Rick Pitino He still remembers the feeling.
Once a hero who led Kentucky Before the 1996 national championship, Pitino heard loud boos when he returned to the Wildcats’ Rupp Arena in 2001 as head coach of archrival Louisville.
“It was really hurtful,” Pitino, who coached at Kentucky from 1989-97, recalled Thursday. “But I will say, today, I realized why.”
Pitino is on a much better relationship with Kentucky fans these days.
Now the head coach of Saint JohnPitino returned to Rupp Arena last year for the Wildcats’ Big Blue Madness preseason event, where he received cheers from the Kentucky faithful who no longer viewed him as an enemy in red in Louisville.
He was invited by Mark Pope, who was the captain of Kentucky’s 1996 team and became the Wildcats’ head coach before last season.
It’s all part of the history between Pitino and his former school, which will add another chapter when St. John’s faces No. 22 Kentucky in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m happy to have my name hanging in the rafters of Rupp Arena,” said Pitino, who went 219-50 (.814) at Kentucky before leaving in 1997 to coach the Boston Celtics.
“It’s a big part of my life. It’s a big part of the eight wonderful years I had there. I’m happy to be part of their family.”
Saturday’s game at State Farm Arena is part of the CBS Sports Classic, an NCAA doubleheader that also features North Carolina vs. Ohio State.
This is Pitino’s first time facing Kentucky since Dec. 21, 2016, in what proved to be his final season in Louisville.
The tensions should be much lower this time around, especially in light of the mutual closeness between Pitino and Pope. Pope played two seasons at Kentucky under Pitino from 1994-96 and helped lead the second team to a 36-2 record and the sixth NCAA title in program history.
After John Calipari and Kentucky parted ways in 2024, Pitino called on the Wildcats to hire Pope as head coach.
Pitino and Bob plan to have dinner on Friday night — then become rivals for a few hours the next non-conference day.
“We probably have a couple of teams with very high ceilings that haven’t quite been found yet,” Pope said Thursday. “You have two teams that can be incredibly explosive at any moment. But I think at the heart of it, there will be a lot of physicality in the game.”
St. John’s (7-3) and Kentucky (7-4) started the season in the top 10 in the AP Poll, but both got off to mixed starts while navigating new-look rosters in the transfer portal era.
Marquee wins have eluded both schools, with St. John’s going 0-3 against ranked opponents and Kentucky going 0-4.
While Kentucky is currently unranked, Pitino believes the Wildcats have “improved dramatically” in recent games. Saturday could mark the debut of Kentucky center Jaden Quintance, a potential NBA lottery pick who is nearing his return from a torn ACL.
“Obviously it’s a big game, two top teams competing, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us,” said St. John’s senior forward Zubi Ejiofor.
“I don’t think we think of it as Pitino’s former team playing his former captain or anything like that, but it’s just a game we’re really excited about, and we have to get the win.”
St. John’s enters Saturday with a three-game winning streak, including Tuesday’s 79-66 win over DePaul to start Big East play.
After Saturday’s game in Atlanta, the Johnnies are scheduled to host Harvard at Carnesecca Stadium next week before they begin the rest of their Big East slate.
“We were an alternative to UCLA in the CBS Classic, and I don’t think I would have accepted that [the invitation] “If it’s not Kentucky, because I thought it would be a great game,” Pitino said. “Their size, speed and talent is outstanding. It gets us ready for our conference, and we’re excited about it.”