Former Gators assistant Richard Pitino on other side a year later in Elite Eight
Saturday, March 24, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Football, Scott Carter
PHOENIX – A year ago in New Orleans as Florida prepared to face Butler in the Elite Eight, Richard Pitino huddled with Florida coach Billy Donovan and the Gators the previous night to go over the game plan.
He spent Friday night here preparing for ways to beat the Gators.
After two seasons as a UF assistant, Pitino left shortly after Florida's loss to Butler to join his father Rick's staff at Louisville.
The presence of the younger Pitino creates a unique challenge for the Gators in Saturday's game against the Cardinals for a berth in the Final Four. It also brings back a lot of memories for Donovan, who has known the Pitino family for more than 25 years.
“When I hired Richard there was a picture that his mom sent [to me],'' Donovan said Friday. “I was playing at Providence and I was in his house … Richard is sitting on my lap at like 3 or 4 years old. It's just kind of ironic that I hired him.
“He's a terrific coach. I had a lot of trust and confidence and faith in him just because I've known him so long.”
After Florida defeated Marquette on Thursday night, Richard Pitino mingled with some of his former co-workers at UF and showed off his newborn. He also watched the Gators play to see if he could gain an edge in developing a scouting report for Saturday's game.
Pitino, who is Louisville's associate head coach, sees at least one difference in the Florida team he was a part of last year.
“Bradley Beal,'' said Pitino, “we didn't have him last year.”
The Gators downplayed the significance of Pitino's presence on the Cardinals' bench on Saturday.
“He knows a lot of what we do, but that doesn't mean you can stop it,'' guard Kenny Boynton said.
Meanwhile, Rick Pitino thanked Donovan for hiring his son and gave Donovan the biggest compliment a father could give a coach who was once his son's boss.
“I hope someday he turns out to be a Billy Donovan,'' the elder Pitino said.
