Rick Pitino has been around a lot of basketball, and he knows what it is like beginning a new job in a power conference during this era of college basketball. It’s the exact reason why he is expressing caution for his son, Richard Pitino, as he takes over at Xavier.
“He’s going through the same thing I went through my first year, he’s having to bring in 13 new players. Nobody stayed and that’s difficult,” he explained at Big East media day on Tuesday morning.
During his first season with the Red Storm, Rick led the Johnnies to a 20-13 record and narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament. Xavier, optimistically picked to finish 8th in the 11-team league, will have much bigger challenges throughout the season.
“He’s going to have a difficult season,” Pitino added. “But that’s to be expected when you have 13 new players and you’re just starting out. The good thing is that he’s at Xavier, a great basketball tradition, great arena, great city.”
Still, the decision to join the conference that his father coaches in was a no-brainer for Richard Pitino. A move back to the East Coast, the chance to join an elite basketball league, and, most importantly, the opportunity to see his family on a much more regular basis.
Father and son have met four times in their head coaching careers with Rick getting the better of Richard three times, most recently when St. John’s defeated New Mexico last November.
“I’d like to coach against them at Iona, where we beat them,” Richard joked.
“I always say this, I hope they finish second and we finish first. I root for them. We talk often about each other’s programs, so I don’t want it to be this secretive thing or anything, but certainly come the week of the game I’ll be locked in.”
The first meeting of the season between St. John’s and Xavier is in Cincinnati on Saturday, January 24 before returning to Madison Square Garden on Monday, February 9.