With a generally star-less Louisville team in the Final Four, how about some props for Rick Pitino?
How about some props for the man in the tailored suits? As always, this Final Four is full of pathos and storylines. Bruce Weber’s gritty Illini playing on after the coach lost his mother (and playing on with serious purpose and maturity). Roy Williams back home in Carolina trying to finally get the long-overdue national title. Michigan State, the athletic, senior-laden darkhorse from a school that also has its women’s team in the Final Four, trying to bring a UConn double to East Lansing. When Louisville’s name comes up, it’s in recognition of perimeter stars Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean. It’s as if Pitino is merely doing a cameo. That’s an injustice. Objectively speaking, Louisville has less talent than any of the Final Four teams, a credit to Pitino’s unparalleled knack for getting maximum effort from his teams at the highest possible level. To much of America, Pitino is an East Coast dandy, a guy with good hair (not as good as it used to be), who bloomed early, made a lot of mo
