Report: Rick Pitino offered coaching job with New Zealand team
The unexpected journey of currently jobless Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino could see the ex-Louisville bench boss head to the other side of the planet.
Pitino has reportedly been offered the head coaching position with the New Zealand Breakers of Oceania's National Basketball League, according to The New York Times' Marc Stein.
The Breakers are co-owned in part by a group which includes former NBA All-Star Shawn Marion, Swansea City F.C. board member Romie Chaudhari, and Dan "Big Cat" Katz, PFT Commenter, and Henry Lockwood of "Pardon My Take" fame, per the New Zealand Herald's Christopher Reive. Yes, seriously.
Pitino was dismissed after 16 seasons at Louisville after he was implicated as having played a role in one of the largest corruption scandals in college basketball history. In 559 games with the Cardinals - plus stops with Kentucky, Providence, Boston University, and Hawaii - Pitino has amassed a college coaching record of 770-271 since 1975.
The 65-year-old enjoyed considerably less success in two stints as an NBA head coach, tallying a record of 192-220 in the regular season and 6-7 in the playoffs with the New York Knicks from 1987-89 and the Boston Celtics from 1997-01.
No NBA team has reached out to Pitino since his ouster, though his camp did contact the Milwaukee Bucks, league sources told Stein.