By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Reaching an agreement with the Hellenic Basketball Federation, Rick Pitino will serve in the field of player development for the national teams of Greece.
His new role was announced on Wednesday.
“The most important thing is younger players develop, developing into national players, not only for their own teams but for the national team in the future,” the member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame stressed on developing players.
“Young players developing is the key to Greek basketball right now. How many young players could be the next Diamantidis, how many young players is the next Spanoulis,” he described his assignment referring to the latest biggest stars of the country, “The farm system, so to speak, is the most important thing for Greek basketball.”
Pitino, 71, was the head coach of the senior national team of Greece in the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Victoria, in 2021. Losing a deciding game to Czechia in the city of Canada knocked his side out of contention for a spot in the Olympic Games. At the club level, he was in charge of Panathinaikos between 2018 and 2020, winning two domestic league championships.
In his new role, he followed youngsters during team practice of the U18 national team, after meeting with federation president Vangelis Liolios, general manager Dinos Sverkounos, and administrative manager Dimos Dikoudis.
In his first season as the head coach of St. John’s, Pitino recorded a 20-13 record in the 2023-24 NCAA campaign.