Searching for a Reason Rick Pitino Would Move to Arizona

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Rumors are still swirling about a potential coaching change at the University of Louisville. Tournament wins continue to pile up for the Cardinals, but eighth-year coach Rick Pitino has yet to publicly deny Arizona.

Pitino has insisted in the past that Louisville is where he wants to finish out his career. It makes sense; he has a well-established program finally running, a good recruiting base, and can now sit back and take it all in.

Instead, rebuilding seems to be on the horizon again for the 56-year-old veteran coach who has never stayed at one job for more than eight years.

Reports say Pitino’s wife has already purchased a multi-million dollar home in sunny Arizona worth more than his residence in Louisville.

An announcement could be made as soon as Louisville’s tournament run concludes, but common sense says a move from the Midwest to the west coast would be insane.

For the majority of his career, Pitino has had to build programs. First at Providence, then at Kentucky, the Boston Celtics, and finally at Louisville. He’s found success at every college destination, and now is the time to reap the benefits.

Pitino has money, fame, and trust among Cardinal fans. Arizona can’t offer the future hall-of-famer anything Louisville can’t in terms of basketball fandom and facilities.

After Friday night’s 103-62 blowout win over the Wildcats, the current talent level between Louisville and Arizona is obvious. Building in a different time zone might be difficult for a coach so used to being closer to the Atlantic coast than the Pacific.

The core recruiting area for Pitino is the northeast, not the west. He did tap into the Seattle market for Terrence Williams, but the majority of players have come from the New York and New Jersey area.

So not only would Pitino have to rebuild the program, but he’d have to find new ties to the local area. There’s a lot of work to do for a guy who was talking about retirement the day he took the job at Louisville.

Money isn't the main factor in either coaching situation for Pitino, which begs the question: what does he have to lose in a move to Arizona?

Success, reputation, and his mind. The latter may be long gone after leaving both of the state of Kentucky's powerhouse schools.

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