PItino Plays To Big East Fans, Calls The SEC A “Second-Rate League”

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It’s probably best not to get too stirred up over the things a coach says at a booster club meeting.  Until recently, most such comments were never available for mass consumption.  But with the internet… oh, boy.  And the messageboards have been lighting up over the weekend due to a comment Rick Pitino made before a Louisville fan club last week.

Introducing his son — who is back as an assistant with the Cardinals after spending two years on Billy Donovan’s staff at Florida — Pitino said:


“(Richard) went away for a couple of years to learn how to do things in a second-rate league, then get back to the big time.”


As we all know, Pitino would have never made that comment while coaching at Kentucky.  And he certainly wouldn’t take a shot — not a serious shot anyway — at the league or program of his old protege Billy Donovan.

Bottom line: Pitino was speaking to Big East fans and playing to the crowd.  Coaches do that all the time.