Texas Basketball: 3 high risk, high reward head coaching candidates
High risk, high reward candidates No. 1: Rick Pitino
It would surely command a ton of attention around the college hoops landscape if the Longhorns were to replace Smart with the former Louisville head coach and the first-year Iona Gaels head coach Rick Pitino. A few other potential coaching candidate lists released for the Longhorns to replace Smart around the media landscape of late have included the controversial Pitino in the mix.
Pitino was dismissed from the Louisville basketball program following the 2016-17 season amid a scandal that would take the college hoops world by storm. Louisville has since recovered as a hoops program, and it didn’t take all that long for a smaller program like Iona to give the accomplished but controversial Pitino a chance as their head coach.
Iona did wind up winning their conference tournament title this year (in the MAAC) and made it to the NCAA Tournament before falling short to the two-seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the Round of 64 last weekend.
What Pitino would bring to the table for the Longhorns is an abundant resume that includes two National Championships, 10 regular-season conference titles, 13 conference tournament titles, seven Final Four appearances, and 22 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Next. 4 early dream coaching candidates to replace Shaka Smart. dark
I don’t think that anyone really doubts Pitino’s ability to make the programs he coaches relevant on the national stage. It’s the problems that came along with him of late off-the-court that would present the real trouble for the Longhorns basketball program. That might be something to avoid, but we’ll wait and see if they truly pursue the Iona head coach this offseason.