By Russ Brown
NKyTribune correspondent
LOUISVILLE — As his University of Louisville basketball team heads into its final two games this week, speculation continues to swirl about whether Rick Pitino’s 15th season as the Cardinals’ head coach will be his last.
That, of course, is because of the ongoing investigations into the sex-for-pay scandal that has already resulted in UofL initiating a self-imposed ban on postseason play.
Pitino, 63, knows there are abundant questions about his future. So when longtime friend Ian O’Conner called him Monday for comments about a story he was writing for ESPN.com, the coach was willing to offer some insight into his current thinking.
O’Connor said he had talked to some of Pitino’s confidantes who predicted he wouldn’t return to UofL next season, but Pitino indicated that he probably will be back. He acknowledged that he had started privately discussing plans to step down last fall, but said the current club has re-energized him.
The Cardinals, who will host Georgia Tech Tuesday night, are still in contention for the ACC regular season title and are ranked No. 11 in the AP poll despite a roster with 11 freshmen and sophomores.
“This team rejuvenated me in a great way, because I have awesome guys who are playing for nothing still giving me incredible effort each night,” Pitino said. “I’ll step away from the game after the season and say, ‘Are we having fun?’ I’ll look at it and do some thinking and then let the chips fall where they may.”
Obviously, that may not entirely be Pitino’s call. Depending in part on what additional sanctions the NCAA orders — if any — the UofL administration could fire Pitino or demand that he retire, although that scenario probably isn’t likely. Nor, apparently, is a voluntary resignation.
“I think anything’s possible,” Pitino said. “I doubt it. I don’t think it’s probable. I was just blindsided, disgusted and saddened by this whole thing. . .I thought we’d be playing for the national title and going to the Final Four this year, and it was a shock that it was taken away.
“I’ll ask myself after the season if Louisville is a better place with Rick Pitino as coach, and if the answer is yes, I’d do what I’ve done for 15 years and come back and fight for a championship, and that’s what I plan on doing.
“But if the time comes that I feel Louisville is better off without me, I’m without ego now. I’d recommend this job to everybody. The town is great, the AD (Tom Jurich) is off-the-charts fantastic and loyal, and I have a super team coming back. But if I think Louisville will be better off without me, anything’s possible.”
Initially, Pitino expressed doubts about the allegations in Katina Powell’s book, “Breaking Cardinal Rules,” but since has said he now believes former assistant coach Andre McGee did “some scurrilous things.” And in announcing the postseason ban, UofL president James Ramsey said it is “reasonable to conclude that violations had occurred in the men’s basketball progam in the past.”
Eric Crawford of WDRB.com, who co-authored Pitino’s latest book, “The One-Day Contract”, said he spoke to Pitino about the conversation with O’Connor and the coach told him it is “highly likely” that he’ll be back next season.
“I will do what I always do,” he said. “I never decide anything right after the season. I’ll take a couple of weeks, see how I feel. But unless I come to the belief that me being here is not what’s best for the University of Louisville, then I’m coming back to work for a championship.
“Fortunately I’m innocent of all wrongdoing, I run a clean program and I go overboard on being compliant. And unfortunately this happened because of a young man who I have a break to every step along the way in his life. When all is said and done, everybody will see how I run a program.”
Even if Pitino leaves Louisville, though, he’s likely to resurface in another coaching job, either in college or the NBA. O’Connor said multiple sources told him Pitino would be willing to listen to NBA offers.
“I don’t think I can live a day without coaching; it’s in my blood,” Pitino said.
Pitino certainly doesn’t need the money — he has a mansion for sale in the Miami area for $26 million, and also has residences in Louisville and New York City. He has 10 years remaining on his contract that’s worth about $50 million, but he left $23 million on the table when he resigned from the Boston Celtics before taking the UofL job.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who gave Pitino his first major-college job as an assistant in 1976 and has had his own run-ins with the NCAA, told O’Connor he thinks Pitino will be back at UofL for the 2016-17 season. (Boeheim served a nine-game suspension for NCAA violations this season).
“He’s definitely not done in coaching, and I don’t see him leaving Louisville,” Boeheim said. “They’ll get through this like we had to get through it. Get it resolved as quickly as possible, and move on from there. They’re always going to have good players, and if Rick Pitino has good players he’s going to win.”