Saturday, December 11, 2010

Coach Rick Pitino and Puerto Rico National Team

IPRB has confirmed that Rick Pitino is seriously considering coaching the Puerto Rico National Team. Clearly, Pitino has the experience to help this team make the Olympics. The team has failed to meet expectations given its talent level and Pitino known for discipline could be exactly what the doctor ordered. There is a strong anti-American contingent within the Puerto Rican community so it will be interesting to see how the public at large reacts to this should Pitino agree to move forward and enter into negotiations with the PR Basketball Federation.

Word out of Louisville is that Pitino would need to get permission from the University and that the school wants Pitino focused on getting Louisville back in the top 20. The school has invested a lot in Rick and does not want anything to distract him although many within the athletic department think this could help with reruiting.

Said a source within the athletic department who asked to not be identified, "We have all seen what coaching an Olympic Team has done for Duke and Coach K. There is no much talent outside of the USA and with 10 current players from the Caribbean in the NBA that part of the world is rich in talent and could be a recruiting gold mine for us."


Word is that is deal is imminent and could be completed before the end of the year. If Pitino were to do this it would make sense for him to get it announced before the start of Big East Conference play.

Francisco "Furro" Lopez Back From Injury and Looking Good

Francisco "Furro" Lopez is determined to play college basketball and is doing everything he can to make his dream a reality. Lopez is a senior PG at La Salle High School in Miami, Florida. After a strong showing on the summer circuit with AAU team Gold Coast, Lopez suffered a serious hand/wrist injury and then caught a serious case of the flu delaying his return to the court.

This weekend his La Salle team played in the A Rod Classic and Furro has two very solid games with the team going 1-1 in the event. In the first game against Sagemont, Lopez scored 18 points in a big win. In the second game, Lopez scored 19 points and had 3 assists in a loss to Columbus.


Recruiting insiders have questioned his size but not his heart. A South Florida basketball recruiting insider," Lopez is the type of kid who will play his heart out and do the little things to help you win. He can score the ball and is a natural SG who will need to make the transition to the PG position if he is going to have a chance to at playing Division 1 college ball."

Lopez is also getting lots of looks from Division 2 and 3 schools but believes he can play Division 1. He will need to keep putting up big numbers and show both coaches and scouts that he can get his teammates more involved, play lock down defense and continue to show his leaderships skills.