Tempo, Steals & Sarcasm: Inside the Richard Pitino-Coached Xavier Musketeers

After more than twenty years, Xavier basketball supporters find themselves somewhat uncertain about what qualities their new coach will bring to the team.

Certainly, cameras are ubiquitous these days, and press conferences can now reach a global audience through streaming. However, the Richard Pitino was hired on Tuesday evening. Was something unfamiliar to Xavier's latest set of strategies.

Since 2001, Xavier hadn’t brought in a head coach unconnected to the program until now. Fans were anticipating yet another chapter featuring Chris Mack, expecting history to repeat itself with “the new boss being just like the old boss” once again within the past three years.

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More: This is how the Xavier Musketeers lineup looks as the Richard Pitino era starts.

Mack would have been the safe choice, having achieved consistent success at the Cintas Center for about ten years. However, Xavier’s leadership decided to make a significant move instead.

Jason Williams, an Enquirer columnist, penned on Wednesday that there's far too much emphasis on repeating past successes in Cincinnati sports.

Williams: The Xavier Musketeers choose a new voice in recruiting New Mexico's Richard Pitino.

By stepping outside its comfort zone and hiring Pitino, Xavier has ushered in an exhilarating yet uncertain new chapter.

Geoff Grammer from the Albuquerque Journal He discussed Pitino's four-year tenure at New Mexico with The Enquirer. This covered expectations for Pitino, an offense-focused coach considered to be on the rise despite having 12 years of head coaching experience since his previous major conference move.

Pitino spearheaded a complete reconstruction at New Mexico.

When Pitino accepted the position at New Mexico, March 2021, Less than 24 hours after being let go from Minnesota, the Lobos emerged following their poorest performance since 1962.

Overwhelmed by COVID restrictions, the last year of the Paul Weir era turned out to be extremely challenging. The team from New Mexico managed only six victories overall, securing merely four wins against Division I teams.

He mentioned they never played even one game within the state boundaries. Instead, they resided in Texas hotels throughout their stay. He described this as an unusual circumstance. According to him, the squad’s skills were subpar,' stated Grammer. 'When he (Pitino) stepped in, he inherited quite a struggling group.'

During his initial year, Pitino facilitated a significant improvement with seven additional wins (13-19). Fast forward to the 2022-23 season, New Mexico returned to postseason action (NIT), followed by consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

"The reconstruction he undertook started at ground zero. They made progress each year," Grammer stated.

Hiring isn't a vanished skill for Pitino

In contemporary college basketball, the focus has shifted from traditional recruitment to utilizing the transfer portal. This allows teams to assemble a seasoned, competitive squad within just a few weeks instead of waiting for years.

New Mexico’s transformation from the bottom of the Mountain West standings to becoming a strong competitor did not occur quickly. During this season, the university successfully recruited and nurtured its starting backcourt duo, Donovan Dent and Tru Washington. Washington contributed an average of 11.1 points per game, whereas Dent earned the title of Mountain West Player of the Year.

Pitino along with his team managed to recruit J.T. Toppin from Dallas when the larger Texas universities didn’t show interest. In 2024, Toppin earned Freshman of the Year honors at New Mexico. transferring to Texas Tech .

He continued to attract two or three high school students annually and relied mostly on the portal for the remainder. He hadn’t stopped scouting high schools and remained quite proficient at it. His key recruiter in this area was Isaac Chew, one of his leading aids in recruitment," Grammer mentioned. "Combining portal signings with high school prospects proved rather remarkable.

Pitino's squads emphasize rapid play.

Among the nation’s teams, New Mexico was one of only nine programs to average more fast-break points than Xavier during the season. The team from New Mexico held the No. 4 rank with an average of 15.8 fast-break points per game and stood at No. 7 in terms of adjusted tempo. per KenPom.

"Everything mentioned above relies on having players who excel at pushing the pace. If you have the opportunity to score within the initial eight seconds, feel free to take a shot. As long as your attempts are well-considered, he isn’t concerned about missing them," stated Grammer.

Even though an offense that put up 80.5 points per game (ranking 32nd nationally) attracts plenty of attention, it was actually Pitino’s defensive strategies that laid the groundwork for his team’s fast-paced playstyle.

In each of the past two seasons, New Mexico ranked within the top 25 for adjusted defensive efficiency and inside the top 45 for steal percentage.

Grammer noted that they apply significant on-ball pressure, resulting in numerous steals and easy transition points from turnovers. He emphasized that their strong defense was the key factor behind their impressive performance over the past year.

Pitino's openness was notable during his time at New Mexico.

Pitino never avoided rumors about being involved in numerous coaching changes over the past couple of years. This was embraced by the Lobos' fan base, which still harbored resentment toward Steve Alford, who signed a 10-year contract with New Mexico in 2013 but then decided to leave. take the UCLA job 10 days later.

Grammer mentioned that although he didn’t actively seek additional jobs, his name kept popping up everywhere during this recruitment season. He was surprisingly candid about talking to anyone who reached out to him.

Spectators will like him since he's quite upfront about things. He has a sharp sense of humor and often comes across as sarcastic. He cracks jokes regularly and frequently teases his father.

The article initially appeared on The Cincinnati Enquirer. Rhythm, takeaways, and irony: Expectations for the Richard Pitino-led Xavier Musketeers