August_West
Conscience do cost
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2011
- Messages
- 51,431
- Reaction Score
- 90,762
"Slick" Rick has that slick moniker for a reason. It has been interesting watching his transformation since the return of his banning. Through Iona and then accelerated by the move to the Johnnies, he has been masterful about curating his media prescence and presenting as the contrite, elder statesman coaching legend.
Presenting himself as "good guy" Rick, doing stuff like making video love letters to Kentucky fans, endorsing Mark Pope via a self-important video, making a video urging Kentucky fans to not boo Calipari on his return last Saturday. Actually paying a visit to Rupp arena and attending a Kentucky game, which if you really think about it, it is so weird for a coach to do in mid season. Another good one was his tweet congratulating Providence on their comeback. LOL he congratulated PC on what amounts to a moral victory, and PC fans not only didnt get mad which should be the reaction to that transparent gladhanding, PC fans ate it up. The guy is a master. He loves sticking his beak where it doesnt belong to further cultivate that new "good guy Rick. your affable humble verteran servant of all things college basketball".
It is all a ruse. Pitino is Pitino. All fantastic coaches (and he is a legendary coach love him or hate him) have Egos that can be measured in Hilton Armstrong units, and ever since his return to coaching it is eating him up that he is not the measuring stick that all other current coaches are measured by. So far the limelight he craves has been gained by all the items I listed above. But what he most wants is to be universally be called what Hurley is (and called himself recently
) "The best coach in &*&(*ing sport". Hurley at every turn has blocked Pitino from ascending to what slick Rick thinks is his. First by stopping Pitino's Iona team in the 1st round of the 23 tourney. Oh Rick had dreams of taking that Iona team on a little run that March to have everyone kissing his pinkie ring again. Its been quite a while, a decade at least, since anyones done that. Then Rick joins the BigEast and his arrival is coincidentally at the same time as a team 2 hours to the north has a historic back to back title runs, beating his team 3 times, when just winning one of those 3 games wouldve been enough to get Pitino back to the bright lights of the NCAA tourney. To make it more painful, another coach becomes a huge legend in his own right, in real time, in his same league, in his own backyard. Dan Hurley is overshadowing Rick Pitino. On the court and in the press Nothing is is worse to Pitino than that. It eats at him, it haunts him.
Now Pitino is bringing his 11-1 BigEast team who is on a real roll, to ground zero, the place that holds everything he craves. It is all right in front of him. Not only can he beat the back to back NCAA champions, but he can beat the current "Face of the game" coach all in one day. He is salivating at the prospect, he wants to make it clear that he is the King. I promise you this is not just another game to slick Rick. It holds everything he feels that was wrongfully taken from him when he was ousted from Louisville.
I for one would like to deny him that pleasure. You want to make your bones again, Rick?
Not on our watch.
Presenting himself as "good guy" Rick, doing stuff like making video love letters to Kentucky fans, endorsing Mark Pope via a self-important video, making a video urging Kentucky fans to not boo Calipari on his return last Saturday. Actually paying a visit to Rupp arena and attending a Kentucky game, which if you really think about it, it is so weird for a coach to do in mid season. Another good one was his tweet congratulating Providence on their comeback. LOL he congratulated PC on what amounts to a moral victory, and PC fans not only didnt get mad which should be the reaction to that transparent gladhanding, PC fans ate it up. The guy is a master. He loves sticking his beak where it doesnt belong to further cultivate that new "good guy Rick. your affable humble verteran servant of all things college basketball".
It is all a ruse. Pitino is Pitino. All fantastic coaches (and he is a legendary coach love him or hate him) have Egos that can be measured in Hilton Armstrong units, and ever since his return to coaching it is eating him up that he is not the measuring stick that all other current coaches are measured by. So far the limelight he craves has been gained by all the items I listed above. But what he most wants is to be universally be called what Hurley is (and called himself recently
) "The best coach in &*&(*ing sport". Hurley at every turn has blocked Pitino from ascending to what slick Rick thinks is his. First by stopping Pitino's Iona team in the 1st round of the 23 tourney. Oh Rick had dreams of taking that Iona team on a little run that March to have everyone kissing his pinkie ring again. Its been quite a while, a decade at least, since anyones done that. Then Rick joins the BigEast and his arrival is coincidentally at the same time as a team 2 hours to the north has a historic back to back title runs, beating his team 3 times, when just winning one of those 3 games wouldve been enough to get Pitino back to the bright lights of the NCAA tourney. To make it more painful, another coach becomes a huge legend in his own right, in real time, in his same league, in his own backyard. Dan Hurley is overshadowing Rick Pitino. On the court and in the press Nothing is is worse to Pitino than that. It eats at him, it haunts him. Now Pitino is bringing his 11-1 BigEast team who is on a real roll, to ground zero, the place that holds everything he craves. It is all right in front of him. Not only can he beat the back to back NCAA champions, but he can beat the current "Face of the game" coach all in one day. He is salivating at the prospect, he wants to make it clear that he is the King. I promise you this is not just another game to slick Rick. It holds everything he feels that was wrongfully taken from him when he was ousted from Louisville.
I for one would like to deny him that pleasure. You want to make your bones again, Rick?
Not on our watch.
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