Rick Pitino, happy at Iona, says he wants to coach 10 more years

ALBANY, N.Y. — Rick Pitino, Iona's 70-year-old Hall of Fame coach, sat at the dais in a place he was all too familiar with — the NCAA Tournament — and said something that might surprise some people.

He'd like to coach for another 10 years.

«Well, I'm physically fit and mentally I think I still have it,» Pitino said Thursday. «But my wife always says, 'If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.' I think you just take it one year at a time. Now, my desire would be to coach that long.

»Really, the two years I was out of coaching was really the most miserable two years of my life because I missed it so much because I love teaching, I love coaching, I love motivating — everything about it, I missed it terribly."

Missing it is why Pitino coached in Greece at Panathinaikos before returning to college basketball — and to Iona. Pitino said he'd love to coach as many as 12 more years, «but I'll take six to seven.»

Where those years will be spent, however, is the question.

Pitino, who has been linked to open positions at St. John's and Georgetown, quipped that «you're not hired by the Internet,» when asked about potential coaching opportunities away from Iona.

«My players — it's not a distraction for them at all,» he said. «It's really not a distraction. I really take it as a compliment.»

Pitino is 64-21 in three seasons and has two NCAA tournament appearances at Iona — the latest spot he's had college success after three Final Fours and a national championship at Louisville, two Final Fours and a national title at Kentucky, and a Final Four at Providence.

Pitino praised what he has at Iona when asked if he wanted to go to another rebuilding situation at this stage of his career.

«The thing you have to look at is my players don't