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Rick Pitino strongly suggests Indiana should hire current SEC head coach
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Rick Pitino has plenty on his plate as the head coach of St. John’s currently ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25. The legendary head coach, though, found time to visit Pardon My Take and share his thoughts on other happenings in college hoops.
Pitino, the former head coach of Kentucky and Louisville, weighed in on the Indiana opening. The Hoosiers are looking for a successor to Mike Woodson, and Pitino thinks IU should go after Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard.
“If I was the AD at Indiana, I would immediately – and not interview anybody else – hire one of the premier coaches in all of college basketball, that’s Chris Beard,” Pitino said. “I wouldn’t even think about another person. He’s perfect for that job.
“He’s tough, hard-nosed. The years I was sitting out, I got friendly with him because – he didn’t know me, I didn’t know him – he asked me to come out and speak to his team. He was at Texas Tech. And I went out and I spoke to them, but I watched 2 days of practice.
“I always judge a coach by his practices. I have to tell you, those are some of the best practices and meetings with his team that I have ever witnessed. So, I’m a gigantic fan of Chris Beard. I think he would kill it at Indiana. He would have them in the top 5-7 every single year.”
Beard posted a 112-55 record at Texas Tech, taking the Red Raiders to the championship game in 2018. He was 29-13 at Texas before his 2022 suspension and 2023 dismissal following a domestic violence arrest in which a felony assault charge was dismissed.
Ole Miss hired Beard in March 2023. The Rebels went 20-12 in Beard’s first season. This season, Ole Miss is 19-7 and ranked No. 24.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
