Now the college Basketball Hall of Fame does, and many think its about time. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Thursday that Pitino’s induction was long overdue. “Should’ve been in last year, but I don’t see any way in the world that he wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame,” Boeheim said. “He’s got better credentials than probably 80% of the coaches in there.” I know that many of us have always considered Coach Pitino a Hall of Famer but it is great to see it finally become official.

“Pitino went back to the NBA in 1997, but returned to college—and his adopted home state—on March 21, 2001 to coach the University of Louisville following the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. In the 2005 season, Pitino led Louisville to their first Final Four in 19 years, and became the first men’s coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to the Final Four. Immediately following their Final Four run, several players graduated or entered the 2005 NBA Draft. The inexperience caused the Cardinals to limp into the Big East Tournament seeded 12th, and miss the NCAA tournament. They made the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), where they were defeated by eventual champions University of South Carolina. The 2007 Cardinal team was primarily the same team, with added freshmen. Picked to finish towards the bottom of the Big East Conference again, Pitino led them to a second-place finish, 12–4 (tied with the University of Pittsburgh, who had been beaten by the Cardinals during the regular season) in the conference standings and a first round bye in the conference tournament. Pitino implemented a 2–2–1 and 2–3 zone defense midway through the season. The 2007 team’s season ended when the Cardinals lost to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2008 Cardinals finished second in the Big East and ranked 13th in both the AP and Coaches’ polls. Louisville was the third seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament’s East region. They defeated Boise State, Oklahoma and Tennessee to advance to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by North Carolina. Louisville was the top seed overall in the 2009 NCAA tournament and was planted as the first seed in the Midwest region. They defeated Morehead State, Siena and Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by Michigan State. In 2010 the Cardinals suffered a disappointing 15-point loss to their first round opponent, the California Golden Bears. In 2011, Louisville was upset by 13th-seeded Morehead State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 2012, Pitino coached the Cardinals to the Big East tournament championship and a berth as a 4 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals defeated Davidson, New Mexico, and top seed Michigan State to advance to the regional final against Florida and his former player and friend Billy Donovan. The Cardinals would go on to win that game, but lost to arch-rivals and eventual national champions Kentucky in the 2012 Final Four.”- Wiki

This year Coach Pitino is in perhaps his most promising season at the helm of our Louisville Cardinals. He has led them to a 33-5 record, tied for the Big East regular season crown, won the Big East Tourney title and currently has them riding a 14 game win streak heading into their 10th Final Four. It is the Cardinals 3rd Final Four under Coach Pitino and he has a 308–111 (.734) record in 12 seasons as the Louisville head coach. This years team is the odds on favorite to win a National Title and it would be icing on the cake of a remarkable career for coach Pitino.

Coaches: Rick Pitino, Tom Heinsohn, Guy Lewis, Jerry Tarkanian and women’s coach Sylvia Hatchell.