Conference USA Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

2. Conference USA Basketball head coach rankings – Rick Pitino

Louisville (2001-2005)

The real story on Pitino had not been written yet, but there was already an impressive background when Louisville hired him in 2001. He had won a title with Kentucky, coached the Boston Celtics, and led Providence to a Final Four; just a few items on a long list of accomplishments. Replacing the legendary Denny Crum, he was tasked with maintaining Louisville’s place of national relevance, a mission he certainly accomplished through good and bad.

While Louisville had struggled in Crum’s final season, Pitino turned the page pretty quickly, winning 97 games in his first four years with the school. The 2003 team won 25 of those games and returned to the NCAA Tournament, but the 2005 team is the clear highlight. That season, his Cardinals marched to the Final Four before falling to Illinois, tying the program record with 33 wins. That season, Louisville also won the C-USA title outright.

Louisville departed for the Big East in 2005 and won the national title under Pitino in 2013. As we all know, that title and many other accomplishments have been vacated following the NCAA’s investigation into Pitino and the program. Regardless of what would happen, it’s clear that Pitino greatly elevated this program and made them a power in the conference before their departure.