Rick Pitino Took Heartbreaking UK Loss to Duke As a Positive

Rick Pitino says Kentucky has great history but there are no blue bloods left in college basketball. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino will get another chance to beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament when St. John’s plays Duke Friday night in Washington, D.C., in the tourney’s third round.

Kentucky’s 1992 NCAA regional final loss to Duke on Christian Laettner’s miraculous last-second shots remains one of the tournament’s most iconic moments and may have cost Pitino a national championship in the first season UK was off probation after his arrival.

Pitino won a national championship at Louisville in 2013 and beat Duke in the tournament. Pitino was asked Thursday if that victory tempered the memories of the 1992 loss or will that moment stay with him forever.

“I take the ’92 game, people misconstrue it, I took it as a positive. We went back to Kentucky, the four seniors, Farmer, Feldhaus, Pelphrey and Woods, they got their jerseys retired to the rafters after that loss, which you never see,” Pitino said. “But I always treasured that game. I thought every time I’ve watched that game, I didn’t grimace about Christian Laettner hitting the shot. I thought it was one of the greatest games played. What was it, 103-102 or 102-101 final. We played the overtime without Mashburn. People forget that. I always treasured that.

“The ironic thing about what you’re asking, when we won with the Kevin Ware injury, it was 25 years to the day, that game, that Kevin Ware. That’s really spooky.

“But no, I treasure that game in so many ways, not the loss, but the way the game was played. Give all the credit in the world, I can’t escape — (former Duke star) Grant Hill has done seven games for me this season.”

Here’s more of what Pitino said Thursday, including interesting comments about no more “blue bloods” in college basketball:

Q. A lot of talk about the death of Cinderella because of NIL and the portal. Are you worried about that? Do you think teams need to have an eight, 10 million dollar NIL budget to go deep in the tournament now?

RICK PITINO: I’m not concerned about it. I think you will see it again. I think you will see it again. But I do feel what’s even better than that is the fact the blue bloods no longer control basketball any longer. There’s no difference between Kentucky, North Carolina than Illinois or St. John’s. There’s no difference anymore. There’s no difference between Michigan State, who is a blue blood, to any of the other teams from the conferences, from Mississippi, when they get it going. It’s all going to be the same.

You’re going to see 40 to 50 teams all the same. There’s no such thing as a blue blood anymore. There’s no difference between North Carolina State and somebody else. Everybody is the same. Everybody is the same in basketball. That’s what’s going to make it a great product.

It seems like everybody does have the money. I know in the Big East, I think the Big East is going to be better than ever. The presidents and ADs have all upped their NIL budgets. They realize they’re going to do something. Kudos to them for doing that.”

Q. On the blue blood thing, you’re playing one here. Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina haven’t been here much in the last four or five years. What of the historical advantages of the blue bloods have disappeared in this era?

RICK PITINO: The Kansas, Duke or North Carolina, they always had the best facilities. Facilities are probably fourth or fifth on the list. I think for Duke, back in the day, if you wanted the best education and the best basketball, Duke has got to be one, two on your list. Probably the players they’re recruiting right now don’t stay more than one or two years.

All that’s gone now. We are an offshoot of professional basketball. I look at it totally different. I think it’s great because I just want excellence on the court between the lines. I want to see great players, execution, coaching. We are getting that now.

For you guys in the media and me as a bystander looking at my non-coaching days, I want to see great basketball with great players. We’re getting that now. I think it’s awesome.

I think the fact there are no more blue bloods, I think it’s great. Kentucky will always be Kentucky. Duke will always be Duke because of their great, the legacy they left in the game, the history of their game.

But I can also go back to Dickey DeVenzio of Duke. I go back a long way in watching Vic Bubas. It all started there. I go back to Coach K when he first got in, people were questioning whether he should stay at Duke.

It’s great. Great history. Kentucky, great history. North Carolina, unbelievable history. They’re no longer the blue bloods in basketball, and I think that’s wonderful.

Q. You’ve had nine different head coaching job. Tom Izzo is here, as well, who had one. You are both Hall of Famers. Do you look back and think, what if I stayed at Providence, Kentucky? What emotions, if so, given the path you’ve?

RICK PITINO: I’ve loved every place I’ve lived. I’m a different guy. I’m not a nester. Everybody is different. I don’t want to live in the same place my whole life. I enjoyed Greece probably more than anyplace I’ve ever lived for those two years. Not knowing one person, just exploring all the islands. For me it was great. For Tom it’s great, being in East Lansing, he loves it there. Everybody is different. Coach K is different. I’ve enjoyed every stop along the way. Great people I’ve met. Great friends. Lifetime friends.