W hen John Calipari rose to prominence at UMass during the same era as Rick Pitino was (re)building a powerhouse program at Kentucky, for some reason the broader media had no idea how to process ...

With Rick Pitino at the helm, possibilities for St. John's seem ... would allow him to thrive in the Big East — even though Luis only averaged 11.5 points per game as a freshman at UMass, ...

Calipari had UMass, Pitino’s alma mater, in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years. Pitino, in his third season leading the Wildcats, had Kentucky as a top-10 team.

Rick Pitino and John Calipari are set to square off in the NCAA Tournament for a fifth time when No. 2 St. John's faces No. 10 ... when Pitino’s alma mater, UMass, was seeking a head coach, ...

March 30 1996: Kentucky 81, UMass 74 — Pitino wins** Jan. 30, 2002 : Memphis 80, Louisville 70 — Calipari wins Feb. 19, 2003 : Memphis 80, Louisville 73 — Calipari wins ...

Reports said Pitino, a UMass alumnus, was part of the group that played a vital role in hiring Calipari as the Minutemen's coach in 1988. It was also reported that Pitino wrote a $5,000 or $10,000 ...

PITINO: “First of all, I didn’t like what was being said about him back then because some people were pushing other coaches and UMass was in dire straits. They couldn’t come up with the ...

The UMass transfer had options. He took visits to Louisville and Texas A&M, along with St. John’s. The Queens school stood out for one reason. “I want to be coached by the best and I want ...

The prior bouts included the 1996 Final Four, where Pitino and Kentucky defeated Calipari and UMass; and the 2012 Final Four, where Calipari’s Kentucky team beat Pitino-led Louisville.

When John Calipari rose to prominence at UMass during the same era as Rick Pitino was (re)building a powerhouse program at Kentucky, for some reason the broader media had no idea how to process ...