To the surprise of the Big Blue Nation, Rick Pitino made his return to Rupp Arena for the first Big Blue Madness of the Mark Pope era. Hours after the event wrapped up, we still don’t know if what we experienced was real. So we’re just going to jot down our thoughts.
Drew Franklin
I’m still in shock, so I’ll need a night’s sleep and maybe a long neighborhood walk alone with my thoughts before I’m ready to put into words how I feel about Rick’s grand return. I will say, though, that the man seized the opportunity to come home to a shocking roar of applause in front of the Big Blue Nation. Fans went absolutely nuts seeing him on Rupp’s floor and on the big screen. I was in disbelief. Still, I’ll admit I had a big smile on my face as it happened. The kid in me, the kid who attended Rick Pitino’s summer camp in 1995, loved seeing his old heroes on the court with their old coach. Then, my camp counselor in 1995, Jeff Sheppard, jumped in our Rapid Reaction outside, where I revealed a Pitino t-shirt under my sweatshirt. Whether right or wrong, it felt good to feel 1996 again, even if it felt dirty.
Tyler Thompson
There’s something about when Rick Pitino refers to Kentucky as “Camelot,” even after all these years. Like all Kentucky fans, I’ve had conflicted feelings about Pitino since he accepted the job at Louisville in 2001. I was in the stands at Rupp for his first game back and I will never forget the boos as he purposefully walked out of the home team’s tunnel. Add in decades of scandal and even that Louisville tattoo on his back and here I am, tearing up as he walks back out onto the Rupp Arena court with the 1996 championship trophy in his hands.
Pitino’s video endorsing Pope as Kentucky’s head coach helped change the fanbase’s perception of the hire. How much does it say about Pope that nine years after Pitino left Rupp with a middle finger raised, he gets a standing ovation? Time heals all wounds, yes, but that was a VERY deep one; if Pope, a former medical school student, can mend it, what can’t he do?
Jack Pilgrim
My God, that was weird. But also one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had as a Kentucky fan. Did that actually happen? Rick Pitino is back after flipping off the fanbase the last time he walked out of Rupp Arena, the greatest villain who did unspeakable things as the head coach of our bitter rival. As the youngest member of this group, that’s all I’ve ever known of Ricky 3 Stacks in real time — Karen Sypher, Katina Powell, Tom Jurich and the back tattoo. I respected his brilliance as a coach, but hated the man as the leader of the school I hate most.
On the flip side, I believe in forgiveness and second (sometimes third and fourth) chances. I understand the role and character he had to be at Louisville, caught up in the rivalry just like all of us. Then he was fired and distanced himself from the program we hate while also realizing he wanted to “get back to Camelot” — regretting his departure as the king of college basketball.
Here’s why I’m OK with it, though: Mark Pope is OK with it. Pitino talked Big Blue Nation off the ledge when Pope was hired, telling fans Mitch Barnhart just brought in the next Danny Hurley, Jay Wright or Billy Donovan. “Mark Pope will go on to greatness. You can put it down,” he said.
That lit a fire under the fanbase to the point of selling out Rupp Arena for a press conference, a moment Pope calls “the greatest gift that you could ask for as a first-year head coach at the University of Kentucky.” The momentum the Wildcats have now ahead of the upcoming season and in recruiting started when BBN rallied behind the hire, and Pitino is a big reason for that.
Plus, Louisville fans are BIG mad, and that always makes me happy.
Zack Geoghegan
Admittedly, I only know Rick Pitino as the Louisville head coach. When he left after the 1997 runner-up season, I was still learning how to form full sentences. So I don’t have all of the great championship-winning memories that others do. I remember the bird-flipping, Cardinal tattoo-wearing, scandal-riddled version of Pitino that lost nearly all of his games to John Calipari’s Kentucky teams.
And yet, I was smiling from ear to ear when he walked onto the floor. I honestly didn’t think UK would be able to pull it off. We all knew it was possible, but the odds of him actually popping into Rupp Arena felt low. I mean, Pitino is actively coaching another college basketball team. But then I also thought: what is St. John’s going to do about it? Fire him? No way. Mark Pope’s first-ever Big Blue Madness warranted the surprise appearance. Pissing off Louisville fans is just the icing on the cake.
Jacob Polacheck
Rick Pitino is not only a former Kentucky head coach. He’s not only a former Louisville head coach. He is also the CURRENT head coach of St. John’s. When was the last time you saw a current head coach of a college basketball program show up at another team’s Midnight Madness?
Everyone is going to talk about how crazy it was to see Pitino return after all the history. I agree with that. I’m just still in shock that this happened while he is still a Division 1 head coach at another university. I don’t know what St. John’s fans think about it, but I know a lot of Kentucky fans sure loved it.
