Rick Pitino (Reuters)
SWEET SUCCESSES: Michigan state coach Tom Izzo (left) and Louisville’s Rick Pitino bring 11 combined Final Four berths to tonight’s Sweet 16 matchup. (Reuters (2))
PHOENIX — Rick Pitino isn’t always correct when he gives career advice.
There was the time he told Billy Donovan to stay on Wall Street, “make a lot of money” and not get into coaching. Two national championships at Florida later, Donovan is one of the most successful college coaches in the country.
Now his advice to Tom Izzo has come back to bite him in the you-know-what.
When Izzo was being courted two years ago to jump to the NBA and become the Cavaliers head coach, Pitino advised against it. Izzo stayed at Michigan State and his top-seeded Spartans (29-7) will face Pitino’s fourth-seeded Cardinals (28-9) tonight in the NCAA tournament West Region semifinal at US Airways Center.
VIDEO: COACH, PLAYER REACTIONS
Pitino, who coached the Celtics and the Knicks, does not regret giving Izzo the advice that now has the Spartans standing in the way of another trip to the Final Four.
“College coaches love to teach and practice,” Pitino said yesterday. “I feel that Tom would really, really miss that. I just told him that. And if you don’t experience the pro guys and the way they act, it’s basketball suicide.”
Izzo appreciated what Pitino had to say.
“Yeah, I tapped into some people because that’s what you’re supposed to do if you’ve never been somewhere,” Izzo said. “You try to find out from the people that have been there.”
Later he added, “I’ve always said I’m a blue-collar guy and I belong to a blue-collar university and damn proud of it in all aspects.”
Maybe it wasn’t the best decision for Louisville. This is the fourth No. 1 seed for Izzo, though he said this Spartans team is not in the “top 6 or 7” he has had in terms of talent. But it’s a big, physical team that likes to impose its will through hard-nosed defense, an up-tempo offense and the leadership of senior forward Draymond Green.
Louisville, winner of the Big East tournament, will counter with a pressure defense and a transition offense orchestrated by point guard Peyton Siva.
“They’ve got to handle our physical size inside, and we’ve got to handle their pressure,” Izzo said.
The Cardinals won four straight games to capture the Big East tournament before beating Davidson (69-62) and New Mexico (59-56) in Portland last week.
“You would have thought we won the national championship when we won the Big East — they were so excited,” Pitino said. “And I’m trying to get them to realize they’re just two games away from the Final Four.”
Pitino, 9-0 in Sweet 16 games, is looking for his sixth trip to the Final Four, while Izzo is gunning for his seventh.