Pity Pitino?

Matt (of Bulls Blog fame) rips Rick Pitino for ripping Donta Smith over the youngster's decision to go back on his commitment to Louisville and declare for the NBA Draft.

Notably, Matt finds Pitino's rhetoric ironic, given that he himself abandoned the college game for the pros several years before his contract was set to expire.

So I put the chimps to work. Donta Smith, meet Mike Bradley.

From the May 9th, 1997 edition of the Boston Globe:

Just about every high school recruit hears the same promise. While praising the kid's talents and rhapsodizing about what he can do for the program, a college basketball coach utters words from that once-popular Spinners tune.

"I'll be around."

Most players base their college choice at least in part on the coach's vows to remain through their four-year tenure. Apparently, Worcester Burncoat big man Mike Bradley was one of them. After backing out of a commitment to attend Boston College, he opted for Kentucky and a chance to be coached by Rick Pitino.

But Pitino opted to come to the Celtics, leaving Bradley and his family bitter. He reportedly said Pitino promised him he would be around throughout Bradley's career at UK. Bradley is also quoted as saying that when he delivered his letter of intent, his father was told by Pitino he would not leave UK while his son was there.

The May 7th, 1997 edition of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette concurs:

Rick Pitino's oh-so-sincere face filled the big-screen TV as Dave Bradley and I sat alone in his den.

The orange basketball phone rang incessantly as the answering machine blew off the calls. The basketball clock on the wall read half past three. The TV room is filled with trophies, more than 50, won by the Bradley boys, Dave and Mike, the latter one of four Rick Pitino recruits headed for the University of Kentucky in the fall.

Dave Bradley Sr., wearing a Boston College sweatshirt "as a joke," didn't want to say much. Sensitive spot for the Bradleys. Coach Pitino had promised Mike that he'd be there at Kentucky for Mike's four years. Now Pitino's voice of betrayal filled the small room in the modest brown house on Wilkinson Street in Worcester's Burncoat section.

Pitino did not apologize to Mike Bradley or three other recruits for lying to them about his promise to remain at Kentucky...At his winter press conference announcing his choice of Kentucky, Mike had made it clear that Pitino was a critical factor in his decision. He believed in Pitino's ability to mold pros...

Doesn't it seem hypocritical that colleges can hold recruits to their written declarations to attend while not holding a coach to the remaining years on his contract? Seems like a one-way street, doesn't it?

During March, Pitino or one of his minions would regularly call Mike Bradley to assure him that all the Celtics rumors were false. Pitino's best friend, Ken "Jersey Red" Ford, once called the Bradley house at midnight to quash such a rumor. Last week, Pitino assistant Jimmy O'Brien called to say Pitino was waffling.

What goes around comes around.