Rick Pitino is thrilled for his son, yet not exactly psyched about the prospect of facing him twice a year. He loves that Richard is getting another shot in a power conference, but not fond of now counting him as a league rival.

He will pursue a medical redshirt through the NCAA to replace what was a lost 2024-25 season due to his recovery from an ACL tear.

Richard Pitino will now battle his Hall of Fame father in the Big East Conference after agreeing to take the Xavier job on Tuesday night. Richard Pitino is leaving New Mexico for the Big East school – replacing Sean Miller,

Richard Pitino is the new head basketball coach at Xavier, joining his legendary father in the Big East coaching ranks. He heads to Xavier from New Mexico, where he led the Lobos to the past two NCAA Tournaments.

Pitino said the focus of the offseason is on improving an offense that was 65th in efficiency while maintaining the physicality and grit that led St. John’s to its first outright Big East regular season title since 1985 and first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years.