CollegeInsider.com's 10 finalists for its Joe B. Hall Award, presented to its top first-year Division I men's basketball head coach, includes FIU's Richard Pitino.
Pitino's up against Rider's Kevin Baggett; Mount S. Mary's Jamion Christian; Brown's Mike Martin; Wagner's Bashir mason; Illinois State's Dan Muller; UConn's Kevin Ollie; Long Island University-Brooklyn's Jack Perri; Southern Utah's Nick Robinson; and Tennessee State's Travis Williams.
The winner will be announced April 5 at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet. I don't know how to handicap this award. I don't know who the favorite should be. I don't know if any of those other guys had to take the bottom of the roster of an eight-win team, mix that in with guys you were able to recruit at the last minute and coach up the whole thing into a 16-win gholaush.
Those who know of Joe B. Hall can probably appreciate the irony. Hall was a University of Kentucky graduate, played on Kentucky's 1949 national champions and coached Kentucky's 1978 national champions. While Pitino's father helped return Kentucky to prominence, Pitino senior and junior have much stronger ties to Louisville, Kentucky's hated in-state rival.
Congrats Coach Pitino...Well deserved!
Posted by: REALLY?? | March 08, 2013 at 08:01 AM
Congrats to Coach Pitino! DJN how come the Herald didn't send someone to the FIU pro day. I know you were at Doral, but it would have been nice for someone to have attended.
Posted by: jcalex22 | March 08, 2013 at 10:31 AM
Great for Pitino! Go Panthers!
Posted by: FIU Fanatic | March 08, 2013 at 05:23 PM
You Idiot.. you know he was at Doral, why would you ask you didn't he attend? Tiger Phil vs FIU Pro Day hmmm
Posted by: same ole same ole | March 10, 2013 at 08:39 AM