Louisville head coach Rick Pitino will be coaching the Puerto Rico national basketball team in two events this summer.
Pitino confirmed today that he will be coaching Puerto Rico in the Pan American Games on July 21-25 in Toronto. He will also coach them in a pre-Olympic FIBA qualifying tournament in Monterray, Mexico on Aug. 25 through Sept. 5. The top two teams in that tournament will qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Ironically, Pitino will likely try to recruit Kentucky freshman star Devin Booker to play on the team.
Reporter asked Pitino if he’ll recruit Devin Booker, Shabazz Napier and others for PR’s nat’l team. “I won’t mess with Booker now,” he jokes
— Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer_cj) March 9, 2015
Another odd situation will be when the Puerto Ricans play exhibition games against Louisville in the Bahamas with Pitino coaching against the Cardinals.
Louisville will play 2 games vs. Puerto Rico’s national team and 2 vs. its junior team in Bahamas, possibly 3. Pitino will coach PR teams. — Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer_cj) March 9, 2015
