Pitino vs. Pitino: A special family moment to be shared by thousands

Dec. 18—Richard Pitino was pulling up in front of his kid's school on Thursday morning — kids in the vehicle with him — when in a uniquely Albuquerque way, a fellow parent wanted to share a holiday message with the second-year Lobo basketball coach.

"I was dropping my kids off at school," Pitino said, "and some parent yelled, 'Kick your dad's ass!'"

Yes, the buzz was building this week ahead of Sunday's showdown in the Pit with the Iona Gaels, coached by Richard Pitino's Naismith Hall of Fame coaching father, Rick Pitino.

UNM is expecting around 14,000 fans in the arena — the largest home crowd of the season — and not only is the buildup centering around the special guest and unique father/son matchup, but, as the school dropoff chatter indicates, Lobo fans are starting to feel like their old selves again lately.

The Lobos, after all, enter the game 10-0 — one of only five Division I men's teams (out of 363) yet to lose a game.

And the Gaels (7-2) are no slouch, ranked higher than the Lobos in several computer polls and winners of five games in a row themselves.

But while the pregame hype has centered an awful lot on the 70-year-old Rick Pitino and his 40-year-old son — a dead ringer for a three-decades-ago version of his father — squaring off in opposing coaching boxes on Sunday, neither of them is particularly fond of knowing after the game one of the two will have lost.

"In our family, we're all Lobo fans," Rick Pitino said Saturday. "We watch literally every possession (of every UNM game). We have a (text) thread called 'The Lobo Thread.' Richard's not on it. And all we do is talk about the game that they're playing."

Like father, like son?

Richard Pitino jokes he's had to endure 40 years of "dumb questions" about being Rick Pitino's son. The comparisons, fair or not, are hard to avoid when both got into high-level college coaching in their 20s, worked together on some national powerhouse teams and even could pass for twins at the same ages. But they aren't exactly carbon copies, by any stretch of the imagination.

"Coach Pitino is one of the greatest coaches of all time," said Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who played and coached under Rick Pitino and later hired Richard Pitino onto his Florida coaching staff. "The one thing I admire about Richard is I think he's taken a lot of great things from his dad; I think he's taken a lot of great things from his different experiences. But I also think he understands that he's not going to be his dad — can't be his dad. He's got to be himself. ...

"And (Richard) Pitino was never just given everything by his dad. Coach Pitino made him work, starting as a graduate assistant and work his way up."

Richard Pitino says it was his two seasons at Florida with Donovan in 2009-11 that changed his coaching life.

"Best thing I ever did was go work for Billy Donovan," Richard Pitino said. "Not that I'd haven't learned a lot from my dad. I have. He's, as I've said, I think he's a top-three coach of all time. But to go work for Billy and see a guy who played for (Rick Pitino), coached for him, I thought I would see the exact same thing. And I didn't. And that taught me at a young age, like, do what you're comfortable with doing."

Finding balance

Richard Pitino said one thing specifically he learned in the Donovan years was balance — the ability to throw yourself into your work and your family was achievable.

"I appreciate Richard saying that, but I'm not balanced," Donovan admitted. "My wife always says to me, I'm an extremist. I mean, like, I'll dive in whatever I gotta do.

"But there's also a time where I've had to work at shutting it off for the sake of my family at times. ... There's something to be said for when you do get home, you should be there and be present with them. ... You get in the car and you drive your kids to school. And instead of being in the office at 6:30 in the morning or at six o'clock in the morning, you come in at 8:30."

Different scouting reports

Richard Pitino says he has no problem knowing he'll never be the coach his dad is.

The opinion is not universal.

"I actually think he's gonna be better than me," Rick Pitino said. "Because when I was his age — let's go even younger. 'I invented the game of basketball.' See? I didn't have his humility. And humility is the key to greatness in all walks of life. If you're humble (and) hard working, you're gonna make it and you're make it big.

"Richard has been humble from Day 1. Never takes himself too serious. If you give him a compliment, he's gonna defer to the players. But back then, I wasn't good enough to defer. So, he's better than me at the same stage. And I'm very proud of that. I hope he goes from Final Four to Final Four, and I hope it's New Mexico. I think this is a special place. Unbelievable fans."

Sunday prediction

Donovan says he believes the second the game starts, both Pitinos will be locked in on coaching their teams.

But nonetheless, there still will be opportunities to appreciate the moment.

"I think for coach Pitino, just knowing him, there's something to be said for those times in the game (Sunday) when he is going to look down the sideline and see his son there," Donovan said.

"And I know how proud he'll be, you know? I know how proud he'll be that they get a chance to share a moment like that, that they'll remember for the rest of their life together. This is like driving your kids to school. ...

"And I think Richard will look down that sideline and be so grateful for his dad, and I do think there'll be those moments for both of them."

Rick Pitino in the Pit

Sunday's game in the Pit is not the first time Papa Pitino has coached in the arena. Rick Pitino has coached in six games in what is officially named University Arena — four as a head coach, where is has a 3-1 record, and twice as an assistant coach in the 1970's at Syracuse under head coach Jim Boeheim, who is still the head coach at Syracuse.

ASSISTANT AT SYRACUSE

—Dec. 29, 1977: Syracuse 76, Mississippi State 66

—Dec. 30, 1977: Syracuse 96, New Mexico 91

(Both in 1977 Lobo Invitational)

HEAD COACH AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

—Dec. 29, 1980: Boston University 91, Xavier 84

—Dec. 30, 1980: New Mexico 107, Boston University 87

(Both in 1980 Lobo Invitational)

HEAD COACH AT LOUISVILLE

—March 24, 2005: Louisville 93, Washington 79

—March 26, 2005: Louisville 93, West Virginia 85 (OT)

(NCAA Tournament, Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games)

PODCAST: Episode 56 of the Talking Grammer podcast is a breakdown of the Pitino vs. Pitino matchup with sound from both coaches, Dick Vitale and Dan McHale, who worked on the coaching staffs of both men and was there the last time the two coached against each other. Listen here:

Talking Grammer Podcast —Ep 56: Rick Pitino vs Richard Pitino (TG 12.16.22)

VIDEO: Iona coach Rick Pitino talks to media WATCH.

VIDEO: UNM coach Richard Pitino talks to media WATCH.

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