State of the Gaels: Team tabs Rick Pitino to lead team next season

Just one day after the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced that the basketball championships were cancelled due to concerns over COVID-19 (corona virus), Iona made headlines when it was announced on the team’s website and social media accounts that the team has tabbed Rick Pitino to succeed Tim Cluess as the Head Coach of the Iona Gaels. Yes, you heard that right. Rick Pitino. The man who lead Kentucky to the 1996 NCAA National Championships and was formerly the head coach of the Boston Celtics and more recently the University of Louisville Cardinals before allegations of escort sex scandal lead to his dismissal from the University.

Pitino comes with an extensive yet impressive resume which includes five trips to the Final Four, two Conference USA titles, and five SEC titles. The only coach to lead three different programs to the Final Four, Pitino hiring comes after a brief overseas stop at Greece as he served three seasons as the head coach of the Panathinaikos a team, he led to the Greek Championships in 2019.

Pitino replaces Tim Cluess who stepped down as head coach after 10 seasons leading the Maroon and Gold to a 203-115 record, 5 MAAC Championships, 6 NCAA Tournament Berths and 2 MAAC Coach of the Year honors. Cluess also is responsible for producing a few Iona standouts such as E.J Crawford, Tajuan Agee and Lamont Jones.

And while the athletic administration wasted no time in finding Cluess successor, this moves sent shockwaves around the sports world as it was generally understood that the chances of Rick Pitino coming back to NCAA after a highly covered scandal was slim to none.

Proponents of the move would point to the fact that this is simply Rick Pitino. With names comes a certain clout that comes with it. I could imagine next season when Iona returns to the floor, that the Hynes Athletic Center would be filled with fans and news outlets all curious to see how Rick Pitino would stand against opponents as he now gets the opportunity to coach in the D1 level again.

They could also look into his resume. With over 30 years of coaching experience, a couple of conference titles and two national championships (one was stripped) Pitino could transform Iona like he did in his previous coaching stints. An example of this is of his time in Louisville. Prior to his 2001, hire the 2000 Louisville Cardinals finished 12-19 and did not qualify of any postseason tournaments. Two seasons later, they are in the NCAA tournament with a 25-7 record. So, the Gael nation have an unwritten expectation that more MAAC titles are coming to the school in addition to more revenue

Opponents of the move would point to his limited success that he has had in the NBA. Between 1997-2001, Pitino served as the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics. During his tenure, none of his teams won more than 40 games despite having a frontcourt that had a young Paul Pierce, and Antoine Walker which was aided by Chauncey Billups. He is forever remembered for his after-game rant which challenged the Boston faithful to let go of the past and focus on the future as part of the expectations of the team.

How can his opponents forget about his lack of oversight in an escort sex scandal which was investigated by the NCAA in June 2017? The scandal that was centered around improper benefits given to prospective players and former Louisville players. The concern is that Pitino would try to use similar approaches to attract high recruits to play for Iona or that Pitino simply haven’t learn his lesson.

So far, since his hiring, Pitino has been adamant about his past and even was quoted saying that he deserved to get fired from Louisville while reminiscing on his earlier stints in Kentucky and New York. He’s even landed some good recruits such as Christ the King guard Ryan Myers who didn’t even consider Iona after concluding his season but committed to Rick Pitino and junior college guard Tahlik Chavez a sophomore who averaged 20.4 points and 5.5 rebounds at Garden City (Kan.) Community College this past season.

Personally, I like the hiring. Pitino resume speaks volumes of success in all the programs that he’s headed, and I think this was a smart move by Pitino. I think he’s actually resetting his market value by gambling on himself by going to a small school and try to repeat the same success he had in schools such as Providence and Louisville. Investigation aside, this is an opportunity for Pitino to have a similar ascend like Jimmy Valvano who after leading Iona to back-to-back NCAA tournaments won the National Championship in 1983 with the NC State Wolfpack. And while I don’t think Iona is going to win all the way, it is something that root for