Hall of Fame coach Pitino lands on his feet at Iona
Hall of Famer Rick Pitino was named basketball coach at Iona College on Saturday.
Pitino coached at Louisville from 2001-17 before being fired in a pay-forplay scandal and had been coaching in Greece. He replaces Tim Cluess, who resigned Friday due to health concerns after 10 years and six NCAA Tournament appearances.
“My passion in basketball started in New York and will end there at Iona College,” Pitino said in a statement released by the Catholic school located north of New York City in suburban Westchester County that has an undergraduate enrollment of 3,300 students.
“Tim Cluess has done a spectacular job creating success and a winning spirit,” Pitino added. “At Iona, I will work with the same passion, hunger and drive that I’ve had for over 40 years.”
The 67-year-old Pitino has a 770-271 overall record in college and became the first coach to take three different schools to the Final Four. He won national championships at Louisville (2013) and Kentucky (1996) and also went to the Final Four with Providence in 1987.
Pitino coached twice in the NBA, with the New York Knicks (1987-89) and the Boston Celtics (19972001), where he was also team president.
Last June, Pitino coached Panathinaikos to the championship in the Greek League.
Iona President Seamus Carey said “after a thorough interview process we are confident that Rick’s experience and commitment to Iona and our community make him the right person to continue to build on Tim Cluess’ success.”
Pitino’s return to college basketball comes nearly six months after he and Louisville settled lawsuits stemming from his departure in the wake of a federal investigation of corruption in college basketball.
The coach had sued the University of Louisville Athletic Association for more than $38.7 million in November 2017, alleging its breached its contract by firing him for cause the previous month. The school had countersued and sought monetary damages for vacated games and bonuses. Pitino received no money in the settlement, with his personnel file changing from termination to a resignation effective 13 days before he was fired.
The settlement closed a bitter final chapter between the school and Pitino, who wasn’t named in the federal complaint. He repeatedly said he knew nothing about payments made to the family of a recruit to sign with Louisville.
The school’s acknowledgement of its involvement in the federal investigation occurred as it appealed NCAA sanctions that cost Louisville its 2013 national championship.
In that case, the governing body ordered the vacation of 123 victories, including the Cardinals’ third national title and their 2012 Final Four appearance, following an escort’s book allegations that former Louisville men’s basketball staffer Andre Mcgee hired her and other dancers to strip and have sex with players and recruits.
Coronavirus
PISTONS’ WOOD TESTS POSITIVE >> Christian Wood of the Detroit Pistons has tested positive for the coronavirus, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Wood is feeling fine, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the Pistons nor Wood had publicly confirmed his positive result. Wood’s diagnosis became known one week after he played against the Utah Jazz — spending much of that night matched up with Rudy Gobert, who was the first NBA player known to test positive for the virus.
Utah’s Donovan Mitchell has also tested positive for the virus. It cannot be concluded that any of those three players were involved in spreading it to one another.
The Pistons later confirmed that a player — they did not name Wood — tested positive Saturday and has been in self-isolation.
“A player on the Detroit Pistons, who is under the care of team medical staff and in self-isolation since Wednesday night, was tested for COVID-19,” the team said. “A preliminary positive result came back on March 14.”
GOBERT PLEDGES $500,000 FOR RELIEF >> Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz offered the first of what he said will be “many steps” he will take to help with the coronavirus pandemic, pledging to donate more than $500,000 to relief efforts.
Gobert, who was the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19 — a diagnosis that prompted the NBA to suspend its season for at least a month — said he is giving $200,000 to part-time employees at the arena that plays host to Jazz games to help cover their lost wages.
He also pledged $100,000 each to assist families affected by the pandemic in Oklahoma City, where he was when the diagnosis came, and Utah. He also is giving 100,000 Euros ($111,450 USD) to relief efforts in France, earmarking that for childcare assistance to health care workers as well as for caregivers to the elderly.
BARKLEY PLAYS WAITING GAME >> NBA great Charles Barkley, who is awaiting the results of a coronavirus test he underwent after feeling ill, spent significant time with members of the Los
Angeles Angels on March 2.
Barkley, who did not appear on TNT’S “Inside the NBA” on Thursday, revealed he was self-isolating after not feeling well during a trip to New York, and he said he had been tested for the virus.
SKI RESORTS STRUGGLE WITH FALLOUT >> As ski resorts across the United States grappled with how to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus without having to close, industry giants Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company decided they would shutter 49 of North America’s most well-known resorts.
Vail Resorts said it would shut down its 34 resorts for at least one week before reassessing while Alterra is closing its 15 until further notice. The Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado announced Saturday night that it will close for the season immediately.
The closures marked a sudden change of course after the majority of the country’s resorts vowed earlier Saturday to stay open during the crisis while taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Vail’s resorts include include Vail, Keystone and Breckenridge in Colorado; Park City Mountain Resort in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area and Nevada; Stowe Mountain in Vermont; and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia.
Alterra’s include Steamboat and Winter Park in Colorado; Squaw Valley, Mammoth and Big Bear Mountain; Crystal Mountain in Washington; Stratton and Sugarbush in Vermont; and Deer Valley and Solitude in Utah.
METS RELIEVED ELDER MITCHELL’S TESTS NEGATIVE >> When the father of Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell tested negative for the coronavirus, it was “a sigh of relief” to the New York Mets.
Donovan Mitchell Sr. is a fixture in and around the Mets’ clubhouse in his job as the team’s director of player relations and community outreach. The younger Mitchell confirmed Thursday he tested positive for the virus after Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert became the first NBA player to test positive, with Gobert’s result prompting the league to suspend the season.
NFL
SCHERFF STAYS WITH WASHINGTON >> Washington places the franchise tag on three-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff on Saturday to keep him in the fold next season.