MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota fired Richard Pitino on Monday after the men’s basketball coach set a regular season record of 54-96 over eight years in the Big Ten and had only three conference finishes higher than 10th.
Golden Gophers have gone 14-15 this season, giving up 11 of their last 14 games. They were 0-10 on the road, one of the three major conference teams in the country without a victory.
Sports director Mark Coyle was scheduled to address reporters Tuesday morning. He called Pitino “an extraordinary person and coach” in a statement issued by the university.
“Decisions like this are never easy, but after evaluating this season and the previous eight years of our program under Richard, it’s clear to me that new leadership is needed,” Coyle said. “We have one of the best practice facilities in the country, a historic competition venue and a state that produces top talent. This is an extremely attractive job.”
Pitino was not available for comment, but posted a message of thanks to Minnesota on Twitter on Monday night, with a picture of him and his children at Williams Arena.
“I’ve always wanted to represent Minnesota correctly every day, with class and integrity.” Pitino wrote on Twitter. “Lit for what the future holds for us!”
According to an Albuquerque Journal report, Pitino was among the finalists for the vacant coaching position in New Mexico. Had he hired elsewhere, Minnesota would have taken off the market for a $ 1.7 million purchase, according to the language of his remaining three-year contract. Payments will stop when Pitino wins a “comparable job,” which is defined in the agreement as an NCAA Division I head coach, a professional head coach or assistant, administrator or director of an NCAA Division I program, or a commentator for a national broadcasting company.
Coyle should have a lot of strong candidates to consider. Two sons of Gophers’ former coaches, Eric Musselman (Arkansas) and Brian Dutcher (San Diego State), are proven program builders, with teams currently in the NCAA tournament. Craig Smith (Utah) and Niko Medved (Colorado) are natives of Minnesota, who are currently successful in running mid-level programs. There’s also Gophers alum Ryan Saunders, who was fired last month as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA.
Hired at the age of 30, with a previous year of experience as head coach at Florida International, Pitino guided Gophers to a NIT championship in his first season. However, only two appearances at the NCAA tournament followed in 2017 and 2019.
Gophers were set to return to Big Dance this season after defeating Iowa, Ohio, Michigan and Purdue – ranked 5th, No. 9, No. 4 and No. 20, respectively, in the March 8 AP poll – before injuries Gabe Kalscheur and Liam Robbins accelerated another slip at the end of the season.
Gophers just didn’t take enough pictures to keep up and had to work too hard to get them. In the Division I standings since Friday, they were 13th in 3-point attempts and 334 in 3-point percentage.
Wise and balanced, Pitino never claimed to ignore public criticism. After a victory over then, no. 6 Maryland, in 2016, Pitino said he could “start going into Starbucks instead of going through drive-through.” He expressed the same peace after Minnesota lost on Thursday in the Big Ten tournament, anticipating the post-season meeting with Coyle.
“We all have losses. It’s okay. I have a great relationship with Mark. If he gives me bad news, that doesn’t mean I’m going to overthrow an office or anything,” Pitino said.
Minnesota’s best race under Pitino was in 2017, when a 7-0 record in February fueled a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. Gophers were one-and-done. Two years later, they defeated Louisville in the NCAA tournament to reach the second round.
The son of former college and professional coach Rick Pitino, who was the first to win NCAA championships at two different schools in Kentucky and Louisville, Richard Pitino was chosen by former Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague to replace Tubby Smith. Old Pitino, now coach at Iona, returned to the NCAA tournament this month as number 15.
After breaking out with Fred Hoiberg, Flip Saunders, Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens, Teague received strong support from Richard Pitino of Billy Donovan, the current NBA coach with the Chicago Bulls who had Pitino on his Florida team since 2009. until 2011.
Pitino, his wife, and their three children liked Minnesota, despite its East Coast roots, but eventually failed to establish a strong connection to the state high school circuit, with Minnesota producing great prospects each year.
Sure, two of the best players on the 2019 team, Amir Coffey and Daniel Oturu, are both natives of Minnesota and now with the LA Clippers of the NBA. However, there were too many recruitment rates that left Gophers shallow when they hit the wounds.
One of these whiffs came with the freshman class in 2017, when Pitino and his staff signed Isaiah Washington to the New York Guard and passed McKinley Wright IV, originally from Minnesota. Wright became the all-time assistant leader in Colorado, where he was a three-time All-Pac-12 player. Washington moved to Gophers after two seasons.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.