Report: New Mexico's Richard Pitino Jr. emerges as top candidate for Louisville

College basketball is the family business for the Pitinos. However, while Richard Pitino is already coaching in the sport like his father, Rick Pitino, he might now actually get a chance to truly follow in his dad’s footsteps.

Per Jody Demling of Cardinal Authority, Richard Pitino has become a top candidate for the head coaching job at Louisville. On3’s Pete Nakos has since confirmed Demling’s report. That would put him in the same role that Rick Pitino held for the Cardinals from 2001 to 2017.

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Pitino has been a head coach for a dozen years now. He spent one year with Florida International before truly settling into his career for eight years at Minnesota. His most recent stint has been at New Mexico where he has led the Lobos for the past three seasons

Pitino’s career record stands at 220-178 (.553) over his 12 years with the Panthers, Golden Gophers, and Lobos. That includes three appearances in the NCAA Tournament with none making it out of the opening two rounds.

Ironically enough, the lone win of his career in the bracket came against Louisville. It was in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament in an 86-76 win for Minnesota.

His most recent appearance, his only one with New Mexico to this point, was last week when they fell 77-56 to Clemson. That came after the Lobos, the No. 6 seed in the Mountain West Tournameét, came all the way out of the first round to secure the league title with four wins in four days. That miraculous run earned them their first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2014.

Rick Pitino, Richard’s infamous father, is a Hall of Famer who has been head coaching for the last 45 years. He is best known for his 24 years coaching at both Kentucky and then Louisville. He also had a six-year stint in the association with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.

Pitino’s collegiate record sits at 854-306 (.736). Those wins are the 10th-most all time and second-most among active coaches behind only John Calipari. His resumé also includes 26 conference titles, 23 selections into the NCAA Tournament, and seven Final Fours with two titles.

As it’s well-known at Louisville, though, his career isn’t without scrutiny due to a four-year stretch from 2011 to 2015. Off-court scandals led to 123 vacated wins, including their national title under him in 2013, the third championship in program history.

After three seasons away, Pitino returned to collegiate basketball in 2020 at Iona. He spent three years there and made the NCAA Tournament twice before coming to St. John’s this past season.

Whoever is taking the Louisville job will take over for Kenny Payne after just two seasons. His own connections to the school weren’t enough to lead to success there as the team went 12-52 (.188) the last two years for the one of the worst, if not the worst, coaching records in school history.

Some might see this potential choice of Pitino as a little on the nose considering who his father is. Still, as a well-respected young coach in the sport, it might be his legacy to take the seat that his dad once held and bring the program back to prominence.