Sports There could be a father and son within the Tall East, and so that they’re each named Pitino!
Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s head coach and Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, is leaving Nonetheless Mexico to perceive the identical utter at Xavier, sources confirmed to Fox Sports on Tuesday night.
After the 42-year-historical took Nonetheless Mexico to abet-to-abet NCAA Tournaments, beating Marquette this year within the first round after a 26-7 long-established season, Pitino increased his stock an excellent deal and turn out to be once within the combine for every the Villanova and Xavier positions.
Musketeers athletic director Greg Christopher turn out to be once enamored by the upside of Pitino, who tried the high-predominant route at Minnesota however turn out to be once let trail in 2021 after eight seasons on the job. Going to Albuquerque led Pitino to reignite his occupation, going 88-49 over the final four seasons, winning the Mountain West Match in 2024 and charging this system to a long-established-season title this year.
This trail finest adds to the family atmosphere and tradition of the Tall East. The fact that we are going to ranking at the least two (and more than possible three) showdowns between Rick and Richard Pitino is extra special for the league and its storylines. Father has outdone son in their four meetings, with Rick owning a 3-1 myth, collectively with St. John’s beating the Lobos this past November.
However Richard turn out to be once smartly in utter for a high-predominant job in this cycle. After Villanova did no longer lengthen an offer to him despite being an excellent deal within the combine – with Maryland’s Kevin Willard and a mystery candidate available within the market for the Wildcats – Christopher extended the offer to Pitino. And now he is heading to the utter of Ohio to perceive over a Xavier program that has been a staple within the NCAA Match the bulk of the final two many years.
John Fanta is a nationwide school basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a form of capacities, from calling video games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Community to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Community. Follow him at @John_Fanta .
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