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It was as if smoke began to billow from the Vatican late Tuesday night.
Rumored to be former Musketeers coach Chris Mack returning to add to his all-time record for career wins, Xavier sent the college basketball world a stunner with the hiring of New Mexico’s Richard Pitino.
Mack, who was believed to be the front-runner to return to Xavier, where he steered eight teams to the NCAA Tournament in nine seasons, took to social media to announce he would be returning to the College of Charleston.
Less than an hour later, Xavier’s giant swing for the fences sent shockwaves through the college basketball landscape.
It was the first time Xavier hired a coach without ties to the school since Thad Matta took over in 2001. At just 42 years old, Pitino already has 13 seasons as a head coach under his belt along with assistant coaching stints with Billy Donovan and father, Rick Pitino, his new rival in the Big East.
“Xavier is one of the great brands in all of college basketball,” Pitino said in a press release. “It has always been a dream of mine to coach in the Big East. The Cintas Center is going to be rocking. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Where Xavier’s roster stands as Pitino takes over?
There’s plenty of work cut out for Pitino in his fourth head-coaching job.
The NCAA’s transfer portal opened Monday, the same day Sean Miller informed Xavier officials that he was leaving for Texas.
Xavier’s roster was already taking a hit with seven players out of eligibility from this season’s NCAA Tournament run, then three players − Trey Green, Cam Fletcher and Dailyn Swain − entered the portal. Forward John Hugley IV followed on Tuesday morning.
That leaves Xavier with three scholarship players left on the roster in Ryan Conwell, Lassina Traore and Roddie…
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Publish date : 2025-03-26 13:50:00
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