Rick Pitino took the rebuilding went on another?project.The honor the men of college basketball to lead three teams to the Final Four has agreed toentered?NER theNational Team of Puerto Rico,
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] thenext summer in the FIBA Americas tournament with an eye toward qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. "C 'is a challenge and c 'Therefore I take it?, Theentered?honor of Louisville, said Monday. "If they were already in (the Olympics), I would not do it. Their backs to the wall. "Puerto Rico must finish among the top two in the tournament of thenext summer to travel to London in 2012. Pitino met with Dallas Mavericks guard JJ Barea and the Miami Heat point guard Carlos Arroyo - both from Puerto Rico - in Miami on Sunday to assess their interest and came away impressed.
"These guys, playing for thenational team is the most important thing in the country, "Pitino said. "They are very, very passionate about it and that was an important factor for me.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] "Puerto Rico last qualified for the Olympics in 2004, finishing sixth in a tournament that includes a victory over the United States.Pitino n 'is not the first one came?High-level American honor to continue in this way. Former entered?honor ofArkansas Nolan Richardson has tried without success toget the Mexico Olympics in 2008, and longtime NBA went?honor Del Harris has led China to an eighth place in the Olympics.Though 2004, it doeshas no international coaching experience, Pitino DOnot expect a difficult transition.
He plans to put the uptempo system used with great success in Providence, Kentucky and Puerto Rico Louisville. "They are much like the fa?in which we play, "he said.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] "They ascend and descend rapidly to the ground. "Pitino and Louisville Director of Operations Ralph Willard will select the rest of the 12-man squad.Willard played a r?providing the vital Pitino and Puerto Rico together. Puerto Rico's basketball official Joel Katz, who played at Syracuse in the 1980s when Willard was an assistant Jim Boeheim, reached out to ask him to Willard 'she thought Pitino would interested.Initially, Pitino was skeptical.There are, however, toother benefits.
He had so little knowledge of the hierarchy Puerto Rico basketball he joked he thought federation president Carlos Beltran was the Mets' outfielder from New York who goes by the same name.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] He team invited representatives Cardinals practice monitor to get an idea if it would be a good fit. "We told them how we could organize things and all s'is chained?born from there, "said.Other Pitino ofper diem, Pitino will not receive compensation for taking the job.He plans tohave the practice ofNational Team Louisville Cardinals against thenext summer before the two teams take to the Bahamas for a round-robin tournament.It will be a great challenge. "
NCAA rules allow programsa trip to theabroad every four years, Pitino called the 10 days that accompany the practice of travel invaluable. "We will be able to play against the2-3 times national team and play against NBA players-type,
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]"he said. "This will be great for our new students. "Pitino does not include preparations cutting his time recruiting. The Cardinals have four players locked up for the freshman class of 2011 and could have locked the 2012 class by spring.He joked theSpanish only he knows the words are pronounced by theformer Louisville star Francisco Garcia and Edgar Sosa and DOnot expect any sort of communication barrier.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] "They understand thatthey have their backs to the wall as the players and they have to finish in the top two to qualify for the Olympics, "he said. ?It is very similar to Kentucky in the fact everyone is so passionate about basketball.
