Marist Basketball Rival Hires Infamous Coach Rick Pitino

The Marist men's basketball program will face the highly prolific but controversial Rick Pitino twice in 2020 after he was hired by a MAAC rival as head coach.

Sports Illustrated reports Pitino will take over the Iona program next season after spending time coaching in Greece for the Euroleague. Pitino led high profile basketball programs at Kentucky and Louisville before getting fired in 2018 after 10 were arrested and accused of corruption and taking bribes.

While Pitino was not directly mentioned in the suit, Louisville determined he was close enough to the situation to warrant termination. Simultaneously he was dealing with accusations that a subordinate allowed the use of escorts and strippers to woo potential recruits.

The Iona Gaels finished this season 12-17 overall for a sixth-place finish in the Metro Atlantic Conference. That includes a 90-77 victory over Marist at home in New Rochelle on January 18th and a 78-74 loss at the McCann Center in Poughkeepsie on January 31st.

Will Coach Pitino be able to keep his nose clean at Iona, do you think he's learned his lesson?

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