Comebacks don’t always work
Unlike last season, Rick Pitino couldn’t inspire his players to take their game to the next level, with Panathinaikos having been in a precarious position in the EuroLeague when the season was suspended.
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Comebacks don’t always work. In late November, Pitino became the Panathinaikos head coach for the second time in his career, hired as a replacement for Argyris Pedoulakis following an underwhelming start to the campaign. Last season, the famous 67-year-old steered the Athenians to the Greek double and the playoffs of the EuroLeague, but he couldn’t reach those same heights again.
The writing was certainly on the wall when Panathinaikos conceded a huge 66-97 defeat to CSKA Moscow in Athens on March 5 - the largest EuroLeague loss in the club’s history. In all honesty, it was a typical performance of a team which was about to lose its coach, with the players having seemingly waved the white flag far too early with CSKA ruthlessly ripping Panathinaikos apart. Pitino’s unusually negative attitude at his press-conference spoke volumes too:
“We don’t have a good low-post game, we’re not a good defensive team, we can’t switch because of our mismatches, we don’t rebound or block out well. If I could, I would like to improve about seven things. Have we got time to do this? I’m an optimistic person so I hope so, but I’m not sure. I’ve only been happy with one or two games this year.”
Pitino was, however, preparing to take his team to Turkey for a vital game against Fenerbahce in the playoff race. However, hours before Panathinaikos were set to catch their flight to face the Turks, the EuroLeague suspended the campaign in light of the coronavirus pandemic. A decision which signalled the end of the road for Pitino with Panathinaikos as he promptly left Greece for the USA.
The American subsequently penned a deal with Iona of the NCAA for the 2020/2021 season. Initially, Pitino expressed his desire to return to Panathinaikos for the completion of the current campaign, however the two parties later agreed to end their cooperation with immediate effect. Giorgos Vovoras will coach the team if and when the EuroLeague regular season restarts.
Throughout his second term at the helm, Pitino appeared just as enthusiastic and passionate, but for whatever reason he failed to inspire his players. It was the complete opposite in the 2018/2019 campaign. In the previous season, the Prasini had immediately began competing with huge desire, passion and hunger after Pitino had replaced Xavi Pascual as coach, storming into the playoffs of the EuroLeague by playing athletic basketball with a solid defence. In stark comparison, Panathinaikos’ defensive play was desperately poor this time around, with opposing teams taking advantage of obvious mismatches. Yes, at the other end Panathinaikos were statistically consistent scorers, but the dreadful rebounding cost the team dearly. The three-point shooting was dismal to say the least as well.
Both Pitino and his troops rapidly began losing confidence during 2020. In January, the situation started to look more positive as Panathinaikos defeated Bayern Munich, Zalgiris Kaunas and ASVEL in consecutive home matches at the OAKA Indoor Hall, but after that everything went wrong for the reigning Greek champions. Four successive losses to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Olympiacos and CSKA severely diminished Panathinaikos’ chances of sneaking into the playoffs, especially taking into consideration that the Trifylli had away games against Fenerbahce, Anadolu Efes and Baskonia coming up. Did Pitino have another trick up his sleeve to steer Panathinaikos into the playoffs? Sadly, coronavirus robbed us of the answer, but the signs weren’t particularly good for a team horribly out of form and belief.
Following his appointment in November, Pitino coached 18 EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos, tallying eight wins and 10 defeats. In the Basket League, the American Hall of Famer comfortably kept Panathinaikos in first position of the competition, easily defeating Ionikos Nikaia 110-65 in Palaio Faliro in what was his final game in charge of the Athens-based club.
Here are Pitino’s statistics in charge of Panathinaikos across his two periods at the club:
EuroLeague regular season: 18 victories, 16 defeats
EuroLeague playoffs: 0 victories, 3 defeats
Basket League regular season*: 25 victories, 4 defeats
Basket League playoffs**: 7 victories, 0 defeats
Greek Cup***: 2 victories, 0 defeats
*Olympiacos forfeited the game at the Peace and Friendship, before Panathinaikos did the same against Kymi
**Panathinaikos awarded 20-0 victory as Olympiacos don’t turn up to first round of the playoffs
***Olympiacos left during the half-time break
