section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: Richard Andrew Pitino (/ p ɪ ˈ t iː n oʊ /; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA Division I and in the NBA, including Boston University (1978–1983), Providence College (1985–1987), the New York Knicks (1987–1989), the University of Kentucky (1989–1997), the Boston Celtics (1997–2001), the University of Louisville (2001–2017), Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague (2018–2020), and Iona University (2020–2023).
  
  Pitino led Kentucky to an NCAA championship in 1996.
  
  In 2013, while in Atlanta with his team for the Final Four, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
  
  In June 2017, the NCAA suspended Pitino for five games of the 2017–18 season for a perceived lack of oversight in an escort sex scandal at the University of Louisville involving recruits. Louisville's national championship from 2013 was eventually vacated and is being appealed by the university. In September, Pitino was implicated in a federal investigation involving bribes to recruits, which resulted in Louisville firing him for cause. He was later exonerated of these accusations and soon returned to coaching after a brief stint as a broadcaster.
  
  On March 20, 2023, he was named head basketball coach at St. John's University.
  
  Richard Andrew Pitino (/ p ɪ ˈ t iː n oʊ /; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA Division I and in the NBA, including Boston University (1978–1983), Providence College (1985–1987), the New York Knicks (1987–1989), the University of Kentucky (1989–1997), the Boston Celtics (1997–2001), the University of Louisville (2001–2017), Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague (2018–2020), and Iona University (2020–2023).
  
  Pitino led Kentucky to an NCAA championship in 1996.
  
  In 2013, while in Atlanta with his team for the Final Four, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
  
  In June 2017, the NCAA suspended Pitino for five games of the 2017–18 season for a perceived lack of oversight in an escort sex scandal at the University of Louisville involving recruits. Louisville's national championship from 2013 was eventually vacated and is being appealed by the university. In September, Pitino was implicated in a federal investigation involving bribes to recruits, which resulted in Louisville firing him for cause. He was later exonerated of these accusations and soon returned to coaching after a brief stint as a broadcaster.
  
  On March 20, 2023, he was named head basketball coach at St. John's University.