Xavier makes right move going outside to hire Richard Pitino

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Chris Mack is a better coach. Richard Pitino is a better choice.

Xavier University apparently passed on the opportunity to run it back with a coach who has deep ties to the Musketeers program, deciding instead to bring in a new voice and fresh perspective.

It’s refreshing that Xavier hired Pitino from New Mexico on Tuesday night after Sean Miller abruptly left for the University of Texas over the weekend. With his departure to Austin, Miller betrayed a school that had hired him three times in his career, including twice as head coach.

There’s way too much of a run-it-back mentality in Cincinnati sports (See: Bengals). And Xavier broke its own habit of hiring coaches with ties to the program by going with Pitino, the son of hall of fame coach Rick Pitino.

Richard Pitino, coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances at New Mexico, will now be a rival of his father’s in the Big East Conference, with the elder Pitino coaching at St. John’s. How fun is it going to be seeing two Pitinos square off at Madison Square Garden? This is the kind of hire you’d expect a big-time basketball school to make.

Mack reportedly had been in the running to come back to Xavier, but he posted on social media late Tuesday night that he’d be returning to the College of Charleston next season. Mack, who grew up in Cincinnati and played at Xavier, became the Musketeers’ all-time winningest coach during his tenure leading the program from 2010-2018.

He left for Louisville, where he was fired in 2022 amid allegations by the NCAA that Mack violated rules. Mack returned to coaching this past season. Xavier again considered the idea of helping another former Musketeers coach resurrect his career after hiring Miller in 2022 following his own NCAA investigation drama at Arizona.

Miller’s departure angered Xavier fans, who felt he owed the school that gave him a second chance more than three seasons before leaving. That public-relations firestorm may have impacted Xavier leaders’ decision to go with a…

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Source link : https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/jason-williams/2025/03/26/xavier-musketeers-hire-richard-pitino-chris-mack-ncaa-college-basketball/82664705007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-26 04:47:00

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