As I was watching Rick Pitino cheer for his son tonight it was very moving. You could see that even after all he has been through he is still a father that just wants the best for his son. Rick Pitino fan or not that is something that every father can cheer for.
Earlier this season we watched Rick Pitino and his son Richard Pitino compete against each other for the very first time ever on the hard wood. That day coach Pitino would get the decisive victory over his son but it was very apparent that the younger Pitino had many of his fathers coaching traits and had the FIU team heading in the right direction. That was a very special day for the Pitino family and a real treat for the fans to share in that moment. On Sunday, Richard Pitino would pull off a big win against No. 1 seeded Middle Tennessee State in the Sun Belt semi-finals and would get his team to the finals on Monday night against WKU. And even though this is the busiest time of the year for the elder Pitino as he is preparing our Cards for a run of their own in the post season there was no way he was going to miss out on being there in person to cheer for his son.
Tonight when the camera would pan in the crowd to acknowledge Rick Pitino’s presence at the game you could see the pride in his eyes as he watched his son carry on his coaching legacy. Here is his son who grew up watching game tapes on his father’s knee, standing on the sidelines while his father ran practices, listening to the late-night strategy sessions and coaching beside his father for years as an assistant now starring in his own moment. Rick Pitino has become a larger than life persona in his coaching career and here in a few weeks he will become a hall of fame coach. However, tonight he was not coach Rick Pitino. Tonight he was just a proud father watching and wanting the best for his son.
Coach Richard Pitino and his FIU team would come up short in the Sun Belt title game against WKU 65-63 but after watching the improvements to this program in just a year there is no question that the future is bright for the young Pitino. And there is no question that here is a son following directly in his father’s footsteps. Last Thursday Richard Pitino was named one of 10 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award by CollegeInsider.com, presented to its top first-year Division I men’s basketball head coach. The winner will be announced April 5 at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet. Three days later on April 8, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will announce their Class of 2013 at a press conference in Atlanta prior to the NCAA’s Men’s Championship game. That announcement will include Rick Pitino. This is very symbolic of the circle of life as one Pitino’s coaching career heads into the twilight and the other one is just beginning. The Pitino name has been a part of college basketball most of my life and it looks like that will continue as my son grows up watching the game.