<a href="https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/rick-pitino-returns-to-coaching-basketball-takes-job-with-panathinaikos-news.67329.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino</a> has led the Iona Gaels to the NCAA men&#8217;s basketball tournament in his first year with the University. The team secured a place in the tournament with a 60-51 victory over Fairfield in the MAAC title game, Saturday. 
Iona&#8217;s win makes Pitino the third coach in college basketball history to lead five different teams to the NCAA tournament. Pitino tournament teams include Boston University, Providence College, Kentucky, <a href="https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/rick-pitino-fired-by-louisville-amid-bribing-scandal-news.37746.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Louisville</a>, and Iona.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/userfiles/98/52/975298_1e240200f081f1bfcdab81e1b87c9e84.jpg" alt="Rick Pitino Leads 5th School To NCAA Tournament, After Iona Wins MAAC Championship"><figcaption>Andy Lyons / Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
&#8220;I&#8217;m just really pleased to be at Iona,&#8221; Pitino told reporters after the game. &#8220;When you grow up in New York, I grew up on 26th Street, on the East Side of Manhattan. I lived in Queens, I lived in Long Island, I lived in Westchester when I was the Knick coach. I&#8217;m New York strong all the way through, and it means a lot to be at Iona.&#8221;
Pitino grew up in New York City. He says he chose Iona, in part, because of his proximity to his home: &#8220;I knew it was the right fit. It&#8217;s 30 minutes from my apartment in New York City; it&#8217;s 10 minutes from my son in Harrison, New York. It&#8217;s 10 minutes from a golf club I&#8217;ve belonged to, Winged Foot. It has a great tradition; the coach before me did an unbelievable job. So many small Catholic schools [have had success]. Gonzaga. Dayton. Iona has a chance to build on what Tim Cluess has done.&#8221;
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[<a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31058955/rick-pitino-heads-back-ncaa-tournament-iona-gaels-win-maac-men-basketball-championship" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Via</a>]