Louisville coach Rick Pitino has flatly denied a Daily News report that he’s interested in the Nets’ job.
“There’s not an ounce of truth to it,” Pitino told ESPN.com’s Pat Forde.
“I have no interest, period,” Pitino said Thursday. “I’m done with coaching professional basketball. I’ve put the professional ranks behind me.”
Nets president Rod Thorn also refuted the story, telling The Star Ledger by text, “Have not had any contact with Pitino. To my knowledge, no one in our organization has, either.’’
The Daily News reported that the Nets have compiled a short list of candidates for the job, with former Knicks and Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy on top.
I’ll be at Madison Square Garden tonight when Pitino and Louisville meet St. John’s. The game will be preceded by a press conference with Chris Mullin and Bill Wennington, stars of the 1985 Johnnies squad that reached the Final Four.
Johnnies fans are a long way from those days.
The Red Storm (12-10, 2-8) has gone 2-8 over its last 10 games and has lost six games after leading at the half, including Saturday’s game with West Virginia.
There are sure to be a number of interesting storylines coming out of tonight. What, if anything, can Norm Roberts do to save his job at St. John’s? Is he even in danger of losing it, or is Father Harrington happy with the team’s collective GPA and the fact that Roberts is running a clean, scandal-free program?
Is Mullin interested in coaching at the college level?
Stay tuned for more on this later today here and on SNY.tv.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
