2024-10-12 - KSR Pregame - Rick Pitino

00:00:00
Speaker 1: All right back here on the KSR pregame show, and something I don't know that I ever thought would happen, joining us Rick Patino, Rick.

00:00:07
Speaker 2: How are you?

00:00:09
Speaker 3: I'm great. It's I'm going to visit my house tonight where I live.

00:00:15
Speaker 2: Matthew Mitchell still live there, Yes.

00:00:16
Speaker 3: He does, and he was nice enough to invite me over and my kids. We built the house. Bill Wanna built the house and my kids were just young then. Now one's forty five, so time is best.

00:00:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a tough age.

00:00:30
Speaker 1: What was it like last night with the ovation and being back and rop and the you know, adelation you got from the fan.

00:00:39
Speaker 3: You know, I came within inches of crying my eyes out. It was really very emotional for me because I was backstage in the back with all my players and that was great to see them, even Todd Sobota who's gone through a very difficult time and and then seeing all the guys was very very emotional for me, and then walking out became more emotional.

00:01:03
Speaker 2: Was there a hesitation?

00:01:05
Speaker 1: Did you worry about what the reaction would be or did you feel like it would be positive?

00:01:09
Speaker 3: You know, I didn't know I was going to speak. I didn't obviously know I was going to get that type of ovation, but it was one of the better nights of my life. So it was really it really touched me.

00:01:20
Speaker 1: So let me ask you about I mean, you love this place and then you know you end up going to Louisville, et cetera during that period of time. Did you think I'll be able to go back there?

00:01:32
Speaker 3: I was hoping, you know, hoping. Obviously didn't end well for me at the other place, and and I wanted to come back to this place because I had I never had a bad day here, you know, never had Everybody has a bad, bad month, bad year with a job, but I didn't have both providence in Kentucky, I never had a bad day. And that's that's interesting when you're a coach, not to have a bad day, bad week, bad month.

00:01:59
Speaker 1: But it's now to be in the I mean, you're in a rivalry and you're at Louisville. I've always thought it's got to be hard to be at Louisville and like Kentucky, or be at Kentucky and like Louisville. How did you find yourself balancing that?

00:02:13
Speaker 3: You know, it's sort of like the Mets and Yankees. Now, Okay, So although Louisville, Kentucky's a lot different, I'm rooting for the Mets. I am a die hard Yankee fan. Grew up worshiping Mickey Mantle. Names that are a lot older than you, obviously, but man oal Maris, Howard Barraw, they were my idols growing up as a kid. But I root for the Mets. So it's different with Kentucky. Though. Kentucky is different than any job I've ever had because you it's special. Yeah, it really is a special place. You get very emotional when you. I told the kids downstairs and said, you're not going to realize it now because you haven't grown up in Kentucky, not all of you. But someday you're going to come back here and you're going to realize what it meant to put on that uniform.

00:02:57
Speaker 1: What's it like in twenty twelve, in the Final four, in twenty fourteen in Indianapolis and the Sweet sixteen?

00:03:04
Speaker 2: What's that locker room? Right?

00:03:05
Speaker 1: Because you can't kind of put it like you're both trying to reach that goal. Well, you mean, and when you play in Kentucky those two times.

00:03:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, they it was a good game, very good game, and I was proud of our guys. We missed a mid range jump shot which would have made a.

00:03:20
Speaker 2: Very close remember that shot.

00:03:21
Speaker 3: But they had Kyle Currick I think took the show.

00:03:24
Speaker 2: But they had a great team.

00:03:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, great team, and certainly just to make the final four was awesome buff of the state of Kentucky to play each other and have this type of you know, we're a small state and you had two teams in the final four.

00:03:38
Speaker 1: So tell me about Pope reaching I assume he said, coach, I want you here. And I actually believe the video you made that morning the day he was hired actually was a big part of the fan base getting behind this. What made you feel like this was the time to kind of re engage with this.

00:03:57
Speaker 3: Well, because Mark is is my captain of a champiship team, so it was the time for me to come back because he's the coach and he's a special guy. I went to visit him at Utah Valley State when I was out of work, and I never knew these two guys would be great coaches. One was Billy Donovan and the second was Mark Pope. Because Mark was a Rhodes Scholar candidate learning to become a doctor. Billy Donovan was a shy, humble kid. Both had the same qualities. It was never about them, it was always about what they represented. They didn't have egos. I call egos, you know, edging greatness out. If you have confidence, that's great, but egos not great. And both Billy and Mark had the same quality of humility, selflessness. And I knew after watching market Utah Valley State practice he was going to be a great one. He's a great offensive coach. He knows how important defense is. And I thought he was the perfect choice. And that's why I did the video. I not on Twitter, although I tweet. My son tweets it out. My son tweets out my.

00:04:59
Speaker 1: You don't sit there with the your phone and type it with your thumbs.

00:05:01
Speaker 2: Okay, I don't know how to do it.

00:05:02
Speaker 3: He tweets out what I want to say, okay, And I don't have to read the bad things.

00:05:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't want to do that. I do.

00:05:09
Speaker 3: So I did the video because he was telling me that a lot of people are really against Mack Popey and coach did want the bail I got to want. I said, no, man, he's the perfect guy and I did that video just to help the Kentucky fans understand this is the perfect guy.

00:05:26
Speaker 1: But and I think it worked. But then I also thought think it brought back for a lot of Kentucky fans the warmness they had for when they were younger and you were the coach when you were at Louisville. Obviously Kentucky fans and media probably myself included not probably, yes, we're hard on you. Do you did you find yourself holding any bitterness? I mean, I think it would be natural if you did.

00:05:53
Speaker 3: No. I guess what you don't understand, Matt, is this. I was at a low point in my basketball life. It was the first time I failed with Boston Celtics, first time I failed, and all I wanted to do was get back to this place. Not thinking Louisville, Kentucky, but just thinking I had such great memories of working here. I just want to get back to the state where I had so many friends. I said it at my Hall of Fame speech. If friendships in life could be the rallying point for someone self esteem and so on, then for me, I'd be doing Warren Buffett of friendships because I made so many great friends here. It lifted my spirits up so much to come back. But I took the Michigan job.

00:06:39
Speaker 1: Oh, A lot of fans, myself included, said they wish you had taken it, because then it wouldn't have been a thing.

00:06:45
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:06:45
Speaker 3: So I'd signed with Michigan, and my wife said, look, you know Kentucky, you have all your friends there. You don't know Michigan. You know no one. You'll be happier. So with that in mind, I came back. Certainly had a lot of great years. I loved my players, the fans were great to me. But now it gave me a chance to put it all back together because I don't know if I'll get the opportunity.

00:07:11
Speaker 1: So when Kentucky fans were coming at you as the Louisville coach, that didn't hurt.

00:07:17
Speaker 3: It hurt, but I understood it. Okay, it hurt, but I understood it. I understand. When I went to Greece, the greatest rivalry I've ever seen in my lifetime was Pontataikos. I've heard Olympiacos. Yeah, one of my players was the best man at the wedding of somebody from Olympiacos, and Nick I had to meet that I've became the national coach. I had to meet them at twelve o'clock at night at the Starbucks because they couldn't be seen together. Oh like wrestling, So I understood it. But now it's behind me. I'm met Saint John's and it's great. It's behind me. I can appreciate all the memories.

00:07:52
Speaker 1: So you can do you do you now that you've had that moment? Do you think you'll come back here more often?

00:08:00
Speaker 3: Definitely? Because Rick ave On, my business partner and very very dear friend, and I have so many great friends here. Seeing the players was very emotional for me last night, very emotional.

00:08:14
Speaker 1: Just a couple quick things because they're telling me you gotta go, so let's go. Are you really a UK football don't?

00:08:19
Speaker 3: Oh?

00:08:20
Speaker 2: Oh?

00:08:20
Speaker 3: I gave well, I don't want to say what I gave. I didn't give a lot of money. They gave fifteen thousand dollars.

00:08:24
Speaker 2: That's pretty good. Yeah.

00:08:25
Speaker 3: And Mark Stoops came in and I was nice enough to come in. Eddie Gran's a good friend of mine. They came in to play golf with me. We played wingfoot, We had a great time. I love Mark Stoops, love Eddie I was just coming. I wasn't coming in for Big Blue Madness. I didn't think I could make it because of the practice schedule, but I was able to change it to one o'clock, so I was able to make it. But originally I wasn't planning on So you are going to the game tonight. I am going to the game.

00:08:50
Speaker 2: I'm going in.

00:08:51
Speaker 3: I hope they're gonna win. I'm gonna be on the sidelines for a while. I'm a big Mark Stoops fan. What he's done with Kentucky football. They said couldn't be done, and he's done it. I watched the Old Miss game, was awesome. Even the Georgia game was awesome. And I hope they get tonight.

00:09:07
Speaker 1: Do you think you will have a series where you're playing and rup with Saint John.

00:09:11
Speaker 3: I want to play play Kentucky with trying to work it out. But Mark can't come back to Madison Square Garden the following year because of commitments. So but with trying to work it out, I would actually love I'm sure Mark wants to go to the Garden. I would love to play the game in author Esh Stadium in front the twenty three thousand.

00:09:29
Speaker 2: Oh dude, That would be amazing.

00:09:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, I can get that done, but it's up to Mark whether he would the players always want to play in Madison.

00:09:36
Speaker 1: That would actually be that would actually be really cool. Well, one thing I want to say to you before you go. We have a very good mutual friend in Paron Johnson, who played for you at Louisville, who helped set this up, and he has always said to me, you two guys would actually like each other after all of the things. And I think it is big of you to do this. I really mean that, and I appreciate it. I wish you luck and hopefully we can take a time where we can sit and have a longer form interview.

00:10:05
Speaker 3: That would be great. And I appreciate you having me and I love the Kentucky fans want I want to see the football team camp tonight and go home with a smile on my face.

00:10:14
Speaker 2: All right, Rick, Thanks, Thanks man.