Sports OT;
Pitino not bothered by Rupp reaction
By CHRIS DUNCAN
AP Sports Writer
December 29, 2001
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Rick Pitino returned to his old Kentucky home
Saturday and could only laugh at the jeers and some of the hostile signs that
mocked his switch to archrival Louisville.
He was less amused by Kentucky's 82-62 victory over the Cardinals.
On his first trip back to Rupp Arena since taking over as coach of Louisville,
he was showered with boos by Kentucky fans who once revered him.
``I didn't pay any attention to it,'' Pitino said. ``I get cheered in Freedom Hall,
and that's all I can ask. I start getting booed in Freedom Hall, then I'm in
trouble.''
Dressed in a black suit, sporting a red tie and nervously bouncing a breath mint
in his mouth, Pitino entered through the home team tunnel -- instead of the one
leading to the visitors' dressing room. He said he pulled the switch because it
offered a shorter walk to the Louisville bench.
``I really wasn't thinking about it,'' he said. ``I didn't time the walk.''
Pitino also said he ignored the many handmade signs sprinkled among the
capacity crowd of 24,330, the fourth largest in the arena's history.
``Only Santa looks good in red,'' read one.
Another attacked Pitino's wife, Joanne, who had a reputation for not liking
Lexington during their years here. The sign was spotted by their oldest son,
Michael, who attended the game.
``He said, and he was laughing hysterically, 'I wish Mom was here, because
there was a sign out there that said, 'We didn't like you either, Joanne,''' Pitino
said. ``That's the way you have to take it all, as a good-natured jest.
``Some of the comments, some people may think were cruel, but we laughed.
That's what entertainment and college basketball is all about. When I go home,
my house will not be haunted.''
Pitino coached Kentucky from 1989-97, taking over a program ruined by
scandal and leading it back to national prominence. He left after the 1996-97
season to run the Boston Celtics. Tubby Smith took over at Kentucky and
immediately led it to a national title.
Pitino resigned from the NBA team in January after 3 1/2 unsuccessful
seasons. Two months later, he accepted the Louisville job, vacated by Hall of
Fame coach Denny Crum.
``Their coach is still a Crum!'' read another sign at the arena.
``Celtics Better off Since you left,'' read another, highlighting the letters
``CBS,'' the TV network broadcasting the game.
Pitino spent most of the first half kneeling on a red towel or crouching in front
of his bench, yelling instructions.
Louisville trailed by only four at halftime, but the deeper, more talented
Wildcats pulled away early in the second half.
Cliff Hawkins' driving layup with 3:49 left gave Kentucky a 73-50 lead and
triggered another roar and chants of ``Tubby! Tubby!''
The crowd repeated the chant as the final 90 seconds wound down. Pitino
never reacted, getting up from his crouch to shake Smith's hand as the final
buzzer sounded.
``It certainly makes you feel good to feel wanted,'' said Smith, a former Pitino
assistant at Kentucky. ``Our fans are the greatest in the country, and I thought
they handled today's situation with Coach Pitino coming in a classy way.''
Before the game, C.M. Newton, the former Kentucky athletic director who
hired Pitino in the 1980s, asked fans not to give the coach too hard a time
when he took the floor.
``I hope our people show class and show Rick the kind of respect he deserves,
because what Rick did here to help us rebuild was just short of miraculous,''
Newton said. ``It would hurt me, and I would think it would hurt him.
``But he's been booed by the best, in college and the pros. He would handle
it.''
Most of Kentucky's fans weren't about to cooperate.
``He's a traitor,'' said Linda Horton, 55, of Salvisa. ``For him to choose
Louisville, it means he couldn't care less about what he accomplished at
Kentucky. I would've respected him choosing any other school, even
Tennessee.
``But not Louisville.''
Larry Pelfrey, 40, of Berea, was wearing a white T-shirt with ``Betrayal is a
Choice'' emblazoned in blue letters on the front, a parody of ``Success is a
Choice,'' one of the motivational books Pitino has written.
``This proves he never really understood what Kentucky basketball was. For
him to go to our biggest rival, it's the ultimate insult,'' he said. ``What he did
was very selfish. My opinion of him is he'd date his best friend's wife if he
thought it would be better for him.''
When Pitino was hired, a hot item in Louisville became red T-shirts with ``Got
Pitino?'' written on the front and ``We do'' on the back, a takeoff on the milk
commercials.
Andy Duffee, a Louisville medical student, bravely wore one to the game after
buying a ticket from a scalper for $125.
``I just want to be there for the introduction,'' Duffee said. ``It'll be the loudest
booing in the history of booing.'' |
