Pitino Makes MAAC Debut While Siena Season Still On Hold

The long-awaited debut of Basketball Hall of Fame Head Coach Rick Pitino for the Iona Gaels has finally happened. The Gaels were tasked with playing the Big East's Seton Hall for their home opener and even though the Gaels ended up losing 86 - 64 they actually lead by as much a 9 points late in the first half. We all knew that Pitino could still coach but seeing him in action proved that. Meanwhile, we wait to hear when the Siena Saints can start their 2020 - 2021 schedule. Coach Carmen Maciariello joined Levack and Goz to speak about the state of Saints basketball and his thoughts about Coach Pitino joining the MAAC after his debut.

Seton Hall Head Coach and former Pitino Assistant from Louisville and the Boston Celtics Kevin Willard spoke highly of his former mentor during a Zoom call “You’re talking about a Hall of Fame coach, I wasn’t shocked we were down nine. They’re exactly what I thought they were going to be. They’re extremely well-coached, they play hard and they are going to win a lot of games because, in my opinion, he’s the greatest college coach ever.”

What did Coach Carm see watching the Gaels play up against the Pirates and can he use that film to help in their meeting currently scheduled for early February? As always Coach Carm is never one to give you too much about an opponent but he did indeed watch and say he'd like to see every MAAC team win every out of conference game. Listen to Coach Carm's full interview about this, Jalen Picket and scheduling below.

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