CINCINNATI — Rick Pitino has rarely considered number of victories when it comes to milestones. For him, it has always been about championships.
The Hall of Fame coach, though, admitted that becoming the fourth coach to reach 900 on-court Division 1 victories was one to savor.
St. John’s rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to defeat Xavier 88-83 on Saturday. The milestone victory came at the expense of his son, Richard, who is in his first season coaching the Musketeers.
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“My son, it doesn’t matter,” Pitino said about the win coming against his son. “The great thing is I could spend time with him and the grandkids.”
The NCAA recognizes Pitino with only 777 wins after stripping him of 123 because of infractions at Louisville. Bob Knight had 899 victories, but is credited with 902 by the NCAA because three losses were later ruled forfeits as punishment for program violations by Indiana opponents.
The 73-year-old Pitino has a 900-316 on-court record in 38 seasons as a head coach in college. It began with six games as an interim at Hawaii in 1976.
He is the only coach to win an NCAA title at two schools (Kentucky and Louisville) and the first to take three schools to the Final Four (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville).
He’s also the only coach to direct six schools to the NCAA tournament, including Boston University, Iona and St. John’s.
Pitino also coached at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He also has 10 years in the pros, including with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, along with Greek team Panathinaikos.
“But 900 means that I’ve had longevity. I spent 10 years in the pros. And so, 900 with 10 years in the pros is really something I’m very thankful to all my players and assistant coaches for helping me get there,” he said.
One of those assistants was Richard, who was on his dad’s staff for three seasons at Louisville.
“I’m happy for him that he won 900. I think he’s the best coach to ever coach college basketball. He’d have a lot more if he had stayed at Kentucky,” Richard Pitino said. “When your dad is 73, you just want him to be happy and healthy. We all are reminded way too much at how short life is.
“To see him doing great, being celebrated at St. John’s, that’s all I care about. It keeps him young. I hope he continues to coach. He’s a phenomenal coach, but I’m really, really lucky to have him as a father.”
The younger Pitino surprised his father by wearing a suit on the sidelines for the first time this season. Rick Pitino said it was a nice compliment, and he appreciated it because he knows his 43-year old son hates wearing suits.
When asked where the suit came from, Rick Pitino smiled and said, “It’s probably my suit.”
It was the second straight game the Red Storm rallied from at least a 15-point deficit to win. Tuesday’s win against Seton Hall was at home, though. Saturday’s victory came in front of a sold-out and raucous crowd at Xavier.
“It was a lot of fun. Definitely just the atmosphere and coach going up against his son. It was a tough win but a good win,” said forward Dillon Mitchell, who had 17 points and seven rebounds.
St. John’s players donned T-shirts on the court and in the locker room, marking the milestone. They also doused Pitino with water and Gatorade in the visitors’ locker room at Cintas Center.
Pitino took off his trademark suit and was in St. John’s workout gear when he talked with reporters after drying off.
“I’ve said this all along, how enjoyable this team is, but tonight was the icing on the cake because a lot of teams would break down 12, down 10, and they never broke,” Pitino said.
Mike Krzyzewski leads the way with 1,202 wins, followed by Jim Boeheim (1,116) and Roy Williams (903).
The elder Pitino has won four of five meetings against his son, who previously coached at Florida International, Minnesota and New Mexico.
It is also the 20th time in 23 Division I matchups that the father has defeated the son.
“He didn’t say it, but we all know he really wanted it against his son and happy to pull it through,” said guard Dylan Darling, who hit the go-ahead basket.
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