Rick Pitino: How Much Damage Did His Off-Court Issues Do to the Program?

It's been nearly two years since the details of Rick Pitino and Karen Cunagin-Sypher's sexual encounter were made public. 

Once the entire world became aware of Pitino's infidelity, many wondered what would become of the future Hall-of-Famer. There were quite a few mainstream media members who said Pitino was washed up, while some went as far as saying he should retire.

If you take a look at the past two seasons, I think it's safe to say that the Louisville basketball program has seen it's better days.

However, if you consider the off-court drama and all of the negative publicity that surrounded the program in regards to the sex scandal, Pitino has done a pretty remarkable job.

The 2009-2010 season saw some tough times, with home losses to Charlotte and Western Carolina and a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament.

However, even in Pitino's so-called "down year," he was still able to get his team to the Big Dance.

Although last season ended with a first-round loss to No.13-seed Morehead State, which was the biggest tournament upset in Louisville history, the 2010-2011 season might have been the best coaching job of Pitino's career.

After claiming last season would be a so-called "bridge year,” Pitino managed to pull off 25 wins, a third-place regular-season finish in the Big East, and make it all the way to the championship of the conference tournament. 

The first-round exit in the NCAA tournament was rough, but Louisville was the only team in the country that had regular-season wins over UConn and Butler, the teams that played for the national championship.

The Cards also led the country in overall attendance and went undefeated in conference home games.

Many predicted that Pitino's recruiting would take a huge hit after his infidelity became public.

However, he still managed to sign his fourth top-five recruiting class since 2005. Louisville's 2011 recruiting class is ranked as the fifth-best class in the country by Scout.com and features four top-100 prospects.

I don't know many other coaches in America that could go through what Rick Pitino did and still manage to convince the parents of these recruits to let their sons join the program.

The man obviously made a huge mistake, but I think it's safe to say he has bounced back tremendously.