Rick Pitino remembers 9/11

In this week's edition of Bloggin' Rick, Coach P gives us a quick update on the status of the team.

We now start getting serious with our workouts. Two one hour individual instructions this week. The first couple of weeks are to get the guys into basketball shape. It will be the first for Wayne Blackshear and Mark Jackson. They are still not ready to compete. Our hope is by October 1st we will be healthy and ready to go, with the exception of Rakeem Buckles. He will need a few more weeks.

Active recruiting starts on Friday. We are looking to fill one or two spots. The point guard position is crucial.

And then shares some thoughts on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 and the loss of his brother-in-law, Billy Minardi.

9/11

It’s now ten years later. I remember vividly the last weekend we spent with Billy Minardi.  It was a Labor Day getaway to Pebble Beach Resort.  Four man golfing teams would get together from coast-to-coast to compete and share stories. Our team was from Old Memorial out of Tampa, Fla.  Tom Shannon, Hugh Connerty, Billy Minardi and myself.  Three-day tournament, playing Spyglass, Spanish Bay, and Pebble Beach.  Ten years ago, but it seemed like yesterday when on a beautiful day we sat outside the eighteenth green sharing a bottle of Far Niente Chardonnay.  It was a spectacular four days.

We watched as pictures would be snapped as every foursome left the magnificent 18^th.  We traveled back home the next day. That was the last moment Billy, Stephanie, Joanne, and I shared together.

On that horrific morning, Billy’s last words were "I’d give anything to be back at Pebble." So would I.  It wouldn’t be enough to celebrate his life a tenth time with our friends in New York.  I decided to do something special.

My three oldest children -- Michael, Chris, and Richard -- headed west with me for a reenactment of that unique weekend ten years ago. We booked the rooms overlooking the 18^th hole.  Played the same courses and ate at the same restaurants. From smoking cigars in front of the fire pit at Spanish Bay, to finishing the same bottle of wine outside the 18^th hole. The only thing missing was his incredible laugh and effervescent personality.

We had the time of our life. Special place, special weekend, honoring and celebrating the life of one special man.  We cherished that weekend ten years ago as well as this past Labor Day weekend.

I always say that life without him has never been quite the same. This Sunday on the tenth year past, so many families will utter the same thoughts. It is important to celebrate their lives and I’m extremely grateful to be able to share his memory with friends and family who loved him so much.

He also takes some time to preview Georgetown and South Florida. You can read the entire entry right here.