New Xavier head basketball coach Richard Pitino credits his father, Rick Pitino, for his insatiable competitive nature.
"That would be the singular thing I've learned," Pitino said Tuesday at his introductory press conference. "To get everybody to scratch and claw and band together to get a win, then do it again. There's no better, fiercer competitor."
Pitino will now feel his father's cutthroat coaching tactics twice a year when Xavier and St. John's face off during the 2025-26 regular season. It'll be the same feeling the two share when battling on the links.
"We're both bad golfers," Pitino said. "You would think it's Sunday at The Masters when we play."
But Rick Pitino, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, had always encouraged his son to stay at New Mexico over the last few years when his name was frequently brought up during the coaching carousel.
"Every time I had an offer he'd say, 'stay at New Mexico,' " Pitino said. "He saw the way the community embraced me. He saw that we were winning. He saw how happy I was."
When Xavier expressed interest, it was different.
"When Xavier called, he changed his tune," Pitino said. "He said, 'you've got to do that one. It just fits you.' "
The fit was too good. Pitino attended Providence College, a ...
