ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The old Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, with its Renaissance-style architecture, its grand arched roof and the world’s largest pipe organ, is a fitting platform for a final act. And so, there was Rick Pitino late Saturday afternoon, with only family members and friends in the cavernous arena, stalking the sidelines in a dapper navy suit, waving his rolled-up notes around like a maestro conducting an orchestra.
It all looked so familiar, except for the setting.
Pitino, the only college coach to win national titles with two programs, was here with Iona College in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament championship game, far from college basketball’s Broadway, for a sole reason: It was the only college that would hire him after Louisville fired him in 2017 following a string of embarrassing scandals.