Friday Frappé: Familiar script for Pitino at Panathinaikos

In this week’s edition of the Friday Frappé, AGONAsport’s Peter Katsiris takes a look at the situation Rick Pitino has inherited at Panathinaikos for a second straight season.

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It’s a familiar scene at Panathinaikos. A rocky start to life in the EuroLeague has seen Rick Pitino return to the Trifylli on an interim basis for the second straight autumn.

Argyris Pedoulakis had stepped in as a full-time replacement for Pitino in the offseason after the American refused to re-sign with Panathinaikos following his interim run as coach last season. Pedoulakis was always going to be judged on his ability to steer Panathinaikos to success in Europe, so the writing was already on the wall by the time the club slipped to 4-4 on the season courtesy of a nail-biting 105-106 defeat at the hands of ALBA Berlin on 14 November.

Panathinaikos moved promptly to sack Pedoulakis the following day and it wasn’t long after that Pitino was re-installed as the man in charge.

Panathinaikos were criticized in the offseason for appointing Pedoulakis, and perhaps those voices were justified though many argued that the club moved too quick to sack Pedoulakis. However, one thing for certain is that nobody has criticized the Panathinaikos brass for giving Pitino the keys once again this season.

After replacing Xavi Pascual part way through last campaign, Pitino managed to guide Panathinaikos to a playoff spot in the EuroLeague against all odds. So, although the objective remains the same and the runway is a little longer this time around, it’s definitely a tough task for a club that has uncharacteristically already dropped two games on home court in the EuroLeague.

An encouraging sign for Panathinaikos and their fans is that the club this season, despite their 4-4 record, have been on the wrong end of the narrowest score-lines when they’ve suffered defeat. Besides a hammering at the hands of Khimki in Russia, Panathinaikos’ points differential in their three other defeats is just -3 points – indicating how close Panathinaikos are to getting over the hump in Europe.

It’s a hump that perhaps nobody other than Pitino can get the club over considering what he did in Athens last season. Although he won’t be able to deliver a domestic double following the club’s elimination from the Greek Cup, the Panathinaikos brass won’t mind if that means European glory for the first time in a long time for the green side of Athens. Panathinaikos’ tendency to struggle in Europe continues to burden a club that hasn’t reached the Final Four of the competition since 2012 – an alarming fact considering the club’s rich history of European success.

While a lot seems similar for Pitino, perhaps what is different this time around is that the 67-year-old coach has another job in the horizon. Charged with leading the Ethniki through qualifying for next summer’s Olympics in Tokyo, whether or not he does is something Panathinaikos fans won’t care about until the summer, but by then it’ll be known if Pitino can provide an encore for Panathinaikos in the EuroLeague.

by Peter Katsiris

Image Source: to10.gr

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