Rick Pitino has a rooting interest in the Final Four thanks to one of his former assistant coaches.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin was an assistant to Pitino at Louisville from 2001 to 2003. He’s been very successful since then, reaching the NCAA Tournament with Murray State and finding further success with Cincinnati and UCLA. Pitino made clear Wednesday he’s pulling for Cronin with the Bruins in the Final Four.
It’s been a pretty solid tournament for Pitino proteges. Alabama’s Nate Oats, who has openly spoken of his admiration for Pitino, actually faced Pitino in the first round and won.
Cronin has been making headlines for all the right reasons this March. Maybe he has a little bit of Pitino’s old magic behind him.
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