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Pitino: My Story
On September 26, 2017, the biggest recruiting scandal in college basketball history sent shock waves through the world of sports. Caught up in a massive FBI and NCAA investigation―and the intense media spotlight―was Rick Pitino, the Louisville Cardinals’ Hall of Fame coach.
Here, from Pitino himself, comes the real story of the ongoing case and the hard truth about how college hoops has been pushed to the brink of disaster by greed, bad actors, and shoe company money.
Rick Pitino has spent a lifetime in basketball. He is the recruiting and coaching maestro behind Final Four appearances with three different teams, and National Championships at two of them. He worked the early days of the legendary Five-Star camp and scouted players without the influence of agents, runners, or shoe companies. And he has run today’s recruiting gauntlet of sports apparel marketing, corrupted assistant coaches, unethical youth coaches, and powerful organizations hellbent against him. Rick Pitino has seen it all, dealt with it all, and now tells it all while offering his take on what needs to be done to save the game he loves.
Pitino is the story of an epic coaching career and the evolution of NCAA basketball to the multi-billion-dollar enterprise it is today. It is also a master’s course on the arts of coaching and recruiting. And in the telling, the one and only Rick Pitino lays all his cards on the table in addressing scandals of his past and the current headline-grabbing investigation that led a packed Board of Directors at Louisville to derail his career.
Here, from Pitino himself, comes the real story of the ongoing case and the hard truth about how college hoops has been pushed to the brink of disaster by greed, bad actors, and shoe company money.
Rick Pitino has spent a lifetime in basketball. He is the recruiting and coaching maestro behind Final Four appearances with three different teams, and National Championships at two of them. He worked the early days of the legendary Five-Star camp and scouted players without the influence of agents, runners, or shoe companies. And he has run today’s recruiting gauntlet of sports apparel marketing, corrupted assistant coaches, unethical youth coaches, and powerful organizations hellbent against him. Rick Pitino has seen it all, dealt with it all, and now tells it all while offering his take on what needs to be done to save the game he loves.
Pitino is the story of an epic coaching career and the evolution of NCAA basketball to the multi-billion-dollar enterprise it is today. It is also a master’s course on the arts of coaching and recruiting. And in the telling, the one and only Rick Pitino lays all his cards on the table in addressing scandals of his past and the current headline-grabbing investigation that led a packed Board of Directors at Louisville to derail his career.
- GenresBasketballSports
280 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2018
36 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Rick Pitino
24 books12 followersRick Pitino is the head basketball coach at the University of Louisville. He won the NCAA Championship in 2013 with the Louisville Cardinals and the 1996 NCAA Championship with the Kentucky Wildcats--the only basketball coach to win national titles at two different universities. He entered the Basketball Hall of Fame on September 8, 2013. Pitino also was head coach at Providence College during its remarkable NCAA tournament in 1987, and in the NBA was head coach of the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. He has written five previous business and leadership books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Success is a Choice.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 10, 2018
Rick Pitino is one of those coaches in basketball that is either admired or detested, especially in the state of Kentucky, where he has coached for both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. It's hard to explain to other parts of the country the depth that basketball holds within this part of the country, and the rivalries that exist among teams here as well.
I think it's important that I note that a friend of mine played successfully for Pitino while coaching at the University of Kentucky, a man who is now coaching at our local university in his first season. He is mentioned in his book in positive terms. A classmate friend of my daughter was part of the University of Louisville team that won the now vacated NCAA championship a few years ago.
Pitino has never been my favorite coach, but I have carried respect for him throughout his career. He addresses many aspects of his career in this book, enjoying the moments of success and admitting mistakes he feels he has made (such as serving as both the coach of the Boston Celtics and the president), but the largest part of this book carries the scandals that erupted at the University of Louisville that eventually led to him being fired last year.
Pitino is searching to regain his reputation here, and I understand that. The way the NCAA investigates situations is not done with the highest level of transparency. In addition, I fully believe the NCAA and universities need to come to an agreement about the millions and millions of dollars they earn on the backs of these players across all sports. Maybe even setting up trusts for these athletes that they cannot access initially would be a thought to consider.
I think it's important that I note that a friend of mine played successfully for Pitino while coaching at the University of Kentucky, a man who is now coaching at our local university in his first season. He is mentioned in his book in positive terms. A classmate friend of my daughter was part of the University of Louisville team that won the now vacated NCAA championship a few years ago.
Pitino has never been my favorite coach, but I have carried respect for him throughout his career. He addresses many aspects of his career in this book, enjoying the moments of success and admitting mistakes he feels he has made (such as serving as both the coach of the Boston Celtics and the president), but the largest part of this book carries the scandals that erupted at the University of Louisville that eventually led to him being fired last year.
Pitino is searching to regain his reputation here, and I understand that. The way the NCAA investigates situations is not done with the highest level of transparency. In addition, I fully believe the NCAA and universities need to come to an agreement about the millions and millions of dollars they earn on the backs of these players across all sports. Maybe even setting up trusts for these athletes that they cannot access initially would be a thought to consider.
September 11, 2018
READ WITH AN OPEN HEART
I bet you’ll be surprised with just how human and passionate Coach Pitino is. This book is a great read for not just Cardinal fans but any doubter who thinks they know the whole story. Before you jump to conclusion, hear his side.
I bet you’ll be surprised with just how human and passionate Coach Pitino is. This book is a great read for not just Cardinal fans but any doubter who thinks they know the whole story. Before you jump to conclusion, hear his side.
September 11, 2018
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
The book opens with a few chapters on Coach Pitino's rise in the coaching rankings and how he was able to establish his style and reputation on the court. This was arguably the best part of the book and certainly worth a read. The majority of the book addresses the recent, high profile scandals surrounding Coach Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals.
If you are reading this review, you are at least tangentially aware of these scandals. If not, do some research before reading this book. The views are presented within are strictly from Pitino's perspective (which is why I wanted to read it), and you will not have the full picture of what happened. Pitino's side of the story had been underreported, and having this book is beneficial in creating a complete profile of each scandal, however, there is a fair amount of character assassination of others and a "woe is me" mentality throughout the scandal chapters. In the book, Pitino establishes his brilliance as a coach, and then later paints a picture of a naive, overly trusting victim too dependent on the virtue of others. Even if you believe Pitino's side in the prostitution scandal, which is reasonable, certainly in the bubble of this book, the totality of the events in each scandal becomes harder to excuse. Throw in Pitino's Columbo act to investigate the events and conspiracy theories of the governor of Kentucky out to get him and his program with University of Kentucky double agents on the University of Louisville Board of Regents, his credibility takes a bit of a hit. It there was just one scandal, Pitino probably would still be coaching the Cardinals, but the totality and proximity of these events certainly contributed to the university's decision. Pitino received a stay of execution after the stripper and prostitute parties, but when his defense is the same in a subsequent violation, it is harder to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Bottom line, this book is not going to sway you one way or another. If you believe Pitino is innocent, this book will reaffirm those beliefs, it you feel that he is guilty, at least on some level, you will still feel that way after reading this book. However, to gain the full picture of the allegations, response, and impact, this book should be read.
The book opens with a few chapters on Coach Pitino's rise in the coaching rankings and how he was able to establish his style and reputation on the court. This was arguably the best part of the book and certainly worth a read. The majority of the book addresses the recent, high profile scandals surrounding Coach Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals.
If you are reading this review, you are at least tangentially aware of these scandals. If not, do some research before reading this book. The views are presented within are strictly from Pitino's perspective (which is why I wanted to read it), and you will not have the full picture of what happened. Pitino's side of the story had been underreported, and having this book is beneficial in creating a complete profile of each scandal, however, there is a fair amount of character assassination of others and a "woe is me" mentality throughout the scandal chapters. In the book, Pitino establishes his brilliance as a coach, and then later paints a picture of a naive, overly trusting victim too dependent on the virtue of others. Even if you believe Pitino's side in the prostitution scandal, which is reasonable, certainly in the bubble of this book, the totality of the events in each scandal becomes harder to excuse. Throw in Pitino's Columbo act to investigate the events and conspiracy theories of the governor of Kentucky out to get him and his program with University of Kentucky double agents on the University of Louisville Board of Regents, his credibility takes a bit of a hit. It there was just one scandal, Pitino probably would still be coaching the Cardinals, but the totality and proximity of these events certainly contributed to the university's decision. Pitino received a stay of execution after the stripper and prostitute parties, but when his defense is the same in a subsequent violation, it is harder to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Bottom line, this book is not going to sway you one way or another. If you believe Pitino is innocent, this book will reaffirm those beliefs, it you feel that he is guilty, at least on some level, you will still feel that way after reading this book. However, to gain the full picture of the allegations, response, and impact, this book should be read.
December 31, 2018
"Its Not My Fault My Employees Were Dirtbags Who Went Totally Rogue (And I'm Innocent): The Rick Pitino Story"
November 26, 2018
When Rick Pitino was fired as the coach of the Louisville Cardinals in 2017, it was considered to be just the beginning of the exposure of a major scandal involving shoe companies and college basketball. Add this problem to Pitino’s earlier scandal involving one of his staff members allegedly hiring prostitutes to engage in sex with potential recruits and it is easy to dismiss Pitino as a scandal-ridden coach despite his excellent record and national titles at both Kentucky and Louisville. Pitino tells his side of the story and more about his coaching career in this captivating memoir.
While the book starts off about with discussion of his firing, it follows Pitino’s coaching career from an assistant coach with the NBA’s New York Knicks and continuing through head coaching jobs in college in Providence, Kentucky and Louisville with stops in New York (again) and Boston to coach those professional teams. With the Celtics, he was also the general manager, a move he regretted as he believed he couldn’t have done both jobs properly.
No matter the stop, Pitino shares his coaching stories with reverence for players and staff at each one. It seems like he had regrets any time he left a job for another one, with the possible exception of the Celtics. His success, however, in every place (except, of course, Boston), is well known as well. Pitino seems to be most proud of what he accomplished at Providence, where he took a program with very little success to the Final Four in 1987 out of the powerful Big East conference. He also talks about a player whom he made work to earn his way to the starting lineup, Billy Donovan. Donovan not only became a star on that Providence team but coached the University of Florida to consecutive national titles.
Of course, Pitino talks about the scandals and also gives the reader a good explanation of how shoe company money has infiltrated basketball. This is true not only at the college level, but also in the grassroots/amateur level as money is paid to coaches, teams and schools for player to exclusively wear their brand of shoes and gear. Pitino admits to taking this money at Louisville, but in the context that all schools do this to some degree and that the money eventually DOES help the schools. While plausible, this explanation can leave the reader asking just what he is trying to say about this issue. Pitino also spends much time questioning the investigation process done by the Department of Justice, often repeating a phrase that an investigator used by calling himself and the Louisville athletic director “collateral damage.”
One other aspect of this investigation and his subsequent firing from Louisville that is interesting is his claims of a partisan board of directors at Louisville did not dismiss him fairly. While he implicates the governor of Kentucky in this because he made the appointments for this board, the partisanship is not Democrat versus Republican, but instead the University of Kentucky versus Louisville University. Because Pitino claims that the board was loaded with either graduates or partisans toward Kentucky, he didn’t stand a chance because of the fierce rivalry between the two schools. While it makes for great reading and one can be swayed by the persuasiveness of the writing, it does have an air of unbelievability.
The other major scandal that affected Pitino was one that was the topic of a book in which a woman claimed a staff member on Pitino’s staff was luring recruits by offering sex by prostitutes, some of whom were underage. On this topic, his beliefs about what really happened seem to contradict. On the one hand, he questioned the woman’s allegations, could not possibly believe his employee could engage in such illegal behavior and provided many other people who said that this activity never took place at the dormitory where these parties allegedly took place. Then, later in the book, he took responsibility for hiring this employee and that if this did happen, he has to take some of the responsibility. This took me by surprise because if it did happen, and he provides plenty of information that would seem to make the whole story a fabrication, why would he take a fall for this?
Because this book presents only Pitino’s side of the story, the context has to be taken into account as unbalanced. It is refreshing to hear this side as there has been plenty written about the accusations and investigation. In the end, this book will probably not sway the reader one way or the other if his or her mind has already been made up. But if a reader wants to read this side of the story or just learn more about Pitino’s coaching career, then this is a good book to pick up as it is a quick and mostly entertaining read.
I wish to thank Diversion Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
While the book starts off about with discussion of his firing, it follows Pitino’s coaching career from an assistant coach with the NBA’s New York Knicks and continuing through head coaching jobs in college in Providence, Kentucky and Louisville with stops in New York (again) and Boston to coach those professional teams. With the Celtics, he was also the general manager, a move he regretted as he believed he couldn’t have done both jobs properly.
No matter the stop, Pitino shares his coaching stories with reverence for players and staff at each one. It seems like he had regrets any time he left a job for another one, with the possible exception of the Celtics. His success, however, in every place (except, of course, Boston), is well known as well. Pitino seems to be most proud of what he accomplished at Providence, where he took a program with very little success to the Final Four in 1987 out of the powerful Big East conference. He also talks about a player whom he made work to earn his way to the starting lineup, Billy Donovan. Donovan not only became a star on that Providence team but coached the University of Florida to consecutive national titles.
Of course, Pitino talks about the scandals and also gives the reader a good explanation of how shoe company money has infiltrated basketball. This is true not only at the college level, but also in the grassroots/amateur level as money is paid to coaches, teams and schools for player to exclusively wear their brand of shoes and gear. Pitino admits to taking this money at Louisville, but in the context that all schools do this to some degree and that the money eventually DOES help the schools. While plausible, this explanation can leave the reader asking just what he is trying to say about this issue. Pitino also spends much time questioning the investigation process done by the Department of Justice, often repeating a phrase that an investigator used by calling himself and the Louisville athletic director “collateral damage.”
One other aspect of this investigation and his subsequent firing from Louisville that is interesting is his claims of a partisan board of directors at Louisville did not dismiss him fairly. While he implicates the governor of Kentucky in this because he made the appointments for this board, the partisanship is not Democrat versus Republican, but instead the University of Kentucky versus Louisville University. Because Pitino claims that the board was loaded with either graduates or partisans toward Kentucky, he didn’t stand a chance because of the fierce rivalry between the two schools. While it makes for great reading and one can be swayed by the persuasiveness of the writing, it does have an air of unbelievability.
The other major scandal that affected Pitino was one that was the topic of a book in which a woman claimed a staff member on Pitino’s staff was luring recruits by offering sex by prostitutes, some of whom were underage. On this topic, his beliefs about what really happened seem to contradict. On the one hand, he questioned the woman’s allegations, could not possibly believe his employee could engage in such illegal behavior and provided many other people who said that this activity never took place at the dormitory where these parties allegedly took place. Then, later in the book, he took responsibility for hiring this employee and that if this did happen, he has to take some of the responsibility. This took me by surprise because if it did happen, and he provides plenty of information that would seem to make the whole story a fabrication, why would he take a fall for this?
Because this book presents only Pitino’s side of the story, the context has to be taken into account as unbalanced. It is refreshing to hear this side as there has been plenty written about the accusations and investigation. In the end, this book will probably not sway the reader one way or the other if his or her mind has already been made up. But if a reader wants to read this side of the story or just learn more about Pitino’s coaching career, then this is a good book to pick up as it is a quick and mostly entertaining read.
I wish to thank Diversion Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
January 22, 2019
Excellent book!! This book begins as a biography and leads into Mr. Pitino defending himself in regards to his wrongful termination as head coach of Men's Basketball team of the University of Louisville.
This book starts off slow form his youth going to the 5 star camps, his love of basketball, college career at the University of Massachusetts, and how he got his start in coaching at Hawaii. Pitino was the youngest head coach in the NCAA at 24 years old. He discusses how he had led Boston College, Providence College, New York Knicks, Kentucky Wildcats, and Louisville to greatness. In this book he divulges his coaching philosophy, how he connects to his players, and ultimately the state of college basketball as it is today. Along this journey you really learn about Mr. Pitino and his character and values.
Around the halfway point into the book is when you start to learn about the recruitment scandal and how Mr. Pitino was unjustly fired. He goes into a lot of detail of how the shoe companies control everything from grassroots basketball up until the Pro's. Kids are under a lot of pressure to pick schools that are sponsored by the same shoe company that sponsors their AAU team. There is a lot of money in youth basketball being thrown around to say the least. Agents and their runners are involved too. There are definitely some murky gaps in the youth basketball scene due to the scale of revenue involved in the game. All you need to do is just target the right 5 star or 4 star prospect and you're set to be living a very comfortable life if you're the agent, youth basketball coach, or shoe company executive.
Near the last third of the book, Mr. Pitino reveals what happened to the board of the University and how it led to his termination. This part of book gets into a lot of local Kentucky politics. It's hard to verify what he is saying but I don't necessarily doubt him. There is a theory that he posits involving the Governor of Kentucky and John Schnatter, owner of Papa Johns. It's a messy political affair to say the least and I'll leave it to the reader to learn more about this. But this is a primary reason for him being fired.
Overall, this book is great and a fairly quick read. You can probably finish it within 9 days just reading 20-30 minutes a day. Once you pick it up it's hard to put down. Great book, especially for those that follow college basketball and the NBA.
This book starts off slow form his youth going to the 5 star camps, his love of basketball, college career at the University of Massachusetts, and how he got his start in coaching at Hawaii. Pitino was the youngest head coach in the NCAA at 24 years old. He discusses how he had led Boston College, Providence College, New York Knicks, Kentucky Wildcats, and Louisville to greatness. In this book he divulges his coaching philosophy, how he connects to his players, and ultimately the state of college basketball as it is today. Along this journey you really learn about Mr. Pitino and his character and values.
Around the halfway point into the book is when you start to learn about the recruitment scandal and how Mr. Pitino was unjustly fired. He goes into a lot of detail of how the shoe companies control everything from grassroots basketball up until the Pro's. Kids are under a lot of pressure to pick schools that are sponsored by the same shoe company that sponsors their AAU team. There is a lot of money in youth basketball being thrown around to say the least. Agents and their runners are involved too. There are definitely some murky gaps in the youth basketball scene due to the scale of revenue involved in the game. All you need to do is just target the right 5 star or 4 star prospect and you're set to be living a very comfortable life if you're the agent, youth basketball coach, or shoe company executive.
Near the last third of the book, Mr. Pitino reveals what happened to the board of the University and how it led to his termination. This part of book gets into a lot of local Kentucky politics. It's hard to verify what he is saying but I don't necessarily doubt him. There is a theory that he posits involving the Governor of Kentucky and John Schnatter, owner of Papa Johns. It's a messy political affair to say the least and I'll leave it to the reader to learn more about this. But this is a primary reason for him being fired.
Overall, this book is great and a fairly quick read. You can probably finish it within 9 days just reading 20-30 minutes a day. Once you pick it up it's hard to put down. Great book, especially for those that follow college basketball and the NBA.
November 25, 2018
This is Rick Pitino's attempt to make himself out to be squeaky clean and if you didn't know the facts of what happened with addidas, to some degree there are portions of it that are somewhat believable. However, he never gets into his voice being tape recorded taking a bribe from them.It's an interesting read, just question how some of his justifications are reality based. It's enlightening none the less.
January 9, 2019
I found this a book that was not worth my time to finish. I had great respect for this coach until I started reading this book. I am a proud Louisville alumnus, but the men’s program has shamed the university and it was time for a change. He was a great motivator and inspiration, but accountability has been lost in college sports. Please take note that the women’s basketball team has flourished without any hint of violation. Go Cards!
September 30, 2020
I really enjoyed reading this book as a Kentucky fan. I enjoyed it so much because it is about how Rick Pitino lost Louisville one of there championship banner and a year of tournament play in the biggest recruiting scandal ever. I love the fact that it lets you see his side of the story, the story that ruined his career.
September 9, 2018
WOW! Incredible Read.
Finally! The information we all deserved to be offered by the press, but weren't! This is a must read. WOW! A must read for any fan of any pro or college team!
Finally! The information we all deserved to be offered by the press, but weren't! This is a must read. WOW! A must read for any fan of any pro or college team!
October 24, 2018
Thought it was an interesting view on Pitino and his view of himself. The book was a bit scattered though, he would jump from topic to topic on chapters and it didn't blend well. It also feels like he doesn't think that he should be responsible for the 3 main scandals of his career.
April 20, 2019
I’ve never been a Pitino fan but after listening to this book I am! I hope he wins his suit against UL. I was struck by his integrity and his work ethic along with his loyalty and also the large number of successful former assistants.
April 21, 2019
Interesting
I would read more like this about coaching different sports and the challenge.
There are many landmines in all careers, the greater the rewards the more life challenges your values.
I would read more like this about coaching different sports and the challenge.
There are many landmines in all careers, the greater the rewards the more life challenges your values.
September 25, 2018
Great book
Interesting perspective on his story. I learned a ton about his background. Still unsure if was involved or not but a great read
Interesting perspective on his story. I learned a ton about his background. Still unsure if was involved or not but a great read
January 22, 2019
Book got a little stale in the last two chapters. Good story about Richie Farmer getting 27 month prison sentence. High school coach said he was just like Jimmy Chitwood from Hoosier.
March 1, 2019
Interesting back story about his rise to fame. Lacking in the actual details about the scandal that led to his downfall.
April 24, 2021
With three NCAA investigations, I wanted to hear his side of the story. Really enjoyed learning about how he rose through the ranks. He is definitely jaded from the two most recent accusations.
April 4, 2022
Pitino did a good job telling his story from the beginning up through his tragic downfall. It was interesting to hear more about how "sneaker money" in the NCAA works.
August 11, 2023
Excellent
Excellent book about Coach Pitino. Follows his career up until he was fired from Louisville. Definitely recommend reading if you like basketball
Excellent book about Coach Pitino. Follows his career up until he was fired from Louisville. Definitely recommend reading if you like basketball
May 21, 2024
A Bible of sorts
February 20, 2019
Pitino: My Story begins with an acknowledgement of the scandal that (almost?) ended Rick Pitino's career. After a hat-tip toward that (and shoving some blame the shoe companies' way), the book goes back in time to the beginning of Pitino's career.
Written by Pitino, with Seth Kaufman, he claims this book is "about telling the truth." And I think it is. But it's Pitino's truth - not anyone else's. That means that parts read as braggy to me. However, he's also deferential to those who taught him and helped him along the way. Content-wise, I enjoyed the anecdotes, but could have done without the typical platitudes (e.g., "hard work makes anything possible"). I did appreciate Pitino admitting how he'd do certain things differently, in hindsight.
The writing style itself is pretty choppy. The chapters are divided into 1-5 page mini-sections. This might work for some readers - I imagine it's easier to put down and pick back up this way - but annoy others.
Overall, a good read for basketball fans.
(Full disclosure: I read the first 35%, then set it down - not sure if I'll go back and finish it, or not. There's just so little time in a day, and I might prefer to watch a basketball game than read about Pitino's entire career and opinions on the scandals. I do think that's more about me not being a Pitino super fan and less an indictment of the book.)
Written by Pitino, with Seth Kaufman, he claims this book is "about telling the truth." And I think it is. But it's Pitino's truth - not anyone else's. That means that parts read as braggy to me. However, he's also deferential to those who taught him and helped him along the way. Content-wise, I enjoyed the anecdotes, but could have done without the typical platitudes (e.g., "hard work makes anything possible"). I did appreciate Pitino admitting how he'd do certain things differently, in hindsight.
The writing style itself is pretty choppy. The chapters are divided into 1-5 page mini-sections. This might work for some readers - I imagine it's easier to put down and pick back up this way - but annoy others.
Overall, a good read for basketball fans.
(Full disclosure: I read the first 35%, then set it down - not sure if I'll go back and finish it, or not. There's just so little time in a day, and I might prefer to watch a basketball game than read about Pitino's entire career and opinions on the scandals. I do think that's more about me not being a Pitino super fan and less an indictment of the book.)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews