Providence Journal: Richard Pitino’s journey from gofer to Gophers

per the Providence Journal:

You can’t go home again?

Maybe not.

But you can stop by for a visit.

So it is for Richard Pitino, son of you know who, who once spent two years of his childhood in East Greenwich while his father was finding his fame as the young coach at Providence College. He had two older brothers, and a younger one who would die in infancy, but he was the one with his father’s first name, and the one who set out to be a coach, complete with all the obvious pressures that would come with that.

And he even has a few faint memories from that magical season in 1987, the one that changed both his father’s life, and his family’s life, too, even if he was only 5 at the time.

“I don’t remember a whole lot about that season. I was just too young,” he says. “But Rhode Island always has been a place that was important to me, because I’ve always known how important it was for my family.″

What I remember is the time he was crying in his father’s office one day because he had lost his jump rope.

“Can someone please find Ricky’s jump rope?″ Pitino barked one morning, in a tone of voice that made his assistants all but hide under their desks.

But those two years from 1985 to 1987 were a magical time for Providence College basketball, even if an occasional jump rope got lost along the way.

“It’s always been a place that puts a smile on my face,″ said Richard Pitino, the same Richard Pitino who will bring his No. 15 Minnesota Golden Gophers into the Dunk to play his alma mater on Monday night.

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20171111/richard-pitinos-journey-from-gofer-to-gophers

Go Gophers!!

Nice story. Though his name opened up doors, He did “all the grunt work”.

Providence Journal: It will be all business for Richard Pitino in R.I. return

The emails have trickled into Richard Pitino’s cell phone just enough to become a bit annoying.

As a Class of 2005 Providence College alumnus, Pitino is happy to receive updates on his school’s campus transformation, student achievements and even fundraising. However, the all-too-frequent invites to the Friars’ basketball game against Minnesota on Monday night are a bit much.

“Tell them I’ll be there. And I want my free T-shirt,” Pitino said with a laugh.

Pitino, 35, will be at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center but as the youthful coach of the 15th-ranked Golden Gophers. The Friars and Gophers are kicking off the eight-game Gavitt Games series, which matches teams from the Big East and the Big Ten.

It’ll be a flashback moment for Pitino, one of Rick Pitino’s four sons. It seems like yesterday that he moved to Rhode Island as a 3-year-old in 1985, or enrolled at PC back in 2001. He showed up as a student manager on some great Tim Welsh-coached teams during his time on campus.

“I love PC and I love that whole area,” he said. “I grew up wanting to go to school at Providence. My brother, Ryan, just got married last summer in Newport.”

This is a business trip, however, and the Gophers may just pose the stiffest competition of the season for the Friars. Pitino returns five starters and some key reserves from a 24-win team, and is adding an impact freshman guard. That’s why Minnesota is seen as perhaps the chief competitor to preseason Big Ten favorite Michigan State this season.

http://www.providencejournal.com/sp...-all-business-for-richard-pitino-in-ri-return

Go Gophers!!