Rick Pitino - Back at the University of Kentucky

akaukswoosh

Hall of Famer
Jan 14, 2006
80,450
123,442
93
If Rick wanted to come back to coach here after Cal left - would you have taken him back. If he wanted to come back and give us three years, would you have said yes?

Rick actually called numerous boosters and AD staff after Cal left. He basically begged to come back to Camelot for a three year stint, at almost any cost extended. He wanted to be here. Three years. Coaching, to end his career at the place he loved most. He wanted it. Booster majority wanted it. Mitch did not.

Thoughts?
Yuck.
 
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KFuqua

All-Conference
Oct 24, 2001
2,155
2,516
113
If Rick wanted to come back to coach here after Cal left - would you have taken him back. If he wanted to come back and give us three years, would you have said yes?

Rick actually called numerous boosters and AD staff after Cal left. He basically begged to come back to Camelot for a three year stint, at almost any cost extended. He wanted to be here. Three years. Coaching, to end his career at the place he loved most. He wanted it. Booster majority wanted it. Mitch did not.

Thoughts?
 
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Wildcat Sheli

All-Conference
Nov 11, 2015
1,568
2,029
98
Pitino hasn't won … in over 10 years. It's not like SJU is some powerhouse. We literally beat him and his team….
Except for 2 Greek Championships, a Greek Cup, 2 MAC regular seasons (2022, 23) and 2 tournaments (2021, 23) and a Big East regular season and tournament (2025).😉
 
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JonathanW2

Senior
Aug 6, 2025
414
615
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No I wouldn't. And it wouldn't have anything to do with his time at Lil Brother.
He was 72 freakin years old when we hired Pope!!! He will retire within the next 2-4 years, at which time you would be hiring a new coach again.
 
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wildcatdon

Heisman
Oct 17, 2012
10,323
13,050
113
I forgive Rick for a lot but he is by far the most overrated coach in the history of college basketball by both the media and our fans. He’s a good, possibly great coach but he’s not what some people want him to be. There’s 4-5 active coaches right now who have had more success or as much success as Pitino did at UK. It was a great run but for that 7 year stint, that resulted in one championship, it gets him in the goat conversation 30 years later??? If not for that stint at UK, what else has he done to make you want him at UK in 2026????

Nothing he did at UL counts in my opinion, since buying prostitutes for underage kids is a form of pedophilia.
Put down the crack pipe and take a nap. You will be ok later on. Gracious.
 
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jedwar

Heisman
Moderator
Dec 30, 2002
19,583
32,793
113
I would have taken him in 2007, 2009, 2024 and now. Wish he had never left. Do I think he is who he was 30 years ago, no I don't. Do I think he could have come in 2 years ago and be a great bridge to the next one, yes I do. Would have been a tremendous CBB story.
 
Oct 9, 2015
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I would have taken him in 2007, 2009, 2024 and now. Wish he had never left. Do I think he is who he was 30 years ago, no I don't. Do I think he could have come in 2 years ago and be a great bridge to the next one, yes I do. Would have been a tremendous CBB story.
Also - just to add, Rick may have made his opinion known to some that Mark maybe wasn’t quite ready, but maybe could be more ready in three years? Just interesting.🤔
 

preston-lemasterpiece

All-Conference
Apr 15, 2025
1,179
2,126
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I see a lot of people saying they would want him back. For the ones that say they would want him back, how would you feel watching him on the sideline knowing he has that hideous UL Cardinal tattoo on his back?
i agree actually.
i'm all for moving on from Pope but the 80yo man with the Louisville back tat ain't the answer.
 

BlueSince92

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2025
10,459
2,798
230
I see a lot of people saying they would want him back. For the ones that say they would want him back, how would you feel watching him on the sideline knowing he has that hideous UL Cardinal tattoo on his back?
Could not give a flying fuq thanks for playing
 
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Farsight Clone

All-Conference
Aug 30, 2025
2,416
4,558
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If Rick wanted to come back to coach here after Cal left - would you have taken him back. If he wanted to come back and give us three years, would you have said yes?

Rick actually called numerous boosters and AD staff after Cal left. He basically begged to come back to Camelot for a three year stint, at almost any cost extended. He wanted to be here. Three years. Coaching, to end his career at the place he loved most. He wanted it. Booster majority wanted it. Mitch did not.

Thoughts?
If this is true, Mitch should be jailed for high treason against BBN
 

UK4Life#9

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
537
1,028
93
Uh, he took Providence to a Final Four. Dominated at Kentucky. Won a title at Louisville, and has turned a doormat St John’s program back to prominence.

I think he’s underrated.

Cal took UMass to the final four, beat the 96 Cats, took Memphis to the final four, took us to multiple final fours and won a championship but yall still ran him off. Cal also dominates Pitino in head to head matchups.

What Pitino did at UL doesn’t count considering what he did was a form of child abuse and pedophilia.

St. John’s back to prominence???? Maybe so, in a sense. He was a favorite to win the championship before this season started and what has happened???
 

SlowWalkerSTL

Freshman
Jun 12, 2023
63
81
18
Jesus. Why? Pitino? Why do so many of our fans have this obsession with this old, perverted, disgusting human being? He was okay when he was here. After that, he’s done nothing that any true fan should want associated with UK.

There are better coaches, better recruiters, and better people.
 
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lookinfor8

All-Conference
Dec 30, 2002
4,555
3,426
113
Different situation, but I would also take Bruce Pearl now for a 3-4 year stint. In this era, you don't really have to rebuild. That's plenty of time to have top level success.
Pitino or Pearl for a 2-3 year run & bring in someone to groom when you replace them.
Lord knows we got no assistants & they all need to go with Pope
 

SlowWalkerSTL

Freshman
Jun 12, 2023
63
81
18
I see a lot of people saying they would want him back. For the ones that say they would want him back, how would you feel watching him on the sideline knowing he has that hideous UL Cardinal tattoo on his back?
And provided prostitutes to underage kids, cheated on his wife and forced his mistress to get an abortion, and all of the other disgusting things so many hated him for and seem to have forgotten.
 

StandAloneCat

Redshirt
Jan 30, 2026
4
5
0
And provided prostitutes to underage kids, cheated on his wife and forced his mistress to get an abortion, and all of the other disgusting things so many hated him for and seem to have forgotten.
Got him a championship. You like your tea hot also.
 

SlowWalkerSTL

Freshman
Jun 12, 2023
63
81
18
Pitino hasn't won **** in over 10 years. It's not like SJU is some powerhouse. We literally beat him and his team.

Would some of you morons go play on I-75 and quit trying to destroy UK basketball even more.
Right? Probably the same ones who thought Pope was a good idea. I don’t want that prick anywhere near UK.
 
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rick64

Heisman
Jan 25, 2007
24,619
33,769
113
Based on how Pope has turned out so far, and Mitch either couldn't or wouldn't land a big time hire then yes. Pitino for 3-4 years would've been a good bridge hire to the next coach.
 
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SlowWalkerSTL

Freshman
Jun 12, 2023
63
81
18
Simple. Fire Mitch hire Pitino 3-5 year deal. I think he has it in him. What a assss Barney i think they guy need to take the next bus out of Lexington. How UK fans give Rooferee heck but Barney a pass. I mean seriously there will be couches burned if Barney is sent out. It will be a big party. Can anyone explain how this guy lasted for this ridiculous amount of time with all the failures in hires and contracts? I mean it’s gotta be the absolute worst thing to ever happen to UK bb.
Screw that. Rick is a disgusting human being. I think Cal would be an amazing AD. Rick would be screwing hookers on his desk and then sending them to Wildcat Lodge to take care of the team.
Yes I would have accepted pitino and the winning that comes with him. I will go a step further and ask why the heck Barney didn’t go hard for pitino in 2007. A massive failure Barney could have brought out on back in his prime instead he helped torment the hatred toward pitino. Mitch Barnhart is a shrewd and corrupt leader for a quarter of a century. I think there needs to be a total cleaning of the AD. This dude hired a rapist and the list of crappy coaches is way to long for this guy to stick around for a quarter century. The university needs to act fast to ditch this guy and strip this goon or his name for the athletic complex
Thank god we stayed away from that disgusting human. He’s a pile of trash and doesn’t deserve to be at UK.
 

Tim0808

All-Conference
Apr 4, 2013
695
1,118
93
Uh, he took Providence to a Final Four. Dominated at Kentucky. Won a title at Louisville, and has turned a doormat St John’s program back to prominence.

I think he’s underrated.
I have been watching College basketball since 1978 and he is the Greatest college coach i have seen during that time. The job he did at Providence, he dominated the SEC, he rebuilt UK (pre-NIL) in 2 years to the point teams were afraid of UK and Kentucky was awful when he walked through that door, he rebuilt Louisville and Louisville was current Indiana, and rebuilt Iona. The only reason he is not considered the greatest by everyone is because he left UK and took two more rebuild jobs.
 
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yoshukai

Heisman
Dec 21, 2002
29,648
41,891
102
Screw that. Rick is a disgusting human being. I think Cal would be an amazing AD. Rick would be screwing hookers on his desk and then sending them to Wildcat Lodge to take care of the team.

Thank god we stayed away from that disgusting human. He’s a pile of trash and doesn’t deserve to be at UK.
LMAO at “ Cal would have been an amazing AD”. You realize we play football here too …..right?

Plus , Cal had alienated practically every booster. You realize that fundraising is a huge part of being an AD……right?