Pitino in eye of Louisville-Kentucky rivalry

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Rick Pitino might be the only person in this basketball-crazy state reluctant to talk about his impending return to Rupp Arena.

Pitino would rather avoid discussing Saturday's game between Louisville, his team now, and Kentucky, the team he led to three Final Fours and the 1996 national championship during eight seasons in Lexington.

On Wednesday, after the Cardinals beat Eastern Kentucky 94-77 to run their record to 9-1, Pitino snapped when asked about the Bluegrass State showdown against the sixth-ranked Wildcats (7-2).

"What, you think I just forgot about Eastern Kentucky?" Pitino said. "You think I looked at Kentucky film in the minute-and-a-half it took me to get in here? After watching film for the last minute-and-a-half, I think we've got a great shot."

You won't find many others without an opinion.

Tickets to Saturday's sold-out, nationally televised game are going for as much as $1,500 a pair.

Sports talk shows have been inundated with emotional callers -- the same ones who once adored Pitino for his passion and tenacity but now revile him for switching from blue to red.

'Benedict Rick'

Newspapers in Louisville and Lexington have printed dozens of letters from fans irate that "Benedict Rick" would return to take over the program of the Wildcats' most hated rival.

"I don't think (the reception) is going to be good, I really don't," said Eastern Kentucky coach Travis Ford, who played on Pitino's first Final Four team at Kentucky in 1993. "But that's part of the excitement surrounding the game. And he doesn't care. He really doesn't.

"He probably hopes they boo loudly. That's just his competitive spirit. He's going to have his guys prepared to go in there and fight and play hard, and I'm sure that Tubby Smith is going to have his guys more than ready."

Pitino was hired amid great fanfare to revive a sagging program following the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum in March. He inherited a team that went 12-19, the school's second losing season in four years.

With nine players returning from Crum's last team, Louisville is 9-1 with eight straight victories, its longest win streak since the 1996-97 squad won its first 10 games.

The Cardinals rely on Pitino's trademarks -- full-court pressure and run-and-gun offense. But the coach has repeatedly lamented that his team still lacks talent and is winning only because it works hard.

"This team is not very good, they were never very good and the only thing that's going to make them good is time, patience and work," he said.

Richie Farmer, a standout prep player from the mountains of eastern Kentucky who played on Pitino's first three Kentucky teams, said his former coach will use his squad's supposed lack of skill to his advantage.

"He'll play that underdog role to get the maximum out of them," said Farmer, one of "The Unforgettables" that played in the Wildcats' 104-103 loss to Duke in the 1992 NCAA East Regional. "He'll rally the guys around the fact that nobody thinks they have a chance."