Who is St. John HC Rick Pitino’s son Richard? Know more about Coach of the Year in the Mountain West

Born on Sept. 16, 1982, Richard Pitino, son of famed coach Rick Pitino witnessed his father’s rise to the top across different basketball programs. He was born in Boston towards the end of his father's tenure at Boston University and was raised in a basketball-centric household and saw his father transform struggling programs such as Providence, Kentucky and Louisville to success.

Richard began his coaching journey as a student manager at Providence College in 2005. He gained experience through assistant roles at Northeastern, Duquesne and the College of Charleston. Later, he honed his skills under Billy Donovan at Florida and his father, Rick, at Louisville.

NCAA Basketball: New Mexico's Richard Pitino at St. John's Rick Pitino - Source: Image via Imagn

Florida International University was his first head coaching role in 2012 and led the program to its first winning record in just one season. After his success at FIU, he was hired by Minnesota in 2013. Over eight seasons with the Golden Gophers, Richard Pitino guided the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances, secured a 2014 NIT Championship and finished with a 141-123 overall record.

Fast forward to 2021, Richard assumed a new coaching role at the University of New Mexico. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and being unable to play home games because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, He led the Lobos to a Mountain West Championship in his third season.

They also made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade and finished with a 26-10 record. During his time with the University of New Mexico, Richard was said to have prioritized a winning culture. Richard Pitino has matched up against his father Rick Pitino on four occasions with Richard holding a 3-1 record over his father, as he has emphasized being himself despite his father’s achievements.

Rick Pitino secures first Big East Coach of the Year award

Rick Pitino earned his first Big East Coach of the Year after guiding the St. John’s Red Storm to a stellar 28-4 record and a first-place finish in the Big East this season. Under his leadership, the Red Storm achieved their best regular season in nearly 40 years.

Liam McNeeley was awarded the Big East Freshman of the Year while RJ Luis Jr. was named Player of the Year, with both awards determined by Big East head coaches. The Hall of Famer coach also became the first coach to lead five different programs to regular season conference titles.

NCAA Basketball: Big East Conference Tournament Quarterfinal - St. Johns vs Butler - Source: Image via Imagn

Pitino previously led Providence and Louisville to the Final Four while earning three National Coach of the Year awards in 1987 with Providence. Pitino joined the list of St. John’s past winners including Lou Carnesecca (1983, '85, '86), Brian Mahoney (1993) and Mike Anderson (2021). Rick Pitino had won previous conference honors in the SEC (1991, 1996), Conference USA (2005) and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (2022, 2023).