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Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/642573
54 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.16 So things haven't been going well for you lately. Te ongoing recent scandal is just the latest in a series of personal and professional incidents. Tere was that ill-fated four-year turn as the Celtics' head coach. And then there was Karen Sypher. Te details of your evening with her at Porcini in 2003 frst became public in 2009. At her criminal trial in 2010 (she was found guilty of extortion and sentenced to seven years in prison), you were questioned under oath by Sypher's attorney. You were forced to describe the encounter in excruciating detail, saying it began with her rubbing your leg as you were sitting at the restaurant bar, then her suggesting that you go to a booth. "One thing led to another," you said. Nasty. According to your account in another of your books, Te One-Day Contract, you wanted to take the attorney "outside and whip his ass." As you continued to deal with that extramarital ordeal, another sordid chapter of your Louisville tenure was unfolding, this the most damning of all. As everyone in town knows by now, former graduate assistant and director of basketball operations Andre McGee allegedly paid a self-described madam named Katina Powell and other escorts to dance for and have sex with U of L players and recruits from 2010-'14. ESPN had fve ex-Louisville players and recruits confrm that these parties took place at Billy Minardi Hall, the on-campus dorm named for your late brother-in-law that houses the basketball team. One player was quoted as saying, "A bunch of us were sitting there while they danced. Ten the players left, and the recruits chose which one (of the dancers) they wanted." Since the story broke last year, no one at the university has ever spelled out which of the allegations have proved to be true. Clearly at least some of them are, as the school took the drastic step of banning itself from the postseason this year. "Based upon the available information gathered by the NCAA enforcement staf and the University of Louisville, I determined that it was reasonable to conclude violations had occurred in the men's basketball program in the past," U of L president James Ramsey said at the Feb. 5 press conference announcing the ban. Tis vague response was the only explanation the school gave for pulling the plug on a season in which your team was poised to make a serious run in the tournament. You were 18-4 at the time of the announcement and had just defeated No. 2 North Carolina. Yet the school proceeded with the self-imposed sanctions, hoping that would coagulate the bleeding. WDRB's Rick Bozich has called for your resignation. "Louisville basketball has never faced a mess like this mess," Bozich wrote. "It's not a mess that Pitino can fx." Tim Sullivan of the Courier-Journal also wrote that you should step down. Ramsey did give you a vote of confdence at the Feb. 5 press conference. But back in October, your name was conspicuously absent from Ramsey's initial statement after the scandal broke: "For the past 18 years, Tom Jurich has served as athletic director of an exemplary program at U of L. I fully support Tom as we work to identify the facts in this situation, and that is what we are doing. Tom and I are committed to the values that are fundamental to the success of Cardinal athletics." Despite the public pressure, and the inconsistent support from Ramsey, you're still employed by the school — to the amazement of many. You remember Peter Vecsey, coach? He was the longtime NBA columnist for the New York Post and spent 12 years as a cornerstone of NBC's NBA coverage. A Basketball Hall of Fame honoree in his own right, Vecsey followed you during your days with the Knicks in the late '80s and was one of your more prominent supporters. He lobbied unsuccessfully to be your general manager with the Celtics. Having retired in 2012, he's been keeping an eye on what's been happening at Louisville. "It's amazing that the university will turn the other way when this guy wins games," Vecsey told me. "Tey just turn the other way until the NCAA cracks down." W ith all this heat, I was curious to see for myself how you were handling it. I got my frst chance on Dec. 26 in Lexington, with the big rivalry game at Rupp Arena against the Wildcats. Te postseason ban hadn't yet been announced and, on the court at least, things seemed to be going well. Te team was 11-1 entering the contest, the lone defeat coming on the road against then-No. 1 Michigan State. Te 11 wins, though, largely came against doormats. It was hard to get a true read. Te game against UK would serve as a good barometer. As for you personally, all seemed normal in the pregame. Te mostly blue-clad Rupp crowd heartily booed you during the introductions, but that was to be expected. You spent eight terrifc seasons in Lexington, but what had you done for them lately? Your nemesis, UK coach John Calipari, is now the man around these parts. You made your way up and down the bench just before tipof, gave all of your players a fst bump. It had been awhile since I'd seen you coach in person. I'd forgotten what a lunatic you are on the sidelines. A ball of nervous energy. You paced, and you paced, and you paced. If someone attached an odometer, it would've undoubtedly shown you racking up enough mileage during the two-hour contest to make it all the way back home. UK took an eight-point lead into the locker room at half and appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away early in the second, stretching the margin to 16. But your team fought back, cutting the defcit to six with 6:28 remaining. You'd been going at it with the ofcials all game, to the point that your constant bickering drew a technical foul in the frst half. But here you were during a timeout, yukking it up with one of the refs. Handsome and charming have always been two of the frst adjectives employed in so many published descriptions of you. Once upon a time, your suave look — perfectly coifed hair, Brioni suit — made you a natural ft for the Goodfellas movie poster. Now, at 63, with your jowl lines growing ever more prominent, those days are gone. Damn, coach, I thought you'd look 30 forever. Instead, you look like a second- term president. And you displayed little charm in the huddle with your team during the second half. A couple of times your eyes turned blood-red and a mile wide. I couldn't hear your screaming from my perch in the upper deck, but your voice carried quite a bit downstairs. Te only reason you belong on the Goodfellas poster these days is for a demeanor that evokes thoughts of Tommy DeVito, the deranged hitman memorably portrayed by Joe Pesci. I suppose I shouldn't blame you for getting emotional. You wanted this one badly. Understandably so. You've had little success against Calipari, besting him only once in eight tries prior to the Dec. 26 "It's amazing that the university will turn the other way when this guy wins games," Peter Vecsey told me. "They just turn the other way until the NCAA cracks down."