Pitino's debut a Brazilian bludgeoning
TORONTO -- Rick Pitino's international coaching debut on Tuesday morning was an forgettable one.
Pitino, coaching Puerto Rico's national team at the Pan Am Games here in Canada, saw his squad fall behind by 25 points in the first quarter, shoot 33 percent and lose 92-59 in a lopsided opener against Brazil at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Ryerson University's campus.
Puerto Rico employed Pitino's trademark 2-3 matchup zone and pressing defenses, which he also uses with the University of Louisville, but Brazil's hot shooting was far too much for the Puerto Ricans to overcome. Brazil, led by 6-foot-10 center Rafael Hettsheimeir's 19 points, made 18 of 30 from 3-point range and shot 53 percent as a team.
The 33-point loss matched a 2009 U of L loss at Notre Dame for the worst defeat by a Rick Pitino-coached team in at least the last 15 years.
No player on Puerto Rico scored more than eight points, with Gilberto Clavell and Jearrell De Jesus tying for the team lead. JJ Barea, the most accomplished pro player on Pitino's 12-man roster, was 2 of 10 from the field for six points and had two turnovers.
The Puerto Ricans are back at it in Pan Am Games pool play at 9 p.m. Wednesday against the United States, the tournament favorite. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...eam-loses-92-59-in-the-pan-am-games/30465605/
TORONTO -- Rick Pitino's international coaching debut on Tuesday morning was an forgettable one.
Pitino, coaching Puerto Rico's national team at the Pan Am Games here in Canada, saw his squad fall behind by 25 points in the first quarter, shoot 33 percent and lose 92-59 in a lopsided opener against Brazil at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Ryerson University's campus.
Puerto Rico employed Pitino's trademark 2-3 matchup zone and pressing defenses, which he also uses with the University of Louisville, but Brazil's hot shooting was far too much for the Puerto Ricans to overcome. Brazil, led by 6-foot-10 center Rafael Hettsheimeir's 19 points, made 18 of 30 from 3-point range and shot 53 percent as a team.
The 33-point loss matched a 2009 U of L loss at Notre Dame for the worst defeat by a Rick Pitino-coached team in at least the last 15 years.
No player on Puerto Rico scored more than eight points, with Gilberto Clavell and Jearrell De Jesus tying for the team lead. JJ Barea, the most accomplished pro player on Pitino's 12-man roster, was 2 of 10 from the field for six points and had two turnovers.
The Puerto Ricans are back at it in Pan Am Games pool play at 9 p.m. Wednesday against the United States, the tournament favorite. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...eam-loses-92-59-in-the-pan-am-games/30465605/
