Rick Pitino looms as the Louisville maestro

They do not have enough seats on the bench for the coach of the legendary Boston Celtics [team stats], the celebrated New York Knicks, the immortal U. of Kentucky, the ambitious U. of Louisville. Or for a bereaved father, a grieving brother-in-law, a philanderer who became a blackmail victim, a Final Four coach three different places and in four different decades, a future member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, a past and perhaps near-future national champion Fortunately, it’s all one man. All that, and Rick Pitino only turns 60 in September? His biography would overload any Kindle; his song would have taken Sinatra to multiple octaves, and not in the shy way. Another verse arrived Saturday. Pitino’s Cardinals were being ridden into oblivion by Florida, coached by Billy Donovan - and that’s a whole cover story right there. With 8:16 left, the beastly Patric Young threw down a one-hander, and Florida led by 11. Later, Louisville point guard Peyton Siva would foul out, turning the wheel over to the impulsive Russ Smith, whom Pitino calls "Russ-diculous." And yet Louisville won. Neither Pitino or Donovan knew exactly how. The Gators hit 8 of 11 3-pointers in the first half against Louisville’s matchup zone, then missed all 9 they tried in the second, against a switching man-to-man. With Smith and freshman Chane Behanan picking up the juice the Gators had spilled, Louisville won, 72-68, and earned its second Final Four with Pitino, his sixth overall. The first was at Providence in 1987. Donovan was a pudgy guard Pitino had considered running off. Earlier that season, Pitino and his wife, Joanne, had lost six-month-old son Daniel, who had a heart condition. Pitino wanted that Final Four desperately, to benumb some of the grief. This one was right up there, he said. Providence honored that team when Louisville played there in January. The Friars beat Louisville by 31 that night. The Cardinals plodded their way to a 22-9 regular season. About an hour and 15 minutes away, Kentucky was No. 1 with only one regular-season loss. "The majority of our fans didn’t appreciate our season," Pitino said. "They looked down the road (at Kentucky). I keep saying we have no desire to be Kentucky. II admire Kentucky because of its excellence. All this rivalry stuff is just nonsense." Well, maybe for Pitino. But now Louisville plays Kentucky in the Final Four on Saturday, provided Kentucky beats Baylor today. "There will be people in Kentucky who will have a nervous breakdown if they lose to us," Pitino said. They’ve got to put the fences up on the bridges." Pitino lost his best friend and brother-in-law, Billy Minardi, whom he calls "Willie," in the 911 attacks. Another brother-in-law was run over by a car and killed. At Louisville, he had an indiscreet relationship with the wife of the equipment manager, and that devolved into an extortion trial for the woman, who was found guilty in 2010. By then Pitino was too old to fight in the street. "There were some ugly things said," he said. "I’m real proud I could turn the other cheek." It all comes back to the basketball. Behanen damaged Florida in the second half, with 13 of his 17 points. He gave the Cardinals a 69-68 lead when he wheeled into the lane and scored over Erik Murphy, with Florida choosing not to double-team. Smith got 13 of his 19 in the second half. "I think Smith has a fearless spirit," Donovan said. "Sometimes crazy." "I was actually pretty nervous because this is one of the first times I handled the point, in a situation that was so serious," Smith said. "But if Coach Donovan calls me crazy, I guess I’m crazy." Said Pitino: "He has a unique ability to score, but no clue as to how to play the game. We had to say, OK, let’s go from eight ridiculous shots a game to five and then three." In the end, Florida quit making shots, ridiculous or not, or very good decisions. "They made it tough for us to shoot threes," Bradley Beal said. "In the end we couldn’t find another way to score." Somehow Pitino knew Louisville would. He told the Cardinals they would go to the Final Four if they won the Big East Tournament. And when your life has been as full as his, you find signs that might be omens everywhere. Right around the corner from the arena is a place that is recognized as Phoenix’s best sports bar, whatever those qualifications might be. "It’s called Coach and Willie’s," Pitino said, smiling. "We took pictures of it this morning. We’ll be there tonight, up on the balcony, and I know we’ll cry a little bit." It must have been a long table.