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Those boos from the Kentucky faithful when Rick Pitino returned to college basketball to coach archrival Louisville?
Pitino returned to Rupp Arena in familiar Wildcats colors Friday as part of Big Blue Madness ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. He addressed the crowd in what was clearly an emotional moment for him and was met with raucous applause.
The former Kentucky coach led the Wildcats from the 1989-90 season through the 1996-97 one. His 1995-96 team won the national title and just so happened to feature current Kentucky head coach Mark Pope.
“I am so happy to be back,” Pitino said Friday (h/t Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader). “I said before I pack it in, in coaching, I want to go back to Camelot for one more time. And there’s no way I can return better. This is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time, because I visit all my players. I visit the fans that made me happy for every single day for eight years.”
He also didn’t hesitate to praise the Wildcats current coach and his former player.
“And now we get to root for a gentleman that—there have been a lot of great coaches here, a lot of great ones—but we get to root for someone that that name Kentucky is what he’s all about,” he said.
“It’s not about Pope. You’ll never hear him say. The most selfless, humble young man I’ve ever coached in my lifetime. One of the great, great examples of what Kentucky basketball is all about. Mark Pope is going to lead you to greatness, in every sense of the word.”
Pitino is a Kentucky legend thanks to his eight seasons of coaching that also included three Final Four appearances, two SEC regular-season crowns and five SEC tournament titles. He eventually left to coach the Boston Celtics, but it was his return to college basketball that didn’t sit well with Kentucky fans for many years.
After all, he returned to coach Louisville and was met with boos when his Cardinals teams played at Rupp Arena.
There was no booing Friday, and he is clearly back in the fanbase’s good graces as the Pope era begins.
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