Medved was hired to replace Ben Johnson, who was fired after his fourth season as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. In that time, Johnson accumulated a 56-71 overall record, which stands as the worst winning percentage (.441) of any men’s basketball head coach to last more than one season since World War II, when Carl Nordly’s Gophers went 17-23 between 1943 and 1944.

Ben Johnson’s predecessor found success in New Mexico

But the University of Minnesota’s men’s basketball struggles predate Johnson’s forgettable tenure as head coach. Prior to Ben taking over for the 2021-22 season, the Golden Gophers were coached for eight years by then 30-something, Richard Pitino, whose dad is known as one of the greatest basketball coaches in the sport’s history.

Pitino went 141-123 at Minnesota, but failed to make the NCAA tournament in his last two seasons at the helm. Just in case you’re counting, that makes it six college basketball seasons since the Minnesota Gophers have made the dance.

Of course, the same cannot be said about Pitino. Since Richard left Dinkytown and landed in the Mountain West Conference, as head coach of the New Mexico Lobos, he’s thrived, posting an overall record of 88-49 at New Mexico, including three-straight 20+ win seasons and two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

In 2024-25, Richard’s Lobos went 27-8 and — much like his Mountain West rival Rams and now Gophers head coach Niko Medved — won their first round March Madness matchup 75-66 vs Marquette. New Mexico then fell to Michigan State in round two.

Richard Pitino lands head coaching job at Xavier

On Tuesday evening, Pitino was rewarded for his success down in the desert with the new head coaching job at Xavier University. Coincidentally, Xavier is where Ben Johnson was an assistant coach from 2018-2021, prior to being hired as Gophers head coach.

Sources: Xavier will hire New Mexico's Richard Pitino as its next head basketball coach.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 26, 2025

Wanna go even further down the rabbit hole of weird basketball connections? Before landing at Xavier, Johnson was one Richard Pitino’s Gophers staff from assistants on the Gophers staff. Basketball is a small world, after all…

Richard Pitino never got a fair shot at the University of Minnesota. Immediately upon being hired, and even after winning the NIT Tournament in his first season and making two NCAA Tournament appearances in three seasons from 2016-2019, Pitino was always seen by local media as an emergency Norwood Teague hire that was mostly based in nepotism.

Related: New Gophers MBB Coach Supposedly Bringing Talent with Him to Minnesota

Now, just four years after he left, those who chased him out of town are now clinging to hopes that another new coach can get this program back to where Richard Pitino had it, then hopefully beyond. Meanwhile, Pitino is now back in a traditional basketball power conference (Big East), ready to prove himself beyond his father’s shadow, yet again.

Richard’s junior year in the desert included a Mountain West tournament championship that they needed to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, their journey ended in disappointing fashion, as a possible Cinderella team that instead bowed out in the first round vs Clemson. Still, mission success for Pitino & Co.

Richard Pitino a legit candidate for… Louisville?

So, following his rapid turnaround of the Lobos program, Richard Pitino is looking to get back into the power five club of college basketball coaches. And guess where he’s reportedly the leading candidate?

Louisville, a school that his father once coached to an NCAA Championship in 2013 that was later vacated, after one of the craziest recruiting scandals in college history. This wouldn’t be Richard’s first time coaching for the Cardinals. He was an assistant coach there under his father from 2007 to 2009.

New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino, the son of former Louisville coach Rick Pitino, has emerged as a legit candidate to replace Kenny Payne, source told @TheFieldOf68.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 26, 2024

Since Rick Pitino’s departure in 2017, the Louisville basketball team has seen two different coaches at the helm. Chris Mack led the team from 2018 to 2022, followed by Kenny Payne from 2022 to 2024. Now, the job is back up for grabs, after Payne finished his career on campus with a 12-52 record.

Related: Firing Richard Pitino was a Mistake

The last NCAA tournament appearance for the Louisville Cardinals occurred during Chris Mack’s inaugural season in 2019. Ironically, they faced Richard Pitino’s Gophers in the first round, marking Pitino’s first and only tournament victory with the Golden Gophers.

Richard Pitino has been following in his father’s footsteps throughout his career. Should he decide to accept the Louisville job, he’ll be tasked with filling some significant shoes, given his father’s legendary coaching career with the Cardinals. While there’s no official confirmation yet, reports from Jeff Goodman suggest that such a move would indeed make sense.

New Mexico has showcased its strength throughout the season, particularly with its dynamic backcourt duo of Jaelen House and former Gopher Jamal Mashburn Jr. House has maintained an impressive scoring average of 16.1 points per game, while Mashburn Jr. has contributed with 14.4 points per game on average.

The Lobos needed to win the Mountain West tournament last week, in order to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament… and they did. So, facing off against the 6th-seeded Clemson Tigers in the round of 64, there was widespread belief that New Mexico would not only upset Clemson in the first round, but possible even make a deep run.

Richard Pitino’s Lobos are a lot like Richard Pitino’s Gophers…

That didn’t end up being the case, though. Instead, the Lobos were destroyed 56-77, bringing their season to an end. For Gopher basketball fans who may have been watching their former head coach flounder, that deja vu feeling was strong.

Watching today’s game was like reliving Pitino’s coaching era with the Gophers. Despite New Mexico being the superior team for extended periods throughout the contest, they ultimately fell victim to self-inflicted wound including too many bad turnovers, missed layups and missed free throws.

Idk what happened in the New Mexico team hotel last night. If they didn’t sleep right, or something in their water….

The dumb TOs, terrible shooting… really is so unlike them. But we learned our lesson

— Ryan Hammer🔨 (@ryanhammer09) March 22, 2024

The Lobos faced a shooting debacle, hitting only 19 of 64 field goal attempts (29.7%), and a dismal 3 of 23 from three-point range (13%). Free throw shooting wasn’t much better, with a 15-for-23 performance (65.2%). On top of that, they committed 13 turnovers, adding to their struggles. It’s a Pitino tale that practically tells itself with such numbers.

Related: Gophers Extend Season with Crazy Last-Second Win Over Butler in Opening Round of NIT Tourney

Some Gophers fans, reflecting on Ben Johnson’s tenure and Richard Pitino’s success at New Mexico, have questioned the wisdom of firing Pitino (including the guy who runs this website). Opinions vary widely on this matter, and just as one takes a stance, the situation can quickly change.

Ben Johnson or Pitino Jr?

It’s possible we get a definitive answer someday, as Richard and Ben are both still young in their coaching careers, but it’s possible we don’t too. I think we can all acknowledge that today’s outcome with New Mexico is not something we miss…

I feel like I’ve watched this exact same New Mexico game dozens of times — the losing team was just wearing Maroon & Gold.

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) March 22, 2024

Yet, I think we can also admit that making the NCAA Tournament and losing in the first round would have been a better result than winning a game (possible more) in the NIT Tournament. What I’m trying to say is I’m not sure if I miss Richard Pitino yet or not.

I’ve said before that firing him might have been a mistake, especially now that he’s led his team to the NCAA tournament while we watch from home. But then again, frustrating games like this make me second guess myself.

Richard Pitino showing out at New Mexico

In Albuquerque, Richard has thrived and it happened pretty quickly. After going 13-19 in his first season, Pitino turned it around in year 2, leading the Lobos to a 22-12 (8-10) record, good for 6th in the Mountain West. In year 3 (this season) New Mexico went 26-9 (10-8) to take another step forward. Still the NCAA Tournament was far from a lock… until Pitino ran the table in the Mountain West Tournament and the Lobos earned an automatic bid.

New Mexico wins the Mountain West Tournament for the first time since 2014.

What a coaching job this week by Richard Pitino!

The Mountain West will have SIX teams in the NCAA Tournament.

And all of them will likely be single digit seeds.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 17, 2024

The 2023-24 Lobos lead the Mountain West in scoring with 81.7 points per game and seeing a Pitino team win a tournament is no surprise either. The Gophers were always a difficult out under Richard, who won the NIT tournament in his rookie season as head coach at the U of M.

Meanwhile, back in Dinkytown, the Minnesota Gophers are finally starting to show improvement under third-year head coach Ben Johnson, who at 43-years-old is the youngest power-5 head coach in the country.

Ben Johnson struggling as Minnesota Gophers head coach

After collecting just six total Big Ten wins in his first two seasons (22-49 overall), Ben pulled a talented team together and retained his job by going 18-14 (8-10). Now, it’s about keeping the talent from his 2023-24 roster to stay for 2024-25, something that is more likely than most would think, in the NIL age.

But a closer look into the season shows one of the easiest Gopher basketball schedules in recent program history and a team that was never in serious March Madness contention, even during by far the best year of Johnson’s young tenure in Dinkytown.

We can argue semantics and talk about the future of both coaches. How long Pitino will stay in Albuquerque vs Johnson being a U of M lifer or the age and experience of both coaches. Sure, go for it. But those are all causes to the one obvious problem. Mark Coyle and the University of Minnesota made a mistake when they fired Richard Pitino, and replaced him with Ben Johnson.

Honestly, the mistake was in a lack of foresight. Pitino was fired in March, 2021, just as the transfer portal was becoming the wild wild west of college athletics. A transfer portal Pitino valued way more than other coaches, early on when transferring between schools started to become easier, just prior to the pandemic.

Related: Tom Izzo: Gophers Could be Team to Beat in Big Ten if Ben Johnson Keeps Them Together

It’s where he found Marcus Carr, Reggie Lynch, Peyton Willis, Liam Robbins… or about half of all of the Gophers’ best players while Pitino was in Dinkytown. Richard had to be good in the portal back then because he was not good on the recruiting trail, late in his tenure as Gophers head coach, a deficiency that ultimately got him fired.

It started in 2017 when Pitino took Jellyfam Isaiah Washington (New York) over Champlin Park’s McKinley Wright. Not only was Wright the better player (he went onto Colorado and became a star, before moving on for a short career in the NBA), but it pissed off the entire Minnesota basketball recruiting base, which was packed with talent at the time.

The real one for this recruitment was Minnesota. Pitino Jr. and his then assistant opted for Isaiah Washington over McKinley Wright, who was ready to commit earlier in the week. Killed them with the power program, D1 Minnesota. Brutal return on investment https://t.co/7kCqBNcuM6

— 𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 𝒮𝓁𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓇 (@Andrew__Slater) March 20, 2021

In 2018, Pitino got Daniel Oturu, Gabe Kalscheur and Jarvis Omersa to sign with their home state Gophers, but after that, it became very difficult to land in-state kids, which really rubbed Minnesota sports fans the wrong way. Pitino didn’t do the best job of gaining everone’s trust back.

Let’s just say this: seeing Pitino at a MN high school basketball game was a much more rare sight than it should have been, especially given all of the local talent around the Twin Cities at the time. And that, again, brings us back to Ben Johnson, who was hired because of his ties to the local basketball community in the wider Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He’s from DeLaSalle high school and he went to the U of M.

Then… everything about college athletics changed with NIL and a wide open transfer portal

Makes sense right? At the time, the argument was pretty easy to make. But the problem is that, even back in 2021, the landscape was moving away from high school recruiting and toward a much greater emphasis on the transfer portal. No longer were high school relationships that stretch back to middle school nearly as important as just a year or two prior. And once NIL entered the mix, those relationships meant even less.

Thus, the main reason why Johnson was brought in and why Richard Pitino was fired, high school recruiting, went from being by far the most important part of building a successful college basketball program, down and out of the top-5… maybe top-10. Now, the teams that win are the teams that can retain their most talented guys and fish into the portal to find the talent they need.

Players who land at one college after high school can now transfer as many times as they want, without penalty. And most will transfer at least once before they move on from college basketball. Which is part of why we’re seeing Pitino have so much immediate success down in the desert… and Ben Johnson struggle to rebuild a program in a changing landscape that he and the University of Minnesota were not prepared for.

Related: Future Gopher Isaac Asuma Nearly Posts Triple-Double in ‘Border Battle’ Showcase

Had Coyle left Pitino in place at the U of M, there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t have been able to bring even more talent into a Big Ten that now lacks a lot of it. Hell, the Mountain West is going to get 6 schools named to the NCAA Tournament tonight, which is expected to be the same number as the Big Ten.

Of course, we can’t change the past. We have to hope Ben can continue to build on the success he had in 2023-24 and that he ends up being a good hire, long-term, even if the decision to fire his predecessor and hire him was a mistake in the first place.

Pitino & Co are efficiently handling teams they should, for the most part. Their only loss on the season came vs #24 ranked (at the time) St. Mary’s in game 2. New Mexico’s best win of the early season came over Louisiana Tech, only one of two L’s on their 2023-24 schedule.

Donovan Dent is a magician. And New Mexico is 10-1. Lobos haven't had their full team healthy this season, but their ceiling is very high. Gutsy win at New Mexico State.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 16, 2023

Related: Braeden Carrington Steps Away from Gophers Men’s Basketball Team

All this with their two best players Jamal Mashburn (18 PPG) and Jalen House (17 PPG) missing half of the Logos games with injury. Gopher fans might remember Mashburn from his two years wearing maroon and gold. Both House and Mashburn were All-Mountain West selections in 2022-23.

2023-24 New Mexico Lobos a Final Four contender?

Pitino’s Fighting Lobos have even gained hype as a possible Final Four team. Yes, you read that right. According to FOX broadcaster John Fanta, New Mexico isn’t just a tournament team. They’re a National Championship contender.

Richard Pitino exceeding expectations in the valley

Richard Pitino is in his 3rd season as the coach at New Mexico, and it’s safe to say he’s exceeding expectations. Pitino, who spent 8 full seasons at Minnesota and one season at Florida International before that, could never quite live up to the standards Gopher fans set for him.

The Lobos are off to a blazing hot start for the second consecutive season. Last year, they gained recognition nationally for an impressive 14-0 start,even climbing into the top 25. However, their momentum faltered after a loss to conference rival Fresno State, triggering a downward spiral.

Related: Gophers Dawson Garcia Will Miss at Least One Game with Injury

Still, the Lobos finished the 2022-23 with a 22-12 record, after a quarterfinal exit in the Mountain West Tournament against Utah State. Despite securing a #2 seed in the NIT, a tournament he won in his debut as Gophers head coach, lost to Utah Valley in the first round.

Richard Pitino > Ben Johnson

Sure, Richard Pitino had a hard time keeping the borders closed (because he didn’t really care to). And yeah, he had a hard time winning crucial conference road games. Obviously, the man has his flaws, but did Mark Coyle move to fast in firing him?

Pitino’s held a 141-123 career record as Gophers head coach. His 54-96 record in Big Ten play felt like a disappointment three years ago, now looks a lot more palatable. His replacement, Ben Johnson, holds a 30-41 record as Minnesota’s head coach, including an absolutely dreadful 7-33 conference record.

When the Gophers hired Ben Johnson, many fans saw it as a breath of fresh air. He was a hometown kid who played at DeLaSalle and wore a Minnesota uniform in college. He was known for his recruiting skills, which generated even more excitement among fans convinced that closing the recruiting borders around the state would lead to consistent NCAA tournament runs.

Related: Ben Johnson Found a Future Star in True Freshman Cam Christie

I’m going to be honest. I worried about what would happen after Pitino was fired, even before it happened. I mean, every season, regardless of record, the Gophers had a competitive team under Richard and he had a way of finding talent that others didn’t, whether he had to go international or into the transfer portal (before it was popular).

When Richard Pitino coached the Gophers it felt like they had a shot at victory, no matter who, when or where they played. I’m not surprised in the slightest how easily he seems to be putting the New Mexico basketball program back together. I get sad thinking about what could’ve been…

It’s April 6, more than three weeks since Richard Pitino was fired from his post as men’s head basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. Before Pitino was fired, he found a soft landing as head coach at the University of New Mexico. That made his exit resemble more of a handoff than it did a forced exit.

The veil fooled nobody. Coyle and Co were triggering a clause in Richard’s contract that would ease the buyout owed to their head coach of eight seasons. Pitino’s hiring at New Mexico did more than ease the buyout, however. It erased it, according to Marcus Fuller of the Star Tribune.

The University of Minnesota owes no buyout money to former Gophers men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino under the terms of their separation agreement, obtained Wednesday by the Star Tribune.

The separation agreement says the U doesn’t have to pay any buyout for parting ways with Pitino, but he also doesn’t owe the university the $500,000 termination fee in his contract for departing to another school before April 30.

Marcus Fuller – Star Tribune

Assistant Coach Updates

Ben Johnson was hired about a week after Pitino was fired and his momentum was STEAMING out of the gates. He had the entire state of Minnesota on his side. But that head of steam has died down and a large part of its deflation is due to the slow assistant coach search.

Johnson still needs to hire three assistant coaches and college assistants are a big part of the recruiting process. That makes their lack of urgency a bit perplexing and incredibly maddening. It sounds like names will be announced soon but, at this point, we know more about who the assistants won’t be than who they will be.

Former Pitino assistant, Ed Conroy, is out and on his way to Vanderbilt. That means we can probably say goodbye to Liam Robbins, as well. He entered the transfer portal yesterday. Baylor special assistant and Minnesotan, Jared Nuness, won’t be on Ben Johnson’s coaching staff either.

Hearing a lot of noise from many places that Minnesota assistant coach Ed Conroy will likely land at Vanderbilt

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) April 7, 2021

Talked with national champ and Twin Cities native @CoachJNuness. He said he had a solid conversation w/ new #Gophers coach Ben Johnson, but the timing isn't right for him to head home. Jared and Ben remain close. Ben should be officially announcing his staff pretty soon.

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) April 6, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Richard Pitino was fired as Men’s Head Basketball Coach at Minnesota because he’s, more or less, a lazy recruiter. Ben Johnson was hired by Athletic Director, Mark Coyle, because he’s one of the hardest working recruiters in the country, especially within his/our own Minnesota backyard.

But one thing that Ben will never have on Richard, is his Twitter game.

Congrats to my former assistant Ben Johnson on getting the @GopherMBB gig. He will kill it there! I taught him everything he needs to know. Especially about in state recruiting ????????????.

— Richard Pitino (@LoboCoachPitino) March 24, 2021

Richard Pitino is acutely aware of exactly what you and I think about him. He knows others are out on the recruiting grind while he is posted up with a stogie at the golf course. And he doesn’t give a fuck. He doesn’t care. He’s perfectly happy and comfortable in his own skin and I can’t help but respect him for it. Especially now that he’s gone and I don’t have to worry about the fallout.

So I’ll take all of the Richard Pitino Twitter I can get my eyes on.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

If you’ve felt bad for Richard Pitino after being dismissed by the University of Minnesota on Monday, wipe those tears. Just twelve or so hours after AD Mark Coyle “parted ways” with the 39-year-old head coach, Pitino found a soft landing at the University of New Mexico. Look out your window, Minnesotans. Did you know it’s going to be 70 degrees this weekend on Richard’s new Albuquerque campus?

BREAKING: New Mexico has hired former Minnesota coach Richard Pitino, sources told @Stadium.

Pitino was officially unemployed for about 12 hours or so.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 16, 2021

This hire isn’t a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention. With Rick Pitino and Billy Donovan both in his corner and in the ears of important people at New Mexico, the writing has been on the Lobos’ wall since Saturday.

The U of M athletic department has stepped on eggshells throughout this process. Still, it’s the worst kept secret in town. That phony discretion is because of Pitino’s $1.75 million buyout, which the U of M doesn’t want to foot. Now that Richard has found a “soft landing” in New Mexico, they’re expected to foot part of that buyout bill.

Why the U of M cares so much about a $1.75 million buyout when one IU booster just wrote a personal check to pay all of Archie Miller’s $10 million buyout in Bloomington, is a topic that needs its own blog. But yes, this process has been an embarrassment.

When we find out details on who will cover what part of Richard’s buyout (if we ever find out), it’ll be added to this blog.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

It’s now official. Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle has fired Richard Pitino, per a release from the University moments ago. We knew this was coming but now it’s official. Richard has coached his last game as the Gophers head basketball coach.

“I recently met with Richard and told him that we were moving in a different direction. Richard is a tremendous person and coach, and I want to thank him, Jill and their family for their commitment to Minnesota. We wish them well in their next endeavor.

“Decisions like this are never easy, but after evaluating this season and the previous eight years of our program under Richard, it is clear to me that new leadership is needed. We have one of the best practice facilities in the nation, a historic competition venue and a state that produces top-caliber talent. This is an extremely attractive job, and we will immediately start a nationwide search for our next head coach.” 

Mark Coyle – Official Statement

It’s been reported that Richard Pitino and Tim Miles are the two finalists for the University of New Mexico job. Darren Wolfson reported on his podcast earlier today, however, that Miles himself believes he’s fighting an uphill battle against Richard. Pitino has both his dad and Billy Donovan fighting for him, apparently.

If you want to read anything else on who could be the next Gopher head coach or any other rumors that have been flying, we have you covered HERE. Mark Coyle will have a press conference tomorrow morning at 10 AM.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

It’s becoming official. The University of Minnesota is “parting ways” with Richard Pitino. This was expected, after Pitino reportedly interviewed for the head coaching job at the University of New Mexico over the weekend. We don’t yet know if Pitino will be coaching the Lobos next season, but he and his good friend Tim Miles (formerly Nebraska HC) are reportedly the only two candidates still being considered. All of these insider reports are via Jeff Goodman (Stadium).

BREAKING: Minnesota is expected to part ways with Richard Pitino, sources told @Stadium.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 15, 2021

BREAKING: Richard Pitino and former Nebraska head coach Tim Miles are the co-leaders for the New Mexico job, multiple sources told @Stadium.

Expect the Lobos to make a decision between the two in the next 24-48 hours. https://t.co/2QVyJZmruI

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 15, 2021

As we find out more about the Pitino divorce, I will update this post. If you would like to read about some of the possible replacements for Pitino as Minnesota Gophers head basketball coach, we have you covered.

• Replacement Options for Richard Pitino (Part I)
• Replacement Options for Pitino (Part II) – Mountain West Guys w/MN Ties
• Sam Mitchell for Gophers Next Head Coach?
• Minnesota Gopher MBB Job Will Be Highly Coveted If Open
• Brian Dutcher Tries (But Fails) to Dismiss Minnesota Rumors

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan