Play in College? NCAA Statement Provides Insight
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
