New coach Pitino states he couldn’t miss Xavier

CINCINNATI– Richard Pitino stated he required the ideal scenario to come along for him to leave New Mexico.He ended up

getting one in a not likely spot.Pitino was introduced as Xavier’s new coach Tuesday. With Xavier’s history of employing coaches who were previous assistants or who had ties to the program, Pitino thought his chances of getting a call from athletic director Greg Christopher would be slim until it took place last week.

“It always works out in this manner. You may have a list of some jobs you may believe you may get a contact. And then out of no place comes one where, like, ‘wow, this would be amazing.’ Which was Xavier,” Pitino said during a news conference.It is the first time given that Thad Matta’s arrival in 2000 that Xavier has hired a coach without previous ties to the program. Sean Miller, who delegated accept the Texas job on March 17, was promoted in 2004 after Matta left for Ohio State. Miller led the program for 5 seasons before leaving for Arizona, and then returned for three seasons in 2022. Chris Mack and Travis Steele were likewise previous assistants. Ironically, Pitino was rapidly employed after Mack revealed he would remain at the College of Charleston.Pitino stated his dad, St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, encouraged him to remain at New Mexico up until Xavier went into the picture, even if it implied remaining in the same conference and playing each other two times a year. “He saw the way the neighborhood welcomed me in Albuquerque, just how much we were winning, and he saw how pleased I was. When Xavier called, he altered his tune,” Richard Pitino said.” I believe that the fit is actually great. I simply resonate with this kind of neighborhood and extremely, really comfy with it. I can tell you there was no bigger fan of taking Xavier than my father.”Pitino returns to the Big East– where he was a student at Providence College and an assistant at Louisville– after four years at New Mexico, where

he led the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA tournament looks. New Mexico went 27-8 this season before it was eliminated by Michigan State 71-63 in the 2nd round.The 42-year old Pitino was the Mountain West Coach of the Year this season after the Lobos won the conference’s regular-season title. He went 88-49 at New Mexico and has a total mark

of 247-186. Christopher said the factor Pitino stood out as a prospect was how he rebounded at New Mexico after being fired at Minnesota. Pitino became a head coach in the Big Ten at age 30. He led the Golden Gophers for eight seasons– including an NIT championship in his first season in 2014-15 as well as 2 trips to the NCAA tournament– but was fired after 2 straight losing projects.”It’s really clear he’s starving and extremely competitive. A few of what fuels that drive is how he’s been humbled. That was a crucial factor to me,”Christopher said of Pitino.” How you manage misfortune is actually informing and we all deal with difficulties.

Managed properly, adversity makes you better. And that is what’s happened with Richard. “Pitino is wanting to bring the exact same aggressive design on both sides of the court that he had at New Mexico. It’s also very little various from what Miller ran as both coaches like to run.On offense, the Lobos averaged 81.1 points, which led the Mountain West and was 26th in Division I

. They averaged 16.2 fast-break points, third best in Division I.Defensively, New Mexico required 15.2 turnovers per game, 14th in Division I.”It’s not genuine tough to sell a vision of we don’t wish to run a

bunch of set plays and stroll the ball up the court. Not as many set plays, and honestly, it’s similar to what they ran with coach Miller ran here in the past.

We talked a lot about it,”Pitino said.” It’s tough, however it’s an enjoyable method to play.”Pitino’s very first job will be restoring Xavier’s lineup, which has only 2 scholarship players remaining after Miller’s departure and the opening of the transfer portal. Pitino is bringing the majority of his personnel from New Mexico.”It’s extremely difficult to develop a whole roster. It’s way more manageable now in the current landscape than ever before, however we

‘re going to be patient,”he said.