By: Brandon Kendrick

After the recent resignation of former assistant coach Shaka Smart, who was hired for the head coaching job at Virginia Commonwealth University,  the Gators have filled his position by hiring the former assistant for the Louisville Cardinals, Richard Pitino. Richard is the son of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.  He spent the past couple of seasons leading the Cardinals to the number one seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and back-to-back Elite Eights, along with his father. Within his two years on the staff, Louisville had a record of 58-15 and a 30-6 conference record. They also won a Big East title in 2009.

“I’ve known Richard his whole life,” Donovan said, “I feel like we’re getting a terrific recruiter, basketball coa/ch and person. We’re also getting somebody that also understand our program and system because of the similarities between what we do and what Louisville does. I’m grateful to Coach Pitino for allowing me to help Richard continue to grow and develop as a coach.”

Pitino is a graduate of the Providence College and spent two seasons as a manager for the basketball team.  He also worked as an assistant coach at St. Andrew’s School in Rhode Island for two years. The team finished the year with a 25th spot in the USA Today national rankings and won the New England Prep School Championship.

Richard Patino seemed very excited about his new coaching job at Florida. When asked about his job, he replied, “I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with Coach Donovan at Florida. I’ve known him my whole life and feel like he’s a part of our family. Moving on will give me an opportunity to be a part of another one of the nation’s top programs and I’m thrilled to work with one of the best coaches in the nation as well. I’m proud of what we accomplished and thoroughly enjoyed my time during my two years at Louisville while working for my father. Now, I’m dedicated to continue to build on what has already been accomplished with the Gators.”

Gators new assistant basketball coach Richard Pitino