In case you haven't heard it yet, here is Rick Pitino's presser from last night.
Now that this is out, there are really only two questions left to ask: will this cost Pitino his job, and how will it affect his recruiting.
I doubt it will cost him his job. If there is anything we have learned in the last few years, its that our celebrities - in sports, in entertainment, in politics - are human too, that they make mistakes just like the rest of us. And Pitino did the best thing possible when he was caught - he came clean. Its amazing how much saying "I messed up, I'm sorry" can swing the public's perception of you.
The biggest reason I don't think Pitino should be fired is that I would probably do the same thing if I found myself in that situation. While I don't condone cheating on your spouse in the least, if I was a married public figure, got another woman pregnant, and she wanted $3,000 to take care of the baby (in one way or another), I think there is only one course of action.
Like it or not, believe in it or not, abortion was still a legal (albeit controversial) medical procedure last time I checked. If you're Louisville, are you going to fire one of the best in the business when he has committed no crime?
So let's say he keeps his job. How will this incident affect his recruiting? It won't benefit it, that's for sure. It may have already taken a toll, as Louisville lose Fab Melo, a top five recruit in the class of '10, to Syracuse (most industry sources thought the Cards were a lock).
There is something in basketball called negative recruiting (read the Parrish and Goodman articles after the jump), which is exactly what it sounds like. If I'm another coach recruiting Michael Chandler (a 6'11' rising junior and one of the top prospects in the class of '11 who committed to Pitino in January), I say things to him like "If you go to Louisville, chances are you will be playing for Ralph Willard"; or to his parents "do you really want to send your son to a coach with these morals?"
Only time will tell how much of an impact this will have.
And before I sign off on the issue, follow the jump for a last batch of columns from around the intrawebs:
Gary Parrish of CBSSports: "'d like to tell you his personal life won't come up in recruiting, but that would be a lie, because it will. Even if a prospect doesn't care, a prospect's family might. And even if a prospect's family doesn't care, opposing coaches will almost certainly try to make them care by floating theories about how Pitino's life is spiraling out of control, about how it'll lead to an early retirement, about how signing with Louisville isn't as likely to have you playing for Pitino as it is to have you playing for new assistant Ralph Willard.
In the business, it's called negative recruiting.
And it works.
So while Pitino spoke about the incident Wednesday and explained how telling the truth will help make it a part of his past, the reality is that this is very much going to be a part of his future, too. How much so remains to be determined. But when John Calipari moved down the street in April, Pitino's job immediately became more difficult, and I'm inclined to believe this latest episode is only going to make things worse."
NVR1983 from Rush the Court: "How did Pitino expect Sypher to find insurance for that sum? The answer is that it’s pretty clear that he didn’t. So, why would he lie about this, a legal, if controversial in some places, procedure? Even Red Staters in the Louisville area would be willing to forgive Pitino’s indiscretions if he continues to get to Elite Eights. So who or what exactly would Pitino be afraid of? The answer may lie in a place closer to Pitino’s heart than even basketball. . .
Pitino’s Catholic faith is well-known and while he doesn’t reach Tim Tebow levels in terms of evangelism it’s pretty clear that Catholicism is a big part of his life as he reportedly “brings along close friend and spiritual adviser, the Rev. Edward Bradley — a priest in Henderson, Ky. — on many team trips”. As most of you are probably aware, the Catholic Church has taken a fairly strong and unambiguous stance against abortion. Perhaps at this point in his life, Pitino is less concerned about keeping his coaching job and jeopardizing a future trip to Springfield than he is about being granted into admission into another rather select club.
Jeff Goodman of FOXSports: "Louisville already missed out on their top recruit for the Class of 2010 last week when Brazilian big man Fab Melo somewhat surprisingly chose Syracuse over the heavily-favored Cardinals. While Pitino may not be able to land another Samardo Samuels or a guy the caliber of Melo, there are still those whose views on Louisville in the wake of the Pitino news haven't altered a bit.
"It doesn't change anything with us," said Rod Odom Sr., whose son, Rod, is being recruited by several other Big East schools. "We sat down as a family last night and analyzed it and spoke to Rod about it."
The elder Odom told FOXSports.com that he isn't sold on the fact there was ever an abortion. The same goes for rising 6-foot-10 junior Michael Chandler, one of the elite big men in the Class of 2011, who committed to Pitino and the Cardinals back in January.
"My commitment is still strong," Chandler said on Tuesday. "It wouldn't change because of this because it's not true. This won't affect my decision at all."
While Chandler maintains that he hasn't been the target of negative recruiting, that probably will change. Many programs that will go up against Louisville in recruiting wars will likely use the uncertainty involving Pitino to their advantage.
"It just happened, so we haven't gotten any of that yet," the elder Odom said.
Just wait."
Tim Dahlberg of the AP: "Pitino wins games and lots of them. No reason to jeopardize that, especially now that archrival Kentucky has its own superstar coach.
Sure, Pitino’s contract lists moral depravity and dishonesty as possible causes for termination. But let’s get real.
Winning basketball games is a lot more important than taking the high moral ground at most universities. Besides, where is Louisville going to get another coach who can win and win big?"
Jody Demling of the Louisville C-J: "Shawn Teague, the father of University of Louisville's top Class of 2011 recruiting target - Marquis Teague - told The Courier-Journal on Wednesday night that the recent events surrounding U of L coach Rick Pitino haven't affected the recruitment of his son.
The younger Teague is considered one of the top-five prospects nationally in his class and is a point guard from Indianapolis Pike High School. The elder Teague played for Pitino at Boston University.
"It hasn't changed a thing for us," Shawn Teague said. "Of course, I want to see some things fall out a little bit more. Things happen and things can change - even with this situation - and we still have to look to see if anything is going to happen as a result of what did happen. But in terms of who Rick Pitino is and how I feel about him and how my family and Marquis feel about him, there's no change in that whatsoever."
The elder Teague said he "didn't know the extent of what happened," but added that he doesn't have "any qualms with Pitino."
No comments:
Post a Comment