Sunday afternoon will probably be spent in the garden with the family.
Sitting behind the St. John's bench are Rick Pitino's daughter Jacqueline and son Ryan. On the other side of the floor behind New Mexico's bench will be Pitino's wife, Joanne, her sister and best friend, who will support Rick's son Richard.
“[Joanne] “I said to my son the other day, Richard, you're definitely the one I'm rooting for,” Rick said. “You are my blood, but he is not. I can see how much she loves me and how much she loves Richard.”
No. 22 St. John's hosts undefeated New Mexico in the New York City Hoops for Heroes Classic, a fun subplot to an interesting early-season game. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The senior Pitino was the talk of New Mexico State last week when he said St. John's (3-0) had to play well to remain undefeated. Richard has heard this story before. Rick always picks the first major non-conference opponent for the build-up. Recently, Richard was in town to watch the Yankees' World Series game with his father, a season ticket holder. When they arrived in New York City, Rick told them to come to St. John's. The team was still practicing.
“I could see all the players looking at me like they didn’t like this player. [Rick] It’s about building a team like the Boston Celtics,” Richard recalled with a laugh. “I think the players and the coaching staff are tired of hearing about New Mexico State.”
This will be the fourth time the two have coached each other. Rick won his first two games while still at Louisville (against Richard's Florida International team in 2012 and against Minnesota in 2014). Richard, 42, won his third matchup against New Mexico in 2022. After the game, the family had dinner, and Rick, who is known for giving up on losses, accepted the loss with grace.
“Afterwards, we all went to Richard's house and he was a great sport about it. He was actually very happy,” said one of Rick's five children. Chris Pitino said. “You could tell that deep down he wasn't on a cloud. When he loses, you usually don't say a word to him for a few days.”
The family still jokes about Rick's lopsided victory at their second meeting. Rick joked that Richard passed him quickly and gave him a blast like the old Jim Boeheim. The family reminded Richard of that in a group chat this week.
Rick never wanted his children to follow in his footsteps into coaching. It was too isolated. I spend too much time away from my family. Richard had no intention of coaching himself until Mike Hart asked him to help out at St. Andrew's School while attending Providence College.
Richard gave it a shot and never looked back. He started as an administrative assistant under Tom Herrion at the College of Charleston in 2004, worked under his father at the University of Louisville from 2007-2009 and 2011-2012, and became his first head coach at FIU in 2012. I got a job. Currently he is at university. This is his fourth season in New Mexico after eight years in Minnesota and a chance to lead the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2013-14.
“I tried to discourage them all, but most of them listened except Richard,” Rick said, later adding: He has left his mark everywhere he has visited. He has been working with me. He has worked with Billy Donovan. He is a young head coach at FIU. And now he has settled there [at New Mexico]”
The two are similar in their dry sarcastic wit and love of coaching. Asked about the possibility of losing Sunday, Richard said he wasn't worried because he's not worried about being inducted into the Hall of Fame someday. Rick chided his son for never thanking New Mexico State starting forward Nellie Jr. Joseph, who played under the elder Pitino for the first two years of his college career at Iona College. . Rick replaced Joel Soriano last year and did not recruit him to St. John's.
“I've never thought about disowning my son, but it might happen,” Rick joked.
According to Chris, the two are very different. Richard is not as enthusiastic as Rick and is more of a player's coach. He gives a different motivation. He's more calm in practice. He is outgoing, like his father, but not a yeller. Richard could get along with anyone, his brother said.
“One of the things I admire most about him is that he can be very different and still be successful.” [from my father]” said Chris.
When it came to the actual game, Richard and Rick bounced ideas off each other. That's important for their team, but it's not because of the caliber of the opposing coach, it's because of the ability of the opponent. If the ball is tilted, it becomes a completely different game. They're not trying to keep an eye on each other, they're trying to win. This is not the first time they have coached on the opposite side.
“People think this is a tough match, but it's actually not a tough match,” Rick said. “The team would be disappointed if we lost, but I'm very happy for my son. I hope St. John's wins, but if they don't, I'll be a proud father.”
