Pitino to coach Puerto Rican hoops team
The University of Louisville and Puerto Rican Basketball Federation on Monday announced that head basketball coach Rick Pitino will coach Puerto Rico's national basketball team in two international events this summer.
Pitino will be Puerto Rico's head coach for the Pan American Games in Toronto in late July and again at a pre-Olympics FIBA qualifying tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, from Aug. 25 to Sept. 5. The top two squads at the 10-team FIBA tournament will qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
The new gig, which Pitino said he is doing for free, will combine with Pitino's current job and allows Louisville to play Puerto Rico's national and junior teams this August in the Bahamas. That series replaces Louisville's original plans to travel to Spain in August, but there are no specifics as far as dates, times or locations just yet.
RELATED | Transcript: Pitino previews ACC tournament
Pitino said U of L will play both Puerto Rican teams twice in the Bahamas, with the potential to add a third matchup with both. He'll coach the Puerto Rico teams, he said, and let an assistant coach the Louisville squads.
He has maintained in recent months that next season's U of L team will need a foreign trip, or something comparable, to help build cohesion with a 15-man roster that isn't expected to include a senior.
"It kills two birds with one stone for me personally," Pitino said. "One: I've been offered a few times in my life to take this type of opportunity and really haven't been able to do it, and this time, because it is Puerto Rico, I am going to do it.
"The second thing is it will correspond with what we hope to do this summer at the University of Louisville."
Pitino will travel to Puerto Rico in late June and start training camp for the national team on July 1. The Puerto Rican team will also have a training session in Louisville in early August.
MORE U OF L | Chris Jones' lawyer predicts no indictment
U of L assistant coach Mike Balado, who is fluent in Spanish, will help Pitino coach the team, and two assistants from Puerto Rico will also join the staff.
"I already have my Rosetta Stone hooked up again," Pitino joked. "There are barriers to every situation ... Basketball is a universal language."
Puerto Rican reporters on a teleconference with Pitino on Monday asked if he planned to recruit any NBA or college players with some connection to Puerto Rico to play for the national team. The names that came up included Miami Heat guard and 2014 Final Four MVP Shabazz Napier and former St. John's star and Orlando Magic forward Maurice Harkless.
They also wondered if Pitino would reach out to Kentucky guard Devin Booker, who has some Puerto Rican heritage in his family.
"I don't want to toy with Devin Booker right now," Pitino said with a grin. "If he does go to the NBA, I'm certainly going to speak to Devin ... Once we get through a little bit of March Madness, I'm going to speak to each one of them about competing for their country."
As for U of L and the all-important July recruiting cycle, Pitino said the new job won't have much impact in that area. Louisville has already signed three prospects for the 2015 class and secured a verbal commitment from another. After that, the Cardinals would most likely chase a junior-college or fifth-year transfer.
"Most of our recruiting is pretty much over with," Pitino said. "We're just going to follow the players ... The most important reason I'm doing this in terms of Louisville is for that period (in August). It really helped Kentucky doing it. It helped us the last time we were in the Bahamas.
"Recruiting-wise, we're in very good shape right now. The following year we're not going to lose too many players, if any."
Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).