Richard Pitino, the son of college basketball coaching legend Rick Pitino, recently accepted a head coaching role at Xavier.
Pitino previously worked for the New Mexico Lobos. He led the Lobos to the No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season, helping them beat No. 7 Marquette in the first round just before losing to Michigan State in the second round.
After a phenomenal season at New Mexico, Pitino began a new chapter at Xavier.
On Wednesday, he added to his Musketeers staff, hiring Kareem Richardson as an assistant coach, per Jon Rothstein.
Xavier’s Richard Pitino has hired Kareem Richardson as an assistant coach, per release.Richardson was on staff at NC State last season.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 29, 2025
Kareem Richardson has spent the last two seasons on the staff of the NC State Wolfpack. After Will Wade was hired as the head coach of the ACC basketball team, Richardson chose to join the Musketeers’ staff under Pitino.
Richardson previously coached at Xavier, serving as an assistant coach over a decade ago under head coach Chris Mack.
He was also the former head coach at UMKC from 2013 to 2019.
Upon the release of the announcement regarding Richardson’s new role at Xavier, Pitino spoke on the team’s decision to add the up-and-coming college basketball staffer.
“I am excited about the hiring of Kareem Richardson to our staff,” said Pitino, per Rick Broering at 247Sports. “Kareem has won a national championship and been to a final four as a coach. He also knows what it takes to win at Xavier from working here in the past. He is a relentless recruiter and terrific basketball coach with great experience.”
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