In a classic showdown of college basketball rivals, a memory haunts Rick Pitino when he meets Christian Laettner. Their history goes back to 1992. Pitino coached the Kentucky Wildcats then. He led his team in the Elite Eight against Laettner’s Duke Blue Devils. The game was close. Kentucky held a narrow lead as the clock wound down. Two seconds remained in overtime when Duke ran a bold inbounds play. Laettner caught the ball. He then made a dramatic, game-winning shot from the free throw line. Duke won its second national championship. This moment lives in basketball lore. Blue Devil fans cheered; Pitino felt dismay.
Fast forward to recent events. That infamous game reappeared as Pitino received the Naismith Coach of the Year Award on Sunday. He saw Laettner in the audience. Now the head coach of St. John’s, Pitino joked about his past pain. He said, “I just wanna be on the record: I’m not excited to see Christian Laettner here. Every time I see him I have nightmares,” as Zach Braziller of the New York Post reported.
Pitino’s coaching career spans far beyond one heartbreaking night. He has earned many honors. He won two national championships—one with Kentucky in 1996 and another with Louisville in 2013. He has made seven Final Four appearances. He collected many coach of the year awards for his work.
After Louisville dismissed him because of a recruiting scandal, Pitino made a strong comeback in 2023. He took the helm at St. John’s. This season he led the Red Storm to a 31‑5 record. They clinched the Big East regular‑season title and the conference title. Arkansas upset his team in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Still, his efforts earned national praise. Last week, he shared the AP Coach of the Year Award with Auburn’s Bruce Pearl. Now he stands as the 2025 Naismith Coach of the Year. He beat notable finalists, including Kelvin Sampson of Houston, Jon Scheyer from Duke, and Bruce Pearl.
As the season ends, Pitino still guides St. John’s toward future wins. He shows that even though some memories haunt him, his impact on college basketball is legendary.
