Rick Pitino, current head coach at Louisville, served as the New York Knicks’ head coach for two seasons in the late 1980s.
When Pitino began his stint as head coach in New York, the team was in a poor state. The Knicks were coming off a 24-win season, and were in desperate need of a turnaround. His second season there, he led the team to a 52-30 record and a division title.
Part of Pitino’s Knicks’ turnaround was due to his superb coaching. But a large part of the team’s success that year came from picking Patrick Ewing first overall in the draft that year.
Pitino believes that the Knicks of today can repeat history and make a similar resurgence. Pitino believes that the turnaround needs to start just like it did last time; through the draft.
Following from Paul Schwartz of the New York Post,
“If they get the No. 1, No. 2 pick, there’s two guys out there right now that could be All-Stars, Okafor and Karl Towns,’’ Pitino told The Post on Saturday before putting Louisville through practice at the Carrier Dome in preparation for Sunday’s East Region final against Michigan State. “So if they get one of those two, or [guard Emmanuel] Mudiay could be a great one as well, and then you’re under the cap. Now you got three or four guys. That’s the only way to do it.’’
Pitino comparing Okafor, Towns, and Mudiay to Patrick Ewing is high praise. They’re all very talented players that could potentially help turn around a franchise, and the Knicks could definitely use one of them, particularly Towns or Okafor.
Pitino also told Schwartz:
“I think it has to hit rock bottom,’’ Pitino said. “When we got Patrick, we took off. When San Antonio got [Tim] Duncan, it was over. The Knicks need to fall on hard times in order to pick ’em up.”
Is there any doubt that this year’s Knicks have already hit rock bottom? They’ve lost 60 of their 74 games this season, a franchise record, and are just flat-out bad.
If Pitino is right, then the Knicks are due for a quick turnaround, and we could be looking at a fearsome team in the next few years. Plus, according to Phil Jackson, they already have a plan.
