Ricky Pitts

I'm not a Rick Pitino hater.

I know that puts me in a distinct minority among Celtics fans.

I understand that the man has an enormous ego, that he cheated on his wife, that his time as El Jeffe for the Green didn't go according to plan.

But I also know the man is a hell of a coach. Pitino holds the distinction of being the only men's coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools (Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville) to a Final Four. (John Calipari did the same, but two of his Final Four appearances were later vacated by the NCAA.) Pitino is also only one of three coaches ever to take his school to the Final Four in four separate decades.

Another measure of his success are the players he's coached. Many of Pitino's players and assistant coaches have gone on to become successful collegiate coaches. In total, 21 former Pitino players and coaches have become Division I head coaches, including Florida's Billy Donovan, Minnesota's Tubby Smith, Arizona State's Herb Sendek, and Cincinnati's Mick Cronin.

No, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Larry Bird never came walking through that door. Yes, Boston is a tough town to coach in, and Ricky Pitts didn't always possess a deft touch in that regard.

But I still root for him when I can, unless he's playing UCLA, in which case I root for Walton and Wooden.