Rick Pitino may or may not face John Calipari in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but he’s already getting some subtle shots in at his longtime foe.
At a press conference ahead of Thursday’s game between St. John’s and Omaha, Pitino opened up about the only coach he has ever considered to be a rival. Notably, it was not Calipari, but longtime UConn head coach Jim Calhoun.
“There’s only one coach I had a strong rivalry with. And today I respect him as much as anybody in the game, and that was Jim Calhoun,” Pitino said. “We hated each other, (Boston University) and Northeastern. Hated each other.
“He goes on to coach at Connecticut. I go on to coach at Providence, and we hated each other there as well. Today, I don’t think I respect any coach in the game as much as I respect Jim Calhoun.”
Rick Pitino on his only rival 👀 pic.twitter.com/jFlRYLcZ5X
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 19, 2025
No matter how Pitino views it, plenty would probably argue he and Calipari were rivals for at least some period of time. The two have been linked for much of their respective careers, and plenty of verbal barbs were traded, particularly when Calipari was at Kentucky and Pitino coached Louisville.
Maybe Pitino never really considered Calipari a true rival, no matter what anyone else thinks. It does help that things have somewhat thawed between the two in recent years, but in this case, old habits might die hard.
Pitino and Calipari would face off in the second round of the NCAA Tournament if St. John’s defeats Omaha and Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks upset seventh-seeded Kansas. There are definitely some people that would love to see that matchup come to fruition.
