The waiting is over for Rick Pitino.
According to multiple media reports, Pitino will be selected for enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame when the official announcement is made at 11 a.m. on Monday.
For years, Pitino's name has been attached to the phrase "future Hall of Famer," and now it appears that prognostication will finally be realized. Pitino was a finalist for induction in 2012, but was surprisingly passed over.
"Should've been (in) last year, but I don't see any way in the world that he wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said on Friday. "He's got better credentials than probably 80% of the coaches in there."
Pitino is the first coach - and the only coach according to the NCAA record books - to take three different programs to the Final Four. He has won over 600 Division-I games, reached the Final Four seven different times (1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012 and 2013), led his teams to 22 postseason appearances and won 10 conference tournament championships. He'll be shooting for his second national championship this weekend in Atlanta.
Congrats to Coach Pitino and the entire Pitino clan.