Rick Pitino has been part of something special with the Louisville Cardinals in 2013. His impressive career resume, however, is what will carry him to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Pitino, one of the winningest active coaches in college basketball, has more exciting news than just winning the Big East conference championship, securing a Final Four bid and being within reach of a national championship. The longtime Louisville coach has been elected to the Hall of Fame, according to Ian O’Connor of ESPN.
The inductees will be announced Monday prior to the national title game in Atlanta.
Pitino posted a 192-220 record in his six-year NBA coaching career with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. In his 28 years of coaching at the college level, Pitino has a 662–239 record, for a .734 winning percentage, which ranks 10th among active coaches and 29th all-time among collegiate basketball coaches entering the 2012 season.
Bernard King, Mitch Richmond, Tim Hardaway, Guy Lewis, Maurice Cheeks and the recently announced Gary Payton are the other Hall of Fame finalists.
