Pitino: Talk of the town

Steve Addy

Monday, Jan. 8, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

Max Good is the Rebels' basketball coach, and will be for the rest of the season.

UNLV president Carol Harter and athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro both say so, and Good is taking them at their word.

But despite Good's 6-1 record since replacing Bill Bayno on Dec. 12, Rick Pitino's resignation today as coach and president of the Boston Celtics is sparking giddy speculation among Rebel fans who want Pitino patrolling the Thomas & Mack sideline next season.

Though UNLV officials continue to deny they have contacted Pitino or anyone else about the coaching job, ESPN.com reported Sunday that hotel-casino mogul Steve Wynn flew into Boston within the last two weeks to gauge Pitino's interest in the UNLV job.

Cavagnaro said today, "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment, other than to say our basketball team is moving forward. We're just starting with our conference race (tonight) and the team has responded well to coach Good. We don't want to lose focus on that."

Cavagnaro wouldn't comment on whether intermediaries have made inquiries to Pitino on behalf of the university. Third parties often get the ball rolling in such situations.

After hearing the rumors Sunday, Good said, "I don't know if that's going on. I am told that it isn't. I'm more concerned for my staff than myself."

Harter was unavailable for comment today. Her office said she will be out until Wednesday.

Rebel internet sites and message boards began going wild late Saturday after initial reports that Pitino would resign. Over the weekend, hundreds of messages -- mostly pro-Pitino, but not anti-Good -- were posted on rebel-net.com and rebeltruth.com.

On rebel-net.com, Alex9001 wrote, "Land Pitino, keep Good as an assistant, all recruits stay and then win a national championship. It feels nice to dream."

But the speculation wasn't limited to fan sites, where rumors are plentiful and accountability questionable. ESPN hoops guru Dick Vitale, a longtime Pitino pal, quickly got into the act, as did others.

"Look for Pitino to be the No. 1 choice for the UNLV Rebels," Vitale wrote on ESPN.com. "It would not shock me to see him return to coaching in Las Vegas if they were able to put together a strong package that would give him an opportunity to have big-time success."

Peter Vecsey of the New York Post wrote, "UNLV has the inside track to land Pitino."

Andy Katz of ESPN.com wrote, "UNLV does have (advantages) for Pitino. It could come up with a package topping $1 million, with a $500,000 base salary. ... The NCAA would likely look favorably upon a Pitino hire after he came in and cleaned up Kentucky following a probationary period."

Good remained resolute despite the speculation.

"I have tremendous respect for Rick Pitino," Good said. "I can't do anything about the speculation. As a staff, all we can do is the best we can and try to prove that we're capable. I think we've already done that, but we haven't passed the test of time yet.

"I would like to have faith that UNLV's administration considers me more than a fill-in, stopgap coach. I feel I'm totally qualified (to remain head coach). To me, coaching is coaching. We're all as good as our players. We're all two players away from being a great coach and two players away from being a bad coach."

But Pitino's track record is undeniable. In eight years at Kentucky (1989-97), he had a 219-50 record, won the 1996 NCAA championship, was NCAA runner-up in 1997 and had the best NCAA tournament winning percentage among active coaches (78.8 percent, 26-7).

If UNLV goes after Pitino, it will likely require fast action and possibly an apology by Harter. At UNLV's basketball banquet last April, she created a stir when she attempted to quell rumors that the university was pursuing Pitino.

"Rick Pitino couldn't carry Bill Bayno's jock," several witnesses quoted Harter saying.

In addition, Pitino will be a leading candidate for any number of college jobs after the season. The rumor mill is predicting possible openings at heavyweight programs such as Indiana, UCLA, St. John's, Kentucky and Michigan, so any bid by UNLV would likely have to be fast and convincing.

So far, Pitino has made no statement about his coaching future, but it is virtually certain he will return to the college ranks, having grown weary of coaxing NBA millionaires to care about more than their statistics or their third Rolex.

In the Boston Herald on Dec. 19, columnist Gerry Callahan said a Pitino-UNLV marriage would be perfect.

"Pitino could swoop in and instantly surpass Siegfried and Roy on the Vegas scale of stars," Callahan wrote. "His opportunities to hustle would be endless, with huge conventions and autograph shows and the glitziest of golf tournaments. It would be Pitino Heaven.

"His good friend Steve Wynn could take him by the hand and show him the bright lights and the big-time, which have always been his favorite things besides basketball. Maybe he couldn't quite make $7 million a year, but you never know. It's Vegas. There's always some hope."

As soon as news of Pitino's impending resignation was added to the rumor mill Saturday night, Rebel fan sites began filling up with messages. The general tone: We like Max Good, but if we can get Rick Pitino, go for it. Otherwise, Max is our man.

"(Harter and Cavagnaro) better know it's 1) Pitino or 2) Good," according to Rebelx on rebel-net.com. "The fans don't want it any other way. I think hiring Pitino would be the best thing this program has done in 10 years."

"Pitino or Good. No one else will do," bigtymRebFan posted.

"If Steve Wynn and friends pull this off, I say we rename I-15 Interstate Wynn. Go get (Pitino), Mr. Wynn. Vegas is counting on you," FueLaw wrote.

Rebelbacker wrote, "Good may be a good coach, but he is not the personality Pitino is and wouldn't have the same impact. Many of you saying Good will get it done are the same people who said Bayno would get it done. Your track record is not stellar."

On rebeltruth.com, formerly firebayno.com, posters have been stumping for a Bayno-Pitino swap for more than a year.

"Coming soon: Final Fours and No. 1 rankings!" board administrator Rebel Robert wrote.