KJ Fundamental Football Clinic Guest Speaker

Rick Pitino

The only coach in NCAA history to take three different teams to the NCAA Final Four, Pitino's up-tempo style, pressure defense, strong work ethic and family atmosphere have quickly returned the Cardinals to national prominence, with top 25 rankings over the last seven years and a visit to at least the final eight teams of the NCAA Tournament in three of the last six years as evidence. The successes of the 2005 Final Four squad were built upon the efforts of his early teams at U of L. Five years ago, the Cardinals won 16 straight during one stretch and rose to as high as fourth in the national polls before a trio of key injuries disrupted the Cardinals' flight. U of L won 20 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in six years while facing one of the nation's toughest schedules. Pitino gained his 400th career coaching victory with a 73-65 victory over then top-ranked Florida on Dec. 13, 2003, the first of two wins that season U of L achieved over No. 1 ranked foes