We’re still six weeks shy of the first regular-season game in the Pit, but as Monday opened the door for the first official team practices for the 2022-23 college basketball season, Richard Pitino knows the buzz is about to pick up again.
Albuquerque, after all, is still very much a basketball town — one growing increasingly desperate for a return to glory of nearly a decade ago.
Heading into his second season as the UNM men’s basketball coach, and fresh off turning 40 last week, Pitino recently sat down for a wide-ranging, 40-minute conversation with the Journal sharing his thoughts heading into the season on recruiting, the schedule, hanging out with his staff at Isotopes games, whether the elevated expectations for his program are warranted, putting up with his dad on Twitter, who the Lobos’ offseason MVP was and how much he missed spending time with the local media all offseason.