Pitino and Iona

[quote="IDRAFT" post=382135]I start this by mentioning that I was one who liked the idea of SJU hiring Pitino, and it sure seems like the money could have worked. But they didn't do it, so that is that. Anderson has been a breath of very fresh air for the program, so I don't see why it is worth lamenting what did not occur. SJU also didn't hire Paul Hewitt. He was actually interviewed! Going with Mike Anderson over Pitino is not a call I can complain about, all things considered.

I also don't think success for Iona has to correlate to any problems for SJU. When Iona had major success with Valvano, SJU also had excellent teams. It's not like NYC can't handle two (or more) successful college basketball programs. You could argue the opposite, that more publicity for college basketball in NYC, period, is good for SJU. If both teams become Quad 1/2 worthy it becomes easy to schedule them as an MSG game every year and that is good for both teams bottom line. As a season ticket holder that sounds great to me.

As far as players, nobody, even Pitino, is allowed more than 13 scholarships at a time. Could SJU not lose a player here or there to Iona? The odds sure go up, but so what? You move on to the next player. If Anderson cannot turn around SJU (and I am optimistic he can) I don't see this hire by Iona as much of a factor.

The Big East is very much a major basketball conference and if SJU wants to ever stop playing Wednesday night BE tournament games they need to build a team that is as good as anything Iona can put together. No matter who the Iona coach is. I see this as a good thing for NYC basketball, and the MAAC, and not bad in any way for SJU.[/quote]

Excellent post IDRAFT
 
[quote="MCNPA" post=382089]Let’s not pretend his “greatness” on the sidelines wasn’t in a huge way augmented by his cheating. His UK and Louisville teams were all with purchased talent, lots of McD’s AA’s. Talent wins ball games and Pitino is one of the best cheaters of all time who got nabbed.
One needs to look at Panther’s comments as a guy who has been around nyc basketball for a long time. This master tactician was propped up for most of his coaching years on booster-bought top talent.[/quote]

Agree with most of your argument, but what contradicts it is what he did in his two years at Providence, his first big job. He inherited next to nothing and in two years, with only one blue chip player, Delray Brooks, he had Providence in the final four, after having routed SJU in the first round of the Big East Tournament. His ethics and his coaching ability are two separate issues. That said, I would not have wanted him at SJU.
 
Last edited:
[quote="dee" post=382157][quote="panther2" post=382093]Yes, it is true that a lot of schools probably pay players so Pitino is no better or worse that other coaches.

However, anyone who would have sex with a supposed friend and subordinate's wife on a table in a restaurant has absolutely no moral integrity and should not be placed in a position where he is a Role Model to young men.

I have absolutely no idea how any rational thinking person can defend Pitino's behavior in this instance. If he was your friend, and she was your wife, would you want him coaching your son???[/quote]

Even Jesus forgave prostitutes and sinners. I guess you are greater than god. You guys are hypocrites[/quote]



You have to admit fault and ask for forgiveness before you are granted forgiveness. Pitino has never done that. And even at that, you have to atone. Show me where Pitino has done any of the aforementioned? Putting all of that aside, the guy is not someone I would want coaching my kid. CMA most definitely is. I guess to each his own.
 
[quote="Las Vegan" post=382177][quote="MCNPA" post=382089]Let’s not pretend his “greatness” on the sidelines wasn’t in a huge way augmented by his cheating. His UK and Louisville teams were all with purchased talent, lots of McD’s AA’s. Talent wins ball games and Pitino is one of the best cheaters of all time who got nabbed.
One needs to look at Panther’s comments as a guy who has been around nyc basketball for a long time. This master tactician was propped up for most of his coaching years on booster-bought top talent.[/quote]

Agree with most of your argument, but what contradicts it is what he did in his two years at Providence, his first big job. He inherited next to nothing and in two years, with only one blue chip player, Delray Brooks, he had Providence in the final four, after having routed SJU in the first round of the Big East Tournament. His ethics and his coaching ability are two separate issues. That said, I would not have wanted him at SJU.[/quote]

I never said he wasn’t a good coach and skilled tactician but don’t tell me he wasn’t cheating at UK in the 90’s and all of a sudden at Louisville he started. Good coach, crooked as hell.
 
[quote="dee" post=382157][quote="panther2" post=382093]Yes, it is true that a lot of schools probably pay players so Pitino is no better or worse that other coaches.

However, anyone who would have sex with a supposed friend and subordinate's wife on a table in a restaurant has absolutely no moral integrity and should not be placed in a position where he is a Role Model to young men.

I have absolutely no idea how any rational thinking person can defend Pitino's behavior in this instance. If he was your friend, and she was your wife, would you want him coaching your son???[/quote]

Even Jesus forgave prostitutes and sinners. I guess you are greater than god. You guys are hypocrites[/quote]

Jesus never forgave a shady basketball coach with deep dark clouds following him everywhere he went, further it’s troublesome how often Rick
Pitino has jumped from
One program to another.
Now he regrets
Leaving Providence. His true love is Iona. So he can be faithful to his family. Yeah right. How long before - if successful - he departs Iona for his next ideal job.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Pitino will be celebrating his new job with a dinner and dessert at an Italian restaurant

And one at which he knows the owner so he can stay after closing, and have his new Iona assistant act as a Lookout.

Holy Cross made the right decision here IMHO.
 
Whether its politics, business, law, sports, individuals filing tax returns or people taking exams cheating is deeply embedded in our culture. It seems everyone is looking for an edge. Getting caught seems to be viewed as the crime, instead of the actual crime itself.

That said integrity definitely does matter and as much as I personally want SJU to win, there is still tremendous value in how they go about doing that. During our successful Mike Jarvis runs nobody was really questioning how and why we were successful. However in retrospect it seems clear that he did significant damage to the program that took many years to fully recover from.

No one doubts that Rick Pitino can flat out coach. He is clearly one of the best! However St. John's is also a teaching institution. It has higher values and principles that are core to its mission, that supersedes a win at any cost mentality.

Coach Mike Anderson has proven for years to be an excellent basketball coach, but more important than that he conducts himself in a manner that will make the university proud and is truly a great leader of young men.
 
Last edited:
[quote="MCNPA" post=382183][quote="Las Vegan" post=382177][quote="MCNPA" post=382089]Let’s not pretend his “greatness” on the sidelines wasn’t in a huge way augmented by his cheating. His UK and Louisville teams were all with purchased talent, lots of McD’s AA’s. Talent wins ball games and Pitino is one of the best cheaters of all time who got nabbed.
One needs to look at Panther’s comments as a guy who has been around nyc basketball for a long time. This master tactician was propped up for most of his coaching years on booster-bought top talent.[/quote]

Agree with most of your argument, but what contradicts it is what he did in his two years at Providence, his first big job. He inherited next to nothing and in two years, with only one blue chip player, Delray Brooks, he had Providence in the final four, after having routed SJU in the first round of the Big East Tournament. His ethics and his coaching ability are two separate issues. That said, I would not have wanted him at SJU.[/quote]

I never said he wasn’t a good coach and skilled tactician but don’t tell me he wasn’t cheating at UK in the 90’s and all of a sudden at Louisville he started. Good coach, crooked as hell.[/quote]

You said his greatness was in part due to his cheating. At UK and Louisville, I agree, but he was great at Providence, without cheating. Malik Sealy was impressed enough that he intended to enroll at Providence, but switched to SJU, only after Pitino left for the NBA.
 
The adult entertainment industry is all for this hire. Just in case you were wondering, they don't follow the 'no contact' period for recruiting. Pitino specialty.
 
I am very happy with coach Anderson, and the NYP article says he wanted to go back to Providence, or Holy Cross but picked Iona, another "small" Catholic school. (SJU is maybe the largest Catholic school you can find.) Amazing a guy with his background wanted a Catholic school. This was all about the rich booster (LaPerna) hitting the motherlode for a small school and landing a deeply tarnished coach. I am not even sure he will match Cluess's enormous success there.

Good luck, Rick, getting an apology from the Southern District of NY.

I agree with all those who have stated this is not going to change things for us one way or the other.
 
The panic on this board is corona-like. He is absolutely a great coach (and I would have taken him warts and all last year...guess that’s shame on me)...but the thought that he elevates Iona to the levels projected by some on this board is ludicrous IMO. Will they win the MAAC year in/year out? Highly probable. But, I don’t see 4 and 5 star recruits lining up to play 20 games against the likes of Quinnipiac and Niagara.
 
[quote="bamafan" post=382127][quote="MCNPA" post=382089]Let’s not pretend his “greatness” on the sidelines wasn’t in a huge way augmented by his cheating. His UK and Louisville teams were all with purchased talent, lots of McD’s AA’s. Talent wins ball games and Pitino is one of the best cheaters of all time who got nabbed.
One needs to look at Panther’s comments as a guy who has been around nyc basketball for a long time. This master tactician was propped up for most of his coaching years on booster-bought top talent.[/quote]
Actually this is somewhat of a misconception as RP is more known for doing more with less than most blue blood program ala Bob Knight at Indiana.[/quote]
Unrelated to merits or justification associated with his hiring...But, agree...think what he did w/Kentucky when they were on probation was a great job...even his few years w/Knicks when it was Ewing and Jackson
 
Last edited:
[quote="fordham96" post=382072][quote="Class of 72" post=382070][quote="dee" post=382065][quote="MarkRedman" post=381981][quote="panther2" post=381980][quote="Paultzman" post=381943]Zach B
Rick Pitino: "My biggest regret in coaching was leaving Providence College. They were two magical years in my life. It was a small Catholic school with a small gym I loved so much. I'm going back to a similar situation. I know I'll love it equally the same." #icmbb

Can’t wait to see the white suit in Atlantic City for MAAC Tourney[/quote]


Anyone who believes this Bullshit is crazy. His biggest regret is getting busted for cheating, on his wife and paying off kids. If you believe the DOB was paying for the strippers, shame on you.

Glad that St. Johns did not hire him. If Iona wants to prostitute themselves in order to win, that's on them. All the thirsty handlers in NYC will be looking for a PayDay courtesy of Slick Rick.[/quote]

I can't believe that a Catholic school hired Slick Rick[/quote]
If he wins and fills the arena no one will care. Iona made a smart move. We are the dumb bells[/quote]

That is a funny statement. His team will play in the MAAC which is a small regional conference so it won't be very difficult for a skilled coach like him to win there. It's not like Fred Hoiberg returning to coach Nebraska in the Big 10. BTW, that return literally made him sick.
As far as filling the arena, filling the 2,600 seat Hynes Center was easy under coach Cluess so he better fill the arena.
The bottom line is that he will be successful at Iona because of the level of play but I expect that he will continue his dirty recruiting tactics on a smaller scale because of the newer lax transfer rules. Yes, he is a great basketball tactician but comparing him to coach K or coach B is not the same because those legends coach at elite basketball schools with a huge national following. Iona is, and will always be, small time in comparison. He will.be coaching his first game at Iona at age 68 while we have a younger and more ethical coach that will eventually attract the players we need to succeed without paying off handlers.[/quote]

This idea that he is successful because he is dirty is nonsense. He did not win at Providence and do one of the great turnarounds in history at Kentucky because he cheats. He is not a good coach he is a ALL TIME great coach. The idea that he would cheat to outcoach Sha Holloway or Steve Massielo is nonsense. There is not a coach in that league who can hold a candle to him on the sidelines or in a huddle ever.[/quote]

No one is saying he's not a good coach. He dumped Providence for greener pastures because he's a self-centered immoral human being who used every underhanded trick to recruit players at schools like Kentucky and Louisville where recruiting is not too difficult given their vast resources. While you admire his coaching record some folks look at the public infidelities and use of surrogates to entice and seduce teenagers while he plays the Godfather role where he thinks nothing comes back to him.
Let him enjoy his bus trips to Jersey City and Fairfield and the Bronx but he may be taking the same route to mediocrity that Rollie Massimino took. I think there's more to this Iona deal than meets the eye.
 
[quote="fordham96" post=382131]Ag as in if you want to make case Pitino had too much baggage ultimately to come to SJU fine.

But don't for a second diminish his coaching abilities or accomplishments with nonsense arguments he bought players.[/quote]

We know that he actually did buy players. That’s why Louisville fired him. Why is this difficult?
 
Here's my take:

Iona College is an irrelevant school playing in a relatively weak conference.

Iona made itself temporarily relevant by hiring Mr. Pitino.

For Pitino Iona is rehab. He will be at Iona just 2 or 3 seasons; just long enough to rehabilitate his reputation before moving along to a bigger named school.

Because the MAAC is relatively week it won't be hard for him to own the MAAC by grabbing grad transfers and a handful of 3*s and perhaps a 4* or two.

The fleeting relevance which Iona is experiencing will be similar to the "sugar rush" which UMass experienced with John Calipari.

Given the choice between Pitino and Coach Mike Anderson I take CMA.
 
Last edited:
[quote="BrooklynRed" post=382163]This Iona opportunity has opened the door for one of the all time coaches to get back into the game. I see this as a mere short term stop in travels with Pitino. Quick success will lead to quick departure as some big time school will now fell free to hire him as booster bucks demand success. Iona could never pay him the $5M one of the Big 5 will offer--UCLA is probably drawing up the contract now.[/quote]

St John's should be working on a contract now.
 
[quote="Sherman, Sheridan & Grant" post=382185][quote="dee" post=382157][quote="panther2" post=382093]Yes, it is true that a lot of schools probably pay players so Pitino is no better or worse that other coaches.

However, anyone who would have sex with a supposed friend and subordinate's wife on a table in a restaurant has absolutely no moral integrity and should not be placed in a position where he is a Role Model to young men.

I have absolutely no idea how any rational thinking person can defend Pitino's behavior in this instance. If he was your friend, and she was your wife, would you want him coaching your son???[/quote]

Even Jesus forgave prostitutes and sinners. I guess you are greater than god. You guys are hypocrites[/quote]

Jesus never forgave a shady basketball coach with deep dark clouds following him everywhere he went, further it’s troublesome how often Rick
Pitino has jumped from
One program to another.
Now he regrets
Leaving Providence. His true love is Iona. So he can be faithful to his family. Yeah right. How long before - if successful - he departs Iona for his next ideal job.[/quote]

Yes and I'm hoping his next stop is st johns
 
[quote="dee" post=382207][quote="BrooklynRed" post=382163]This Iona opportunity has opened the door for one of the all time coaches to get back into the game. I see this as a mere short term stop in travels with Pitino. Quick success will lead to quick departure as some big time school will now fell free to hire him as booster bucks demand success. Iona could never pay him the $5M one of the Big 5 will offer--UCLA is probably drawing up the contract now.[/quote]

St John's should be working on a contract now.[/quote]

You should go troll the Iona boards. Get lost.
 
[quote="BrookJersey Redmen" post=382193]I am very happy with coach Anderson, and the NYP article says he wanted to go back to Providence, or Holy Cross but picked Iona, another "small" Catholic school. (SJU is maybe the largest Catholic school you can find.) Amazing a guy with his background wanted a Catholic school. This was all about the rich booster (LaPerna) hitting the motherlode for a small school and landing a deeply tarnished coach. I am not even sure he will match Cluess's enormous success there.

Good luck, Rick, getting an apology from the Southern District of NY.

I agree with all those who have stated this is not going to change things for us one way or the other.[/quote]

Forgot all about his demand for an apology from the So. District. Not only his he highly immoral, he’s also highly delusional.
 
[quote="BrooklynRed" post=382163]This Iona opportunity has opened the door for one of the all time coaches to get back into the game. I see this as a mere short term stop in travels with Pitino. Quick success will lead to quick departure as some big time school will now fell free to hire him as booster bucks demand success. Iona could never pay him the $5M one of the Big 5 will offer--UCLA is probably drawing up the contract now.[/quote]

UCLA didn’t even give him a sniff last year when they had a vacancy and he made it known he was available. Now, things can always change once he has a few years under his belt at Iona, but it they wanted him that badly he would already be coaching at UCLA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top