Pitino: “The Greek people were awesome to me”

In a recent interview with the Boston Herald, Rick Pitino looked back on his time in Greece, admitting that he wasn’t aware of Panathinaikos before he signed for the club.

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Pitino was adored by the Panathinaikos faithful over the course of his two spells in Athens. In late 2018, the experienced American coach became the Panathinaikos boss for the first time, subsequently steering the club to the EuroLeague playoffs and the domestic double. Unfortunately for Pitino, results were somewhat underwhelming after he returned to the organisation during the 2019/2020 season, but he is still highly regarded by the vast majority of Panathinaikos supporters. Pitino’s departure from Panathinaikos was confirmed after the campaign was halted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the Boston Herald published an interview with Pitino, in which the 67-year-old spoke about his time in Greece and the different style of basketball:

“I left on Christmas Eve in 2018, and if it wasn’t for Brett Brown, I wouldn’t have done it,” said Pitino with reference to the current Philadelphia Sixers boss. “Brett had played for me at BU, and I asked him on this podcast how he (ended up coaching in) Australia. He said, ‘Coach, I just said to my dad that I’d always wanted to go to Australia and asked him to loan me the money.’ He just packed his one bag and took off, knew no one.

“So I got the offer, Chris Wallace called me and said they wanted to make me the Panathinaikos coach. I said, ‘Well, Chris, what is that?’ He told me it’s in the Euroleague and Greek League and they’re like the Celtics of Europe. Same clover. I said probably not, but I thought about it and I said, ‘You know what? If Brett Brown can pick up at 24, I can pick up at 65.’

“I just took off, knew no one, and the one thing I loved about it is I learned the coaching there is outstanding. I learned a lot. It’s almost like San Antonio in the prime, the way they move the ball and the way they use the high post. It’s the antithesis of James Harden and the Rockets. It’s six passes in six seconds, downhill pick-and-rolls, great offensive basketball, and I learned a lot, which, when you’re 65 and you’re learning new wrinkles is great. The players were terrific, and I had a great time. It was a wonderful experience. I went to Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Barcelona, Milan and Madrid, Lithuania, Moscow. The Greek people were awesome to me.”

It has already been confirmed that Pitino will coach Iona next season. 

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

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