Rick Pitino, as we all know, has never won an NIT. That’s why he’s at Iona. You want your white whale, you’ve got to get through Gaels. As we wrote last spring, this is going to be difficult. Winning the NIT isn’t easy. But someone has to win it every year, and until Pitino either dies or wins one, the question will annually be asked: Is this his year?
As we wrote last spring, there are three core challenges in Pitino’s NIT quest. The first is to make the field. The second is to win the tournament. The third is to not vacate the title.
Making the field is looking promising. The MAAC, to my knowledge, is sticking with a tournament format in which the winner has to win three games on a neutral court, and the MAAC, to my knowledge, is sticking with a membership list upon which nobody is expected to be all that competitive with Iona, who was the best team on the court over there last year when playing regularly, something that was rare as the Gaels tested in and out of coronavirus protocols. It’s a good combination—three chances to lose and wrap up an automatic bid, no need to worry about the finnicky at-large situation. Don’t need to schedule that well in non-conference play. Probably don’t need to worry about scheduling too well, because any conference losses that do come figure to be bad ones.
Winning the tournament is another matter, though. This is going to be the hardest part. Pitino’s a good coach, but the NIT isn’t always won by good coaches. Sometimes, of course, it is (see: Smart, Shaka), but now and then, it isn’t. There’s also the aspect where if the team is good enough to win the NIT, it’s probably too good to lose in the MAAC Tournament, which highlights the real need here: Rick Pitino needs inconsistency. This is a key.
The caring about the NIT piece of winning the NIT doesn’t figure to be a huge problem. Pitino seems like he’d love that limelight, and while he’s getting good recruits, he doesn’t seem to be getting guys who are so NBA-obvious that they’d sit out the NIT. (Especially since the NIT might actually be a bit of a step up for them competitively, and therefore something of a proving ground? Maybe I’m reaching here.)
In total, I’d call it possible for Iona to win the NIT under Pitino. Rather improbable, but possible. And possible is all you need.
The final piece—not vacating the title—looks strikingly better than it did a year ago. Name-Image-Likeness has given Pitino plenty of paths to getting guys to Iona without punishable scandal, and with the NCAA on its heels, even a once-vacated title might eventually stand.
Overall, then, times are good in New Rochelle. As good as one good hope for them to be. More likely than not, it doesn’t work, but there’s a chance it does. And again, a chance is all we’re looking for here.
