Pitino Article, Part 2

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May!-Globe.http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/13/sports/ncaabasketball/13RICK.htm
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Pitino Rebuilds in Louisville

November 13, 2001
The New York Times

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW
Pitino Rebuilds in Louisville



(Page 2 of 2)


And as he has remade the school's basketball facilities, he has sculptured the
bodies of his players with a high-protein, low-fat diet and merciless running
drills. The team's big men, Ellis Myles and Brandon Bender, have dropped 30
and 21 pounds, respectively, from their 6-foot-9 frames.

Pitino insists this is a way to build self-esteem. Myles agrees. "I never knew
I could do it, because I never worked really hard," he said.

Pitino is also not afraid of breaking down bad character. Myles agrees with
that, too. Last season, Myles, a sophomore from Compton, Calif., was a sullen
presence prone to scowling at teammates and coaches. No longer.

"If you talk back to these coaches, you're going to be gone," Myles said.

In the junior guard Reece Gaines, the Cardinals' most talented player, Pitino
has an eager student for his many coaching lessons. Among them: keeping hands
up constantly on defense, with wrists stiff and fingers rigid to cause
deflections, and viewing 40 percent shooting from the 3-point line as more
effective than a 50 percent rate on 2-point shots.

"We're relearning everything, and Coach won't let us get frustrated," Gaines
said. "I'm more impressed that he's not getting frustrated with us."

Though Pitino is still trim enough to produce a nonstop crackle from his black
and red sweatsuit with his never-ending motion, the lines in his face map his
49 years. Yes, he concedes, he is more patient than he once was. But he also
knows that there is more to the coming season than just basketball.

"He tells us a couple of times a week to call our families and tell them we
love them," Hajj Turner, a co-captain, said. "He wants us to hang out together
as a team with him. He really has thrown his life into ours. It's like having
another family."

In Pitino's office, one wall holds pictures of his former Kentucky players and
another has shots from his days with the Knicks. His desk, tables and shelves
are filled with photographs of Joanne and their five children, as well as
photos of Billy and Stephanie Minardi and their family.

"Joanne is big on pictures, and of the 600 of them we have, Billy is in 550 of
them," Pitino said as he smiled and pulled down one from the Kentucky Derby.
"His face is next to our bed. Sometimes it's unbearable. You know he's in a
better place, but you're not. We either go to bed laughing about Billy stories
or crying that he's not here."

Pitino says he cares little about whether Kentucky fans are upset with him. He
vows that he will not make himself sick with anxiety as the Cardinals make
their way through a season in which they may have to struggle to play .500
ball.

It's the hours in between that matter. He's back in college, where he can
reach players in a way he could not as a pro coach.

"They are like your own kids," he said. "You can impact their lives."

Billy Minardi had that gift with people from all walks of life. He befriended
one of the Kentucky student managers, for example, on his many trips to
Wildcats games and helped get him a job on Wall Street upon graduation.

"I thank God every day for having Billy in my life as long as I did, for how
he urged me to come here," Pitino said. "And Stephanie, she's the rock in this
family. Here I'm supposed to be the big uncle, but she is holding us all
together."

The Cardinals will wear a red-white-and-blue patch on their uniforms with
Billy's initials this season, and Stephanie promises to bring her children and
all of her nieces and nephews here to see Uncle Rick and his new team.

"Billy never wanted to miss anything," Stephanie said. "I told Rick he'd be in
the stands, just like he always was. Just like he always will be here with
me."