St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino is one of the most accomplished college basketball coaches ever. With two NCAA Division I Tournament championships and seven Final Fours under his belt, Pitino is regarded by many as head and shoulders above the rest of this year’s field.
New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino has made his own name for himself. The Lobos head coach picked up his second ever NCAA tournament victory Thursday against No. 7 Marquette, and picked up some hardware as coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, winning the 2014 NIT.
Are Richard Pitino and Rick Pitino Related?
Richard was born in 1982, one of Rick and Joanne Minardi Pitino’s six children. Richard attended St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, Massachusetts, while his dad was the head coach of the Boston Celtics.
In 2004, while Rick was at Louisville, Richard started his coaching career as an administrative assistant under Tom Herrion at the College of Charleston. Eventually, Richard was hired on to Rick’s staff with the Cardinals in Oct. 2007. With the two Pitino’s on staff, the Cardinals made two Elite Eight appearances.
Richard left Rick’s staff in 2009, returning in 2011 as associate head coach. The Cardinals made the Final Four before Richard again left to take the head coach position at FIU, replacing Isiah Thomas.
After leaving Louisville, Richard spent one year at FIU, leading the team to an 18-14 record and a fifth place finish in the Sun Belt Conference. The next year, he was hired on as head coach at Minnesota, where he immediately won the NIT Title. Minnesota made the NCAA tournament twice under his leadership, winning one tournament game in 2019.
KEEP READING: ‘Can’t Replace Them With High School Kids’ — Rick Pitino Makes His Feelings Clear About St. John Players
Richard was fired from Minnesota in 2021 after finishing the season 13th in the Big Ten. Less than 24 hours after his firing, he was hired as the 22nd head coach in New Mexico program history.
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