There shall be a father and son within the Huge East, and so they’re each named Pitino!
Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s head coach and Corridor of Famer Rick Pitino, is leaving New Mexico to take the identical place at Xavier, sources confirmed to Fox Sports activities on Tuesday evening.
After the 42-year-old took New Mexico to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, beating Marquette this 12 months within the first spherical after a 26-7 common season, Pitino elevated his inventory considerably and was within the combine for each the Villanova and Xavier positions.
Musketeers athletic director Greg Christopher was enamored by the upside of Pitino, who tried the high-major route at Minnesota however was let go in 2021 after eight seasons on the job. Going to Albuquerque led Pitino to reignite his profession, going 88-49 over the past 4 seasons, profitable the Mountain West Event in 2024 and charging this system to a regular-season title this 12 months.
This transfer solely provides to the household ambiance and custom of the Huge East. The truth that we’ll see a minimum of two (and maybe three) showdowns between Rick and Richard Pitino is phenomenal for the league and its storylines. Father has outdone son of their 4 conferences, with Rick proudly owning a 3-1 document, together with St. John’s beating the Lobos this previous November.
However Richard was nicely in place for a high-major job on this cycle. After Villanova didn’t prolong a proposal to him regardless of being very a lot within the combine – with Maryland’s Kevin Willard and a thriller candidate on the market for the Wildcats – Christopher prolonged the provide to Pitino. And now he is heading to the state of Ohio to take over a Xavier program that has been a staple within the NCAA Event the vast majority of the final 20 years.
John Fanta is a nationwide school basketball broadcaster and author for FOX Sports activities. He covers the game in a wide range of capacities, from calling video games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Community to offering commentary on The Area of 68 Media Community. Comply with him at @John_Fanta.
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