Richard Pitino to Minnesota

Florida International coach Richard Pitino has agreed to be the next head coach at Minnesota, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told SNY.tv.

“All but done,” the source said.

The son of Louisville coach Rick Pitino, the younger Pitino led FIU to an 18-14 record this season after replacing the fired Isiah Thomas.

Pitino watched Louisville beat Duke in the Midwest Region final Sunday in Indianapolis, and then spent time in the hospital there with his father and injured Louisville player Kevin Ware.

Pitino replaces Tubby Smith, who was fired last week after six seasons at Minnesota which included three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Smith wasn’t out of work long, as he was hired at Texas Tech.

The younger Pitino’s Wikipedia page has already been updated to reflect the Minnesota hire.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.