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Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | New Mexico |
Conference | Mountain West |
Record | 61–41 (.598) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | September 16, 1982
Alma mater | Providence ('05) |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
2004–2005 | Charleston (assistant) |
2005–2006 | Northeastern (assistant) |
2006–2007 | Duquesne (assistant) |
2007–2009 | Louisville (assistant) |
2009–2011 | Florida (assistant) |
2011–2012 | Louisville (associate HC) |
2012–2013 | FIU |
2013–2021 | Minnesota |
2021–present | New Mexico |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 221–175 (.558) |
Tournaments | 1–3 (NCAA Division I) 5–1 (NIT) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
NIT (2014) MWC tournament (2024) | |
Awards | |
Big Ten Coach of the Year (2017) | |
Richard William Pitino (born September 16, 1982) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the University of New Mexico men's basketball team, [1] From 2013 to 2021, he was head coach of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team.
Pitino is the son of St. John's University men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino. After attending St. Sebastian's School in Needham, Massachusetts, Richard Pitino earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history at Providence College in 2005. During his time at Providence, Pitino was the manager for the Friars men's basketball team under Tim Welsh. For two years, he also served as an assistant basketball coach for St. Andrew's School in nearby Barrington, Rhode Island.
In 2004–2005, he worked as an administrative assistant under Tom Herrion at the College of Charleston. In 2005, he was hired by coach Ron Everhart to serve as assistant coach at Northeastern University and followed Everhart to Duquesne University the following year. He was hired on at Louisville in October. [2] In his first stint with the Cardinals, he helped them advance to back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances.
He left the University of Louisville and accepted a position to work under Billy Donovan at the University of Florida on April 17, 2009. [3] During his time at Florida, they advanced to two NCAA tournaments including one Elite Eight appearance in 2010.
He left Florida on April 12, 2011, to become the associate head coach at Louisville. In his second stint at the school he helped the Cardinals advance to the NCAA Final Four and finish with a 30–10 overall record.
Pitino left his position as the associate head coach at Louisville to become the head coach at FIU on April 15, 2012, replacing Isiah Thomas. [4] With only six players remaining from the previous season, and not all of them on scholarship, Pitino cobbled together a team and coached a high-pressure defense that finished eighth in the nation in steals. He was able to compile an 18–14 record (11–9 in the Sun Belt conference) in his first season as head coach. This was FIU's first winning season since 1999–2000 and most wins overall since 1997–98. His FIU team also had the best conference record in school history. Additionally, FIU reached the Sun Belt Tournament Title game as a four seed, before falling to Western Kentucky in the tournament championship game, 65–63.
On April 3, 2013, despite having only one year of head coaching experience at FIU, Pitino was hired to become the 17th head coach in University of Minnesota history, [5] replacing Tubby Smith.
On April 1, 2014, in Pitino's first season at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers defeated Florida State University 67–64 in overtime in the NIT semifinals, breaking a school record with its 24th win of the season. [6] On April 3, 2014, exactly one year to the date he was hired, Pitino won his first NIT Championship by defeating coach Larry Brown's SMU team 65–63, securing a school record 25th win. [7] The win was the Gophers first NIT championship since 1998 - although that was vacated in 1999 - and their first "official" NIT title since 1993.
Following a historically bad third-year at Minnesota, Coach Pitino orchestrated an impressive turnaround by improving the team's record by 16 wins, utilizing a revamped roster that included five new contributors. The turnaround helped earn Richard Pitino the Big Ten Coach of the Year award on March 6, 2017. [8] This was just the second Big Ten coach of the year award in Minnesota school history, and Minnesota's first since 1982. That season Pitino guided the Gophers to an 11–7 record in the Big Ten, which was Minnesota's most wins in conference in 20 years.
On March 21, 2019, in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, No. 10 Minnesota faced No. 7 seed Louisville, a school he previously helped coach and a program which his father Rick had been head coach of for 16 years. Minnesota defeated the Cardinals 86–76 to move on to the Round of 32. In the Round of 32, the Gophers lost 70–50 to 2nd-seeded Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team then led by Cassius Winston, who went on to a Final Four appearance after a 68–67 win over the 1st overall seeded Zion Williamson-led Duke team, which notably also consisted of Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett.
Pitino was fired as head coach after his eighth season by athletic director Mark Coyle, on March 15, 2021, after finishing the season 14–15, 6–14 in the conference. Minnesota was the only Big Ten team to be winless on the road, going 0–10 in the regular season. [9]
On March 17, 2021, less than 24 hours after he was fired by Minnesota, Pitino became the 22nd head coach in University of New Mexico program history. Coach Pitino immediately found success in recruiting by attacking the newly invigorated transfer portal. Coach Pitino brought future All-Mountain West performers Jaelen House (Arizona State) and Jamal Mashburn Jr (Minnesota) to Albuquerque as foundational pieces for the program. Under Pitino, UNM brought nine new incoming recruits to Albuquerque in hopes to improve upon a 6–16 record left by the coaching regime the previous year. UNM finished the year at 13–19 and 5–12 in conference play, however, UNM was highly competitive in majority of their games and even beat AP Poll ranked Wyoming Cowboys as Pitino's first signature win in the Duke City.
New Mexico raced out to a 14–0 start with signature wins vs St. Mary's, Iona (coached by Pitino's father, legendary Rick Pitino), and Oral Roberts, all NCAA Tournament teams. The Lobos had three all league performers in Mashburn, House and Newcomer Morris Udeze (Wichita St Transfer). Pitino also had promising freshman Donovan Dent coming off the bench for key minutes throughout the year. The Lobos beat National Runner Up San Diego St on the road and also defeated NCAA tournament team Boise St during conference play. UNM finished the season losing seven of their last nine conference games and finished with a 22–12 overall record and a 8–10 conference record and an NIT appearance.
In Pitino's third year, the Lobos reached new heights as a program. New Mexico had a NET Ranking of 22 by the end of the regular season and the Lobos accomplished the remarkable feat of winning four games in four days to win the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, thus leading a return to the NCAA Tournament after a ten year absence. New Mexico had five players on the team voted by media and coaches to receive All-Mountain West honors (Donovan Dent, JT Toppin and Jaelen House received 2nd Team MW honors; Mashburn Jr 3rd team honors; Mustapha Amzil Co-6th man of the year and Toppin Co-Freshman of the year). The Lobos finished 26-10 and suffered a loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament to an athletic Clemson Tiger team out of the ACC. Richard Pitino proved to be a program builder and officially resurrected the once proud New Mexico Lobos basketball team.
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIU Panthers (Sun Belt Conference)(2012–2013) | |||||||||
2012–13 | FIU | 18–14 | 11–9 | 5th (East) | |||||
FIU: | 18–14 (.563) | 11–9 (.550) | |||||||
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference)(2013–2021) | |||||||||
2013–14 | Minnesota | 25–13 | 8–10 | 7th | NIT Champion | ||||
2014–15 | Minnesota | 18–15 | 6–12 | T–10th | |||||
2015–16 | Minnesota | 8–23 | 2–16 | 13th | |||||
2016–17 | Minnesota | 24–10 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2017–18 | Minnesota | 15–17 | 4–14 | T–11th | |||||
2018–19 | Minnesota | 22–14 | 9–11 | 7th | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2019–20 | Minnesota | 15–16 | 8–12 | 12th | |||||
2020–21 | Minnesota | 14–15 | 6–14 | 13th | |||||
Minnesota: | 141–123 (.534) | 54–96 (.360) | |||||||
New Mexico Lobos (Mountain West Conference)(2021–present) | |||||||||
2021–22 | New Mexico | 13–19 | 5–12 | 10th | |||||
2022–23 | New Mexico | 22–12 | 8–10 | 6th | NIT First Round | ||||
2023–24 | New Mexico | 26–10 | 10–8 | T–6th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
New Mexico: | 61–41 (.598) | 23–30 (.434) | |||||||
Total: | 221–178 (.554) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
Richard Andrew Pitino is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA Division I and in the NBA, including Boston University (1978–1983), Providence College (1985–1987), the New York Knicks (1987–1989), the University of Kentucky (1989–1997), the Boston Celtics (1997–2001), the University of Louisville (2001–2017), Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague (2018–2020), and Iona University (2020–2023).
Stephen Todd Alford is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Born and raised in Indiana, he was a two-time consensus first-team All-American playing in college for the Indiana Hoosiers. He led them to a national championship in 1987. After playing professionally for four years in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he has been a college head coach for over 30 years.
Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith is an American college basketball coach who last coached the men's basketball team at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky, the University of Minnesota, Texas Tech University, and the University of Memphis. With Kentucky, he coached the Wildcats to the 1998 NCAA championship.
The New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represents the University of New Mexico, competing in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) in NCAA Division I. The university established basketball as a varsity sport in 1899 and began competing with regional colleges after establishing an athletics department in 1920.
Clem Smith Haskins is an American former college and professional basketball player and college basketball coach. In the fall of 1963, he and fellow star player Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky University (WKU) basketball program. This put Western Kentucky at the forefront to integrate college basketball in the South.
The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986 ; and have officially been to 8 Final Fours in 39 official NCAA tournament appearances while compiling 61 tournament wins.
The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athletic Conference. The university's athletic program fields teams in 16 varsity sports.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Golden Gophers competes in the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at the Williams Arena.
The New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represents New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1904, the Aggies compete in Conference USA after spending 18 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference from 2005 through 2023. The Aggies, who last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2022, are one of 34 college basketball teams with multiple NBA retired jerseys from former players and a team that reached the NCAA Final Four. The team plays home games in the Pan American Center.
Bob King was a college basketball coach and administrator. He was head coach at the University of New Mexico from 1962 to 1972 and at Indiana State University from 1975 to 1978. He also served as Assistant Athletics Director at New Mexico (1972–73) and Athletics Director at Indiana State (1974–80).
The FIU Panthers men's basketball team represents Florida International University in Westchester, Florida. The school's team currently competes in Conference USA. They are led by head coach Jeremy Ballard and play their home games at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
The 2013–14 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2013-14 college basketball season. Led by first year head coach Richard Pitino for the Golden Gophers, members of the Big Ten Conference, played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They finished the season 25–13, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament where they lost to Wisconsin. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated High Point, Saint Mary's, Southern Miss, Florida State and SMU to be the 2014 NIT Champions.
The 2016–17 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers, led by fourth-year head coach Richard Pitino, were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They finished the season 24–10, 11–7 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they beat Michigan State in the quarterfinals before losing to Michigan in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 5 seed. The bid marked their first trip to the Tournament since 2013. In the First Round, they lost to No. 12-seeded Middle Tennessee.
The 2017–18 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by interim head coach David Padgett after former head coach Rick Pitino was fired due to an FBI investigation into the school. They finished the season 22–14 overall, and 9–9 in ACC conference play, finishing in a tie for 8th with Florida State, who they defeated in the second round of the ACC tournament before losing to Virginia in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to the NIT, where they defeated Northern Kentucky in the first round and Middle Tennessee in the second round before being defeated in the quarterfinals by Mississippi State.
The 2020–21 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by eighth-year head coach Richard Pitino and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Gophers finished the season 14–15, 6–14 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th place. They defeated Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Ohio State in the second round.
The 2020–21 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lobos were led by fourth-year head coach Paul Weir and are members of the Mountain West Conference. Due to COVID-19 restrictions within the state of New Mexico, the Lobos did not play any of their home games at their normal home arena The Pit. Their "home" games were played at various different locations outside of the state of New Mexico. They finished the season 6–16, 2–15 in Mountain West play to finish in last place. As the No. 11 seed in the Mountain West tournament, they lost in the first round to Fresno State 77–85.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. is an American college basketball player for the Temple Owls of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He previously played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and New Mexico Lobos.
The 2021–22 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lobos were led by first-year head coach Richard Pitino and played their home games at The Pit as members of the Mountain West Conference.
The 2021–22 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by first-year head coach Ben Johnson and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 13–17, 4–16 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for last place. As the No. 14 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Penn State in the first round.
The 2022–23 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gophers were led by second-year head coach Ben Johnson and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 2–17 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. They defeated Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Maryland in the second round.