Rick Pitino wants to coach for another 10 years / News - Basketnews.com

Rick Pitino says he loves coaching so much that coaching for another 10 would be something he'd want.

Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix Credit Rob Carr/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix

Rick Pitino's Iona lost against UConn in the First Round of March Madness Friday night. After the game, the legendary coach was not sure about his future.

"I really don't have an answer to it, to be honest with you. I have no idea if it is or isn't [my last year in Iona]," he started his post-game press conference. "I've focused everything on this game to try and develop a plan to beat Connecticut. They physically dominated us on the glass and in the low post. It really taught me a lesson of what you need to compete at this level."

"The past, it's always cherished. You learn from it, you cherish the past. I've been to seven Final Fours, two Championships, and I cherish that. I also learn from the mistakes that were made. The present is where we're at right now."

However, it seems that Pitino might not leave the NCAA just yet. Not for another 10 years, he told ESPN's Michael Rothstein.

"Well, I'm physically fit and mentally I think I still have it," he said before the March Madness. "But my wife always says, 'If you want to make God laugh, make a plan'. I think you just take it one year at a time. Now, my desire would be to coach that long."

"Really, the two years I was out of coaching was really the most miserable two years of my life because I missed it so much because I love teaching, I love coaching, I love motivating -- everything about it, I missed it terribly," Pitino shared.

Pitino has been strongly linked to St John's University as his next coaching destination.

Commenting on the possible move, the specialist denied it.

"You’re not hired by the internet," he said. "I’ve always taken it as a compliment throughout all the years that if somebody else is interested in you, very thankful for that, but I never pay attention to it."

Before coaching Iona, Pitino was working in Europe with the Panathinaikos Athens and the Greek national team. After being hired in December 2018, he led Panathinaikos from a 6-8 start to a sixth-place finish and a playoff spot in the EuroLeague.

The next season, he stepped in again, changing Argyris Pedoulakis in the position and coaching the team until the season was suspended due to COVID-19.

"He'll coach until he's 80 if he can. He loves coaching. We all love it to some extent, but I think he loves it probably more than anybody else," legendary Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told The Associated Press.

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