ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Rick Pitino’s vagabond coaching career bathed in scandal and success brought him back to the NCAA Tournament.
Asante Gist scored 18 points and Pitino took his fifth school to the tournament with Iona’s 60-51 victory over Fairfield on Saturday in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship.
The 68-year-old Pitino was already the first coach to win national titles at two schools (Kentucky, Louisville) and the first to take three schools (Providence) to the Final Four.
He led Boston University to the tournament in 1983. Pitino was hired at Iona (12-5) last March to — yes, to keep the Gaels among the perennial favorite to come out of the MAAC in March — but in large part to rehabilitate his image after