Unemployed Rick Pitino 'living vicariously' through son, likes what he sees in Gophers

NEW YORK – Rick Pitino sat at the edge of his seat with a nervous, almost frightened in the second half Saturday. His son's basketball team was barely clinging to a lead in an unbelievable 5-on-3 contest.

Good thing for all the adversity the Pitino family has faced that the Gophers won.

The Hall of Famer and former Louisville coach had a more positive vibe at halftime Saturday when the No. 14 Gophers held a comfortable 12-point lead in what became an 89-84 victory over No. 25 Alabama at the Barclays Center Classic.

"I just root for him every possession," Pitino said of his son, Gophers coach Richard. "To me, being out of work, I'm living vicariously through him."

Rick Pitino was fired last month by Louisville after a federal investigation allegedly found his assistant paid a recruit. He hadn't seen the Gophers play this season until showing up with other family members to Friday's victory over Massachusetts at Long Island University-Brooklyn.

Rick Pitino, who compared Richard to former Florida and current Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan, has followed the Gophers closely since his son was hired in 2013. He became an even bigger Gophers supporter during the U's turnaround year from eight to 24 wins last season.

Now the two-time national championship coach believes the Gophers can advance far into the NCAA tournament. He said captains Nate Mason and Jordan Murphy are as good as anyone in the country at point guard and power forward, respectively. He called center Reggie Lynch the best shot blocker in the nation. And he praised Amir Coffey as being a "great" small forward.

In January, the Gophers will open the new Athletes Village facility, which houses state-of-the-art men's basketball and football practice facilities on campus. Rick Pitino toured the facility this summer.

"Best in America by far," he said. "I thought Louisville was great, Kentucky was great. Nothing matches what Minnesota did. A $180 million football-basketball [facility]. It's much-needed for years. But it's going to change the program."

Freshman guard Isaiah Washington had groups of young fans following his every move in warmups behind the basket before Saturday's game.

Several players and coaches from his old youth team at Milbank Community Center in New York were in attendance. They wore Milbank and Gophers gear to support Washington, who gained a massive following as New York's prep player of the year and co-founder of the Jelly Fam movement.

Washington was instrumental in keeping the Gophers ahead against Alabama after Nate Mason was ejected with 14 minutes left. The Harlem native finished with eight of his 14 points in the second half, shooting 7-for-15 in 26 minutes.