There will be another Pitino in the Big East next season.
Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, is expected to be hired as the next head men’s basketball coach at Xavier, according to ESPN.
The younger Pitino is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances with New Mexico and will take over the Musketeers after Sean Miller headed to the SEC for the Texas job.
New Mexico, which lost to his dad’s St. John’s team early this season, fell to No. 2 Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
He and his dad will now face off at least twice a year.
He takes over a Xavier program that finished 22-12 and lost to Illinois in the first round of March Madness.