ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603280041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
BY RECOMMENDING John Calipari for a job, Rick Pitino may have hurt his own chances to win an NCAA Tournament championship.
Rick Pitino, dedicated alumnus of the University of Massachusetts, has no one to blame but himself for the predicament he faces this weekend as coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.
When his alma mater was looking for a basketball coach eight years ago, Pitino had a candidate he was willing to go to the wall for, even offering a little financial assistance in his pursuit.
That man was John Calipari, and on Saturday night he and Pitino will lead their teams against each other in the Final Four, a familiar spot for a traditional program like Kentucky's, a first-time event for Massachusetts.
``I've seen a lot of great programs develop, John Thompson at Georgetown, Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV in the desert,'' Pitino said Wednesday, ``but John took a program that didn't have money for a secretary, nothing, got an arena built when the state was broke and got them to No.1 when I thought Top 20 was an impossible task.
``To say I'm a happy alumnus is putting it simply, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him and I'm sure he feels the same way for me.''
Calipari took the Massachusetts job in 1988, after the program had experienced 10 consecutive losing seasons, six of which had victory totals in single digits.
Pitino had played there in 1973 and 1974 when the team went 20-7 and 21-5.
``We were a New England program, a regional program,'' Pitino said of his years in Amherst. ``I get the Boston Herald and Boston Globe sent to me now. I don't remember ever seeing a Herald or Globe reporter when I was there. Now there are big inserts all over and there's the television. Winning was difficult but he created an image and that's truly remarkable.''
Pitino was the coach of the New York Knicks when he was asked to be on the search committee as UMass looked for a replacement for Ron Gerlufsen. He knew who he wanted and he even came up with an extra $5,000 to entice Calipari, then an assistant at Pittsburgh, to take the job.
``My relationship with Coach Pitino is based on the fact that I'm the head coach at the University of Massachusetts because he was on the selection committee and felt I would be good for the job and he made the calls to make sure it was done,'' Calipari said Wednesday. ``I never worked for or played for Rick, but he's somebody anytime I've had a problem or needed help I've been able to pick up a phone and he's given me great advice and I hope he feels that way even though he doesn't need anything from me.''
Calipari talked of the upcoming matchup of his top-ranked Minutemen and the second-ranked Wildcats.
``This week he's the other coach,'' Calipari said. ``But, win or lose I'm going to hug him and tell him how much he means to me.''
The two have been on opposite sidelines four times and the first victory for Calipari came this season in a 92-82 victory in November. It vaulted the Minutemen to the No.1 ranking. Only Massachusetts, Kentucky and Kansas held the top spot this season.
The intensity of running high-profile programs hasn't stopped Pitino and Calipari from remaining close friends, often talking during the season.
``We have a mutual friend who we're always talking with and both of us have so much fun coaching,'' Pitino said. ``We are not similar in the way we coach but we are similar in that we both absolutely love the game of basketball. You have three, four, maybe five good friends in the business. You don't have a lot, but you do have some special relationships.''
Calipari sounded a lot like his mentor.
``I talk to maybe Rick and three other coaches on a regular basis,'' he said. ``I need to do that especially as a young guy going through things I've never seen. I have to talk through those things with somebody. I haven't experienced what coach Pitino has experienced. I need that.''
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Massachusetts coach John Calipari and 2. Kentuckyby CNBcoach Rick Pitino (top left photo) have much more in common than
fiery personalities and Final Four men's basketball teams. They are
friends and confidantes. color.