(This story was updated with new information)
There’s going to be another Pitino in the Big East.
Xavier basketball will hire New Mexico coach Richard Pitino as the Musketeers’ next head coach, the school announced Tuesday night.
Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, will replace Sean Miller in Cincinnati after Miller left Xavier for Texas on Sunday after three seasons with the Musketeers. Miller was formerly introduced at Texas on Tuesday.
Richard Pitino was a hot name in this year’s college basketball coaching carousel cycle, as his name was linked to multiple vacant coaching positions around the country. Per Fox Sports’ John Fanta, Richard Pitino also was up for the Villanova job, but the Wildcats never extended an offer, leading the Musketeers to beat out their Big East foes for the Richard Pitino sweepstakes.
The 42-year-old Pitino spent the last four years in the Mountain West at New Mexico, where he built the Lobos’ program into one of the top mid-majors in the country. The Lobos made their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Richard Pitino this past season, losing to No. 2 seed Michigan State in the second round after upsetting No. 7 seed Marquette in the first round.
The Lobos won a Mountain West regular season title this past season and a Mountain West Conference Tournament title in 2023 under Richard Pitino, a first in program history since 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Prior to his time at New Mexico, Richard Pitino spent eight seasons (2013-2021) in the Big Ten at Minnesota, where he led the Golden Gophers to a 141-123 overall record. In his eight seasons at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers made two NCAA Tournament appearances under Richard Pitino. He was fired after the 2020-21 season after Minnesota finished with back-to-back losing seasons.
Next year’s two regular-season games between Xavier and St. John’s won’t be the first time that the father-son duo will coach against each other. Back in November, New Mexico and St. John’s met at Madison Square Garden in New York City for a non-conference matchup, which the elder Hall of Famer Pitino emerged victorious. Rick Pitino is 3-1 against Richard Pitino, per ESPN.
Xavier is coming off a 22-11 overall season under Miller this past year, which finished with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and a First Four win against Texas.
‘Xavier is one of the great brands in all of college basketball. It has always been a dream of mine to coach in the BIG EAST. The Cintas Center is going to be rocking. I can’t wait to get to work,’ Richard Pitino said in a statement.
As Richard Pitino and Xavier begin a new chapter together, one thing to keep a close eye on is the Musketeers’ recruitment of New Mexico point guard Donovan Dent. The Mountain West Player of the Year entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Tuesday afternoon, roughly nine hours before the news of Richard Pitino to Xavier broke.
So with Richard Pitino heading to the Big East, where his father also coaches in, one question remains left unanswered: are there enough Italian Restaurants for two Pitinos?
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