Alabama Basketball: Would Greg Byrne consider Rick Pitino?

Alabama basketball has a coach it does not want. As a settlement drags out, numerous replacements interest Tide fans, including the much-tarnished Rick Pitino.

Since it was reported Thursday night Greg Byrne was negotiating Alabama basketball coach, Avery Johnson’s exit, fan interest in a new coach has exploded. The depth of interest in the coaching transition exceeds the highest level of fan interest during the recent season.

Maybe it’s the pent-up frustration of too many seasons of missing out on the NCAA Tournament. Two invitations to the ‘Big Dance’ in 13 seasons is enough to make long-time Crimson Tide, b-ball fans crazy.

Greg Byrne has not experienced that entrenched Crimson Tide anguish. He can and will bring a more dispassionate approach to a new coaching search. So far, it is not publicly known what Byrne is thinking. While he is in active negotiations to buyout Avery’s contract, Byrne is correct to say nothing. Even after the buyout is finished, Byrne would be wise to disclose little or nothing about his target list of coaches.

At some point, Greg Byrne should publicly announce his goals for Alabama men’s basketball. As we wrote previously, those goals should be specific and Byrne and the new coach should be held accountable to their achievement.

More than a few Alabama basketball fans want Byrne to aim ‘Final Four’ high in the new hire. Given guys like Villanova’s Jay Wright could not be lured to Tuscaloosa for any amount of money, the available, hirable coaches with a ‘Final Four’ resume are few.

Message board chatter includes a belief the University of Alabama Board of Trustees has urged Byrne to go big with whatever dollars it takes. That rumor may or may not be accurate. First Byrne has to tidy up the Avery situation. More rumors are Byrne wants to settle for a $3-4M buyout and Avery is holding out for $6-8M. That rumor also may or may not be true.

As time expands in the “we don’t know what is going on” situation for Alabama basketball fans, conjecture rules. Popping up more and more frequently is fan interest in hiring Rick Pitino. The idea was fueled Saturday by an al.com story by Joseph Goodman that hiring Pitino might make sense.

"With Pitino, Alabama would instantly, overnight, go from a backwater basketball outpost to a marquee program and destination for big-time recruits.Pitino would give Alabama its first legitimate chance in program history to win a national championship."

Goodman is correct about what Pitino could achieve for Alabama basketball. That does not necessarily mean Greg Byrne should hire him.

Perhaps there is no longer any moral high ground in the world of college athletics. If, however, there still is, and if the University of Alabama Athletics Department still possesses some of that higher ground, it would be tainted by hiring Rick Pitino.

Bruce Pearl is a twice punished violator of NCAA rules. Pearl reportedly not only lied to the NCAA he also persuaded a pair of assistants to lie as well. Also reportedly, he called a recruit’s father and attempted to persuade him to lie to the NCAA. Bruce Pearl’s show-cause penalty cost him little or no financial turmoil. The assistants he reportedly persuaded to lie suffered considerable financial pain.

As a result of Pearl’s actions, some consider the man a slime-ball. The things Rick Pitino has been accused of doing are worse than anything done by Pearl. Neither man has ever admitted guilt in any sports-related accusation.

Pitino did admit to marital infidelity in a 2003 episode that later led to an extortion proceeding against the woman involved. Otherwise, according to Pitino, he has done no wrong.

In 1977 the University of Hawaii was placed on NCAA probation for 64 NCAA violations that occurred while Pitino was an assistant and interim head coach. The NCAA case said Pitino was involved in four of the violations.

The University of Louisville incurred a lengthy NCAA probe during Pitino’s tenure. The NCAA investigation uncovered a history of unseemly recruiting practices from 2010-2014 that included paying strippers and escorts to entertain recruits. Louisville was penalized with a vacation of its 2013 national title, along with 123 wins and millions of dollars generated through post-season play.

Louisville suspended Pitino for five games after the NCAA penalty. Less than a year later, he and Athletic Director, Tom Jurich were fired. The terminations occurred over a bribery scheme to pay recruit, Brian Bowen’s father $100K, so the son would play for Louisville.

The scheme, uncovered by the FBI, involved two Adidas officials and a wanna-be-agent-handler. The three men were convicted of fraud. Pitino denied any knowledge of the ‘pay-for-play’ scheme. During the trial, the senior Bowen testified there had been a bidding war among schools for his son’s services. The schools he implicated were, along with Louisville, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Texas and Arizona.

As an aside, former Auburn assistant coach, Chuck Person will reportedly plead guilty to a similar bribery activity. Person was hired by and reported to Bruce Pearl. A second Auburn assistant, Ira Bowen has also been tied to the FBI investigation into college basketball.

As most Alabama basketball fans know, alleged ‘pay-for-play’ has cost Will Wade his job at LSU. Due to similar claims, Sean Miller is on shaky ground at Arizona. Bill Self at Kansas has been mentioned as a coach under scrutiny. Some of Mark Gottfried’s activities while at North Carolina State are being questioned.

Is college basketball such a cesspool, these coaches are few of many who cheat and allow their staffs to engage in criminal activity – to win at all costs? Some fans believe dishonesty is so widespread, it does not matter what a man has done or has been accused of doing – as long as he wins big.

Alabama basketball needs a coach. Rick Pitino is available. He is a proven ‘Final Four’ level winner. Some argue what else he is, or might have been, does not matter.