We all knew Pitino was a UK homer when he was hired here. Most of us was shocked when Jurich announced he was seeking Pitino for the job. I wasn't that keen on the idea just because he had coached UK, but I knew UofL needed what he would bring after the end of the Crum era.
And he did exactly what we all wanted. We played a fast and fun style, and got back to elite 8's, final 4's and a national title. The program had pizazz again and I personally didn't care anymore that he coached at UK.
Everything was grand until Andre McGee. Before that dipshit, the program under Pitino had no NCAA infractions while programs all around the game did. However, as we again all know, Pitino, having just won his 2nd title and being selected for the Hall of Fame, he let his guard down and delegated and trusted in his former players a bit naively.
Most Cards fans I know believe what Luke Hancock says about the scandal, which is that those people on the team that knew of the parties, didn't want to bring the wrath of Pitino and jeopardize the teams championship chances. Everything in Pitino's past suggested he would never allow major infractions.
However, the sordid details of the parties and the media backlash was to forever change the perception of Pitino from not only fans but of his peers in the world of college basketball. He continued on coaching despite being double crossed by the people hired to mitigate any sanctions and he soon discovered he was going to be scrutinized for every little thing until eventually the FBI of all people, used his notoriety to push it's probe into college basketball malfeasance.
UofL, for whatever reason and there's several opinions, decided to rid both Pitino and Jurich despite knowing that Pitino was not one of the coaches the FBI had the goods on. And everything after that is what led Pitino to his disdain for the UofL basketball program today. He also probably was disappointed in the amount of Cards fans who voice their hatred of him.
So it's a natural thing for him to go back to being a UK homer, especially after Mark Pope was hired.
I believe Pitino one day hopes to be back in the Cards good graces, but if it doesn't happen, so be it. The fact is Louisville needed him more than he needed UofL, and I think we all have to admit had Jurich hired someone else, this stretch of okay to bad basketball would have started a lot sooner than it did.