Published: August 17, 2009 11:19 pm      

BEAS: Pitino will pay, but survive

Known more for his coaching prowess, Rick Pitino also writes books. Lots and lots of books. Motivational, get-you-to-run-through-a-brick-wall books. Pitino targets everyone, from businessmen (and women) looking for that corporate edge to everyday Joes simply aspiring to better their lives in some way, shape or form.

Coach will know. Coach will have the answers. Look at the guy. He’ll be 57 next month, but looks 37 and is a no-nonsense advocate of cardiovascular fitness when it comes to his players and assistant coaches. Pitino dresses immaculately, has been a sought-after motivational speaker, dabbles in the thoroughbred horse racing industry and has a banking bottom line the approximate width of Tom Arnold.

But do you really want to be Rick Pitino right about now? No, you don’t. You don’t want to trade places with him when Louisville’s men’s basketball squad plays at difficult Big East venues such as Syracuse or Connecticut. And you most certainly don’t want to be in Slick Rick’s overpriced Italian-made footwear when the Cardinals play bitter state rival Kentucky in Lexington.

Ugly? Oh, and how.

The one thing in Pitino’s corner is that the bombshell of him having consensual sex with a woman in a Louisville restaurant and then supplying funds needed for an abortion in 2003 was dropped in August, not November when college hoops officially gets under way. That gives Pitino three months for us to forget or at least quit caring, but it’s not going to happen, even with college and professional football right around the corner.

While America prides itself as a second-chance kind of place — and Michael Vick should thank his lucky stars every night that it is — Pitino’s months of Leavenworth lie ahead. Basketball isn’t like football where ample separation exists between fans and the team sideline/bench. Pitino will face nastiness at every turn, perhaps even from some longtime U of L season-ticket holders furious that he shed a negative light on their beloved university.

Through it all, one of two things will happen:

•The coach will lower his head, take his four-month dose of wall-to-wall verbal abuse, resist the temptation to retaliate and enter next April a smarter, more-matured man.

•Snap back at some of the fans giving him grief and forcing Louisville to place added security around the Cardinals’ bench during road games. If Pitino makes national news by practicing Mixed Martial Arts moves on the Florida Gator mascot in Gainesville, it’s safe to assume he’s gone to far.

Expect the former, though the latter would be hilarious to witness. Pitino has built an unbelievably solid resume centered around years of forcing young men to mine the work ethic and character that lies deep within each one.

He’ll come out if this, and that’s good. But first, Pitino must pay. Rest assured, the 2009-2010 season will take care of that.

• Mike Beas is a freelance writer/columnist and Kokomo native who resides in Carmel. He may be reached at mbeas@att.net.