Rick Pitino is heading back to college basketball, and he sounds thrilled.
The veteran coach reached an agreement with Iona to become the new basketball coach. He issued a statement after the news was confirmed, suggesting that he plans for this to be his final coaching stop.
Rick Pitino on Iona: "I'm incredibly excited. I started my journey in basketball in Manhattan. I'm now able to end my journey in New Rochelle. I've admired the stellar job that Tim Cluess has done. I'm going to try and carry that on and elevate it to prominence."
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 14, 2020
Pitino continued: "I missed college basketball when I was in Greece. I'm back home where it all started. It's the greatest feeling in the world."
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 14, 2020
A deal between Pitino and Iona came together quickly on Saturday, and Pitino gets his return to college after being fired over the Louisville recruiting scandal in 2017. He had claimed he didn’t want to come back to the college ranks, but this makes it pretty clear it was his dream all along.
