Andy Beshear (4:03)

So I take it you're rooting for your son and his team in every game but yours.

Rick Pitino (4:09)

Yeah. You know, it's a tough situation. You want to. Last night, if he would have beaten us, it would have hurt our team, but I would have been extremely proud of him. But it's tough being in the same league and playing him twice a year. He's outplayed us in both games and we've won at the end. We have much more talent than him right now.

Andy Beshear (4:29)

Tell us about your team this year. Tell us about the players and how they banded together.

Rick Pitino (4:34)

Played a really tough schedule. We lost to Iowa State by a point. We played Michigan in an exhibition game, lost in overtime, lost to Auburn, lost to Kentucky. Alabama beat Baylor. Played a really tough schedule. And we just started coming into our own. The toughest thing about college basketball today for me is not the portal, it's not the nil. It's getting eight and nine new players every year with no continuity at all. You get a group of guys who've never played together. It takes time to get them to mesh. And we're meshing right now.

Andy Beshear (5:08)

Now we're seeing in some teams players staying at least two years how do you think the NCAA should go about trying to make that potentially happen more often?

Rick Pitino (5:22)

Well, I think college basketball, as far as the game, what takes place between the lines is at an all time high. It's the best product we put on the floor. Great, because guys from the G League want to come back.

Andy Beshear (5:35)

Right.

Rick Pitino (5:36)

Because college basketball now is no longer amateurism. They're professionals. So they rather stay and play college overseas. Especially all the great overseas players that would probably make maybe 200 to 300 to 400,000. Now they're getting paid millions in college. They want to come back. So you're getting great European players as well as the amateurs from the states.

Andy Beshear (6:00)

Or maybe those second round draft picks that aren't guaranteed that first round.

Rick Pitino (6:03)

Exactly. They want to stay in basketball. So the product is great. What they need to do is how do you stop kids from changing every year for $300,000 more to go to a different school? University of Kentucky is experiencing it right now. They're coming into their own right now because they had nine new players and they're finally meshing now for them as well. And they're coming around like we are. So it's great for all of us once they mesh.

Andy Beshear (6:32)

So you've coached at UK, you've coached at UofL, and I think you're the only person that can say you've been the head coach of both. What's it like to come back and play in the Commonwealth?

Rick Pitino (6:45)

Well, we haven't played there yet. We played Kentucky in a neutral site. But, you know, look, I never realized I wanted to come back to Kentucky because of my great experience. I called the University of Kentucky Camelot. It was for the time I spent there. I never had a bad day. Took over a program that was on probation, couldn't be on tv, couldn't play in a tournament. And we went to three straight championship games, two with me and one with my assistant, Toby Smith. So it was an amazing experience. Louisville didn't end quite as well, but I deserve to be fired because my assistant coaches did the wrong thing. And looking back on it, I learned a valuable lesson. Who to hire, who to trust, what to believe in. But Louisville was also a great experience for me. It was 17 years with the best ad in the history of the game, Tom Jurich. And we went to three Final Fours, won a championship. So that was a great experience also. So I spent a long time in the Commonwealth.

Andy Beshear (7:46)

So how do you think going through what happened at the end of your Louisville experience? How's that impacted you as You've taken on Iona St. John's well, it taught.

Rick Pitino (7:57)

Me, you know, delegating is great, but you got to delegate with people you trust that you know will do the right things. It was actually I was trying to get more high school one and done players at Louisville. I never went in that area.

Andy Beshear (8:13)

Right.

Rick Pitino (8:13)

And John Calipari was having great success at Kentucky and so I hired some people I should not have hired and learned a valuable lesson with that. So it's helped me with Iona. It's helped me going to Greece. I just took off, went to Greece and coached the Boston Celtics of, of the Euroleague Palatinikos and it was an incredible experience for me. The Panetonikos vs Olympiacos makes Louisville Kentucky game look like a church league game. Wow. You have nets around the court and people.

Andy Beshear (8:45)

You have to keep the crowd from.

Rick Pitino (8:47)

Coming on, to keep the crowd from throwing things. You have 70 police with shields walking you into the place. Oh, it's hostile.

Andy Beshear (8:54)

That does sound. So as you look back on your years at Kentucky, if Derek Anderson had not had that knee injury, how much do you beat Arizona by?

Rick Pitino (9:05)

Well, you know, he played a week prior going into that and two days of practice before the actual final four game. He killed everybody. And he was ready to go, ready to play because he would have guarded the young man Simons who had the great game. We're in the trainer's room and I said, da awesome practice. That was great. I said, you ready? And his response to me was, whatever you think, coach. And that really bothered me. I know he's going to be a lottery pick. He's coming off an ACL record breaking time coming back. His response was, I'm ready. It wasn't I'm ready to go. He said, whatever you think, coach. And at that point I said, you know what, we're going to beat Arizona without him. And I wanted to protect his career and. And I decided not to play him. I brought him in to shoot two free throws on the technical. But looking back on it, I still feel comfortable with that decision because he was coming back, I think in seven or eight months and that was a short period of time. And I honestly believed we would beat Arizona without him. And we would have. If Nazi would have learned to shoot free throws, we would have got it well.

Andy Beshear (10:16)

And I think putting players first is something you had a reputation for. In fact, introducing some of your players to the business side as well, thinking about Jamal Mashplay and others. Was that something that you set out to do or something they came to you for mentoring on.

Rick Pitino (10:34)

I think when you're a coach, your legacy really is not your wins, people. I just had my 904th win and everybody's making a big deal of surpassing wins.

Andy Beshear (10:45)

Third of all time.

Rick Pitino (10:46)

Yeah, but you know, that's not your legacy. Your legacy are your players. Your legacy are your assistant coaches that become great head coaches. That's really your legacy. What you do with your players, whether it's the Monster Mash or Billy Donovan in Chicago, or John Pelfrey or Travis Ford or Mark Pope or any of the coaches that go on to become outstanding coaches, but the players are your legacy. And the one thing I say, I'm a tough guy to play for. There's no question about it.

Andy Beshear (11:15)

You got to run a lot.

Rick Pitino (11:17)

Not only you got to run a lot, but you've got to be people don't. My players don't fear me. They fear the consequence of not working hard. That's what they fear. They know if they don't work hard or if they lose a game by not working hard, all hell's gonna break loose. But we have a great relationship. They can joke with me, we have a lot of fun together, but it's not fear of me. It's fear of consequence of not working hard.

Andy Beshear (11:46)

So last year I'm sitting next to Mark Pope as he is scouting Malachi Moreno, who's having a great year, I think surpassing expectations. And I'm worried that my son, who at the time is only about 6ft tall, is going to have to come in and guard this seven foot one monster. And he tells me a story about in that national championship year, a team that you all should have beaten by, say, 40, only beat by about 20.

Rick Pitino (12:11)

Georgia, we beat him by 12. We were up 20.

Andy Beshear (12:14)

And they could tell because of their effort or lack of effort what was to come. And he said it's the only time he's been on a team that's won a game and still run afterwards.

Rick Pitino (12:26)

We practiced at midnight. We went back and practiced at midnight. We had a 20 point lead and they didn't pay attention to what we need to do to break that game wide open. And it went the other way. And I said, okay, you didn't want to execute the way we supposed to execute. Let's just practice at midnight and let's have a good practice very positively. And. And they never let that happen again. Our average margin of victory in the SEC was 24 points. In the SEC, your average MAR. We scored 86 points and a half against LSU.

Andy Beshear (12:59)

Is that the best College basketball team in your mind of all time.

Rick Pitino (13:05)

I believe that. Now, there were a lot of teams like ucla.

Andy Beshear (13:08)

I was at most of those games. I believe it, too.

Rick Pitino (13:10)

With Kareem, it's tough to. It's tough to measure decades. You know, obviously, Kareem's team at UCLA was different. There was only 24 teams in the NCAA. But looking at it objectively, I would not. If I was the opposing coach and I looked at all the teams throughout history, I would not want to coach against that team.

Andy Beshear (13:31)

When you started out coaching, he became a head coach really young. Was there a moment, a win, a play where you said, oh, I can be really, really good at this?

Rick Pitino (13:42)

No, I never thought that way. I was a coach at 24 at Boston University, coaching in front of maybe 300, 400 people in the stands. But it was my laboratory. I could experiment with my press. The media didn't care. They were covering the Boston Celtics. They weren't covering Boston University. So I got a chance. I was coaching against an another unknown coach in the league at Northeastern named Jim Calhoun.

Andy Beshear (14:05)

Oh, wow.

Rick Pitino (14:05)

And we had quite a rivalry. Bu Northeastern was like Kentucky, Louisville on a much lower scale, but we hate each other just the same as Louisville, Kentucky.

Andy Beshear (14:14)

So those 300 people got into it.

Rick Pitino (14:16)

Yes, exactly. And Jim Calhoun and I got into it.

Andy Beshear (14:19)

Right. So as you progressed, what was the one recruitment where when you got them, you'd say, oh, this is gonna take off.

Rick Pitino (14:31)

Well, remember in Kentucky, Probation.

Andy Beshear (14:34)

Yes.

Rick Pitino (14:35)

What kid's gonna go to a school where you can't be on tv, you can't play in the NCAA tournament? So what kid is gonna go to school there?

Andy Beshear (14:42)

Jamal Mashburn.

Rick Pitino (14:42)

Jamal Mashburn. He decided. He walked into my office with a Syracuse hat on on his visit.

Andy Beshear (14:47)

Oh, wow.

Rick Pitino (14:48)

And I said, mash. Maybe this is Kentucky.

Andy Beshear (14:50)

And at the time, Jim Boeheim would come to Lexington.

Rick Pitino (14:53)

Yes.

Andy Beshear (14:53)

Very often.

Rick Pitino (14:54)

And I said, you know, Mesh, why don't you put that Syracuse hat away? These people here take Kentucky very serious. Oh, it's coach. I'm coming to Kentucky. I want to play for the Knick coach. I said, so he was a big fan of the New York Knicks when I was coaching him, and he just decided, I'm going to go play for you. He didn't care about being on probation, didn't care about not being in a tournament. He wanted to learn how to become a pro. And we've been in business together. He's my business partner for now almost 40 years. We have a company called Map Mashburn Avar and Pitino Mash is the star. Avar does all the work and I get all the glory.

Andy Beshear (15:33)

I remember watching him and it's interesting that you say he wanted to be a pro because he got better every year. He added something different to his game every year. I think about the range he had on his three pointer near his end of his junior year where he practiced that almost half court shot and hit one the game. I'm not sure you wanted him to take it.

Rick Pitino (15:53)

No. Mash was a point forward. He could play all five positions. He could be. Matter of fact, when we played against the Fab Five, if he doesn't foul out, we got another potential championship. But he fouls out in regulation. A lot of people don't realize that. Great game against Duke. Mashburn's not in the game in overtime. He found out in regulation. So that's another situation there.

Andy Beshear (16:15)

I tell people you and Mashburn almost beat the Fab Five without him at the end.

Rick Pitino (16:20)

Yep.

Andy Beshear (16:21)

So as you look back, talk to me about the differences in coaching in the NBA where you coach two teams and coaching college basketball. Because that number three, most wins of all time is even with you taking some time off to coach in the pros.

Rick Pitino (16:40)

Yeah, but I think coach 10 years in the pros and I think that I learned a lot. You have to coach different there. You're like the CEO of a company and you have your vice president, you have your people, but you're not a mentor to these guys. They have their agents, they have their families. Basically you're trying to get them to stay away from injuries. You're trying to manage them through an 82 game schedule plus playoffs in college. Totally different. You're trying to mold young men into men. You're trying to improve their skills where in the pros they're pretty much developed. You can still develop some of the young rookies, but they're pretty much developed. I had Patrick Ewing as a young basketball player. I had Mark Jackson when he was rookie of the year. But they're molded into pretty good players already. But you're a mentor in college. You're a close friend to them. You're a mentor. You're someone that needs to develop their character as well as their game.

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Andy Beshear (18:39)

You're listening to the Andy Beshear Podcast. Our guest this week is coach Rick Pitino. Rick, I want to talk to you about leadership because it seems to me that being the head coach, you are a leader of the team in many ways. You're a leader of the program overall, and you're a leader in the community. Tell us about your philosophy, especially as you're coming in as a coach of a new team, and how you try to show that leadership in all those different ways.

Rick Pitino (19:10)

Well, Governor, I've had a change, and I think that in order to succeed, whether you're a leader of a commonwealth or you're leader of a basketball team, you must change with the times. So when I was at Kentucky, I was a different coach. I could never coach the team. Today at St. John's the way I coach that 96 team couldn't do it. They couldn't. The players today couldn't handle it. The parents pamper them. They get a lot of love, but not as much discipline as when I grew up or when your dad grew up. It was different, different times. So the key to coaching and being a leader is you must adapt with the times. So today I coach differently than I coached at Kentucky. You motivate differently. You have to understand the motive behind these basketball players. When I'm coaching Richie Farmer and he's crying in my basement because I was too tough on him, I never forget as long as I lived, I said, okay, Rich, he quit the team. I don't know if you knew that. He quit the team and he went home to Clay county and I called him and his parents back to my house and said, you know what, Rich? I can't understand these people from Kentucky, the way they speak. I can't understand them. I'm gonna quit, too. And he Said, what do you mean you're gonna quit? I said, I'm gonna quit. I don't understand the way these people talk, and I wanna go back to New York. Rick, you go back to Clay County, I'll go back to New York City. I'm quitting also. He said, come on, coach, you're pulling my leg. I said, no, I'm not rich. I'm quitting. If you're gonna quit, I'm going to quit. I said, now, if you want me to quit, then I will. And he said, no, I don't want you to quit. You're doing great things here. Then you can't quit. Either you grind it out or I'm going back to New York. He said, okay, coach, I'm gonna grind it out. And he said to me, many years later, he said, would you have quit? I said, of course not, but I had to get you to stay.

Andy Beshear (21:05)

My generation would call that a Jedi mind trick and a very good one. There was a moment that still stands out to me, understanding your journey from UK to the Celtics to Louisville, because you would come into Rupp and everybody would boo. You know, you're the coach of, of of Louisville and there's that heated rivalry, but after playing in the final four in UK's championship season, right before you won it the next year, you took the podium even in that rivalry. And you asked the people that were there supporting UofL to. To come out and support Kentucky the next day. I thought that was an amazing moment. Tell me about it.

Rick Pitino (21:46)

You know, I love both schools. Obviously I spent a longer time at Louisville. I had a bad ending, but I had 16 out of 17 years were great. And you know, it's always a learning experience. As a leader, you got to understand when you make mistakes, you gotta correct the mistakes by not blaming others. The first thing you do is when you lose a lot of money in the stock market is you blame the politicians. You blame this person. You blame.

Andy Beshear (22:18)

You always blame the politicians.

Rick Pitino (22:20)

You blame everybody. But, you know, you in particular, more than a politician.

Andy Beshear (22:27)

Thank you.

Rick Pitino (22:28)

Because you have great character. You got it from your parents, obviously, but you're popular because people know what you stand for and you're not gonna waffle, you're gonna be strong enough to take. And I don't like what's happened to our leadership in our country because it's separating everybody. We're like two different countries right now. And I don't like that. We need to come together and have difference of opinions are great. You have a difference of Opinion, there's nothing wrong with that. But in leading people, you've got to motivate them to be the best they can possibly be. And you've got to know how to motivate them. What I call motive. Understand the motive in a person and then turn it into action. That's motivate. And as a motivator, right now, in motivating my basketball team, I have to understand they're different than Mark Pope, they're different than Mashburn, they're different than Antoine Walker. I have to understand how to motivate them and lead them.

John Rabinowitz (23:24)

And.

Rick Pitino (23:24)

And I'm doing that by changing, adapting to change. At 73 years of age, I'm called upon to change, you know, and you'll see it as a leader. And you have to adjust and change because the young generation's changing.

Andy Beshear (23:38)

And as I think about that, I think about the fact that you have to have a common goal for you all. The common goal is winning, making the tournament, trying to win a national championship. And I think about the country and our common goal used to be the best United States of America that we could be, you know, being Democrats, Republicans, left, right. Any of the rest of that used to be second, third or fourth. And so what suggestions would you have having to bring together people from different backgrounds every year now to form a team of how we can encourage the people of the United States to get back to that common goal?

Rick Pitino (24:13)

Yeah, I have to think. It' syou have to be a thinker that the right's not correct and the left's not correct. What's correct is the United States of America. That's the correct thing. We are a country built of so many different ethnic groups, so many different religions, so many different nationalities. When I walk the streets in New York in the summertime, I may get some Johnny fans yell out from the taxi. But I really. The thing I noticed the most is how many languages are being spoken on the streets of New York. It's different than Kentucky. Kentucky is. But in New York City, there's so many different things that go on in the streets of New York. Language wise. I always say to where you from and you get it from every, from Ukrainians to Spanish speaking people. It's incredible what goes on in the streets of New York.

Andy Beshear (25:06)

So it's okay for Spanish to be spoken in the United States?

Rick Pitino (25:08)

Yeah, like I thought. I thought Bad Bunny was great.

Andy Beshear (25:11)

I did too. Yeah, one of the best.

Rick Pitino (25:13)

Because I enjoyed it. I was the Puerto Rican national guest.

Andy Beshear (25:16)

Yes.

Rick Pitino (25:17)

For a short stint. So I Love the fact that he brought Puerto Ricans and the Latino community. So proud that he's leading the Super Bowl. Right. It wasn't about speaking English. He took us through them having to get out of the storm and sitting up on the polls and what they went through and the culture of. And it was great. I thought it was great. And he was a great entertainer. Lady Gaga was great. It didn't bother me at all. I thought it was terrific.

Andy Beshear (25:43)

And what was in English was on that. On that big board that love is stronger than hate, no question.

Rick Pitino (25:50)

And we've got to get away from that. And you're the prime example. I'm hoping big things for you down the future because I appreciate that you would lead the country in such a great way because you're not stuck in one way. It's not this way or this way. If you don't agree with me, I hate you. And that's what you're all about. And that's why we need leadership like you in this country. You're doing a fabulous job in the Commonwealth. I hope it's even bigger someday.

Andy Beshear (26:17)

Certainly doing my best. And I think if I answered that question, I'd have to fill out paperwork. Do you have to deal with politics and discussing issues of the day with your team?

Rick Pitino (26:28)

You know, I have a lot of coaches. Steve Kerr, as well as he's been on the podcast. Yes. And there are some other coaches that Popovich. I don't talk politics. I'm an independent person. I've voted for Bill Clinton. I voted for Barack Obama. I voted for the Bushes. So I voted for both parties. And I'm an independent person. I go for the person rather than the party. I'm probably. Most of my life, I've been a registered Democrat, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't vote for the Bushes. I think they're great.

Andy Beshear (27:05)

But do your players come up to you and engage when something's happening, like what we see in Minnesota or going back in time? Do they ever seek out or do you ever have to mediate between players or are they in college?

Rick Pitino (27:22)

Yeah, I don't think they get political. I asked them all to do me a favor in the last election. I asked them to vote. I said, I'm not gonna tell you who to vote for, but I want you to vote. I want you to learn to vote. I want you to learn to understand both sides and what they stand for. I said, it's really important to all of you guys to vote and have a voice. And they did. They voted I didn't ask them who they voted for. I had sneaky suspicion who they voted for, but I wouldn't ask them. But I want them to vote. I want them to. I don't speak politics to them at all. I don't think that's fair. I don't. I have my ideology, but for me, it's just what Bad Bunny said. It's about love and not hate. And the rhetoric is just way, way over the top.

Andy Beshear (28:15)

Way over the top. What are the key values that you want your players to come out of your program having when you're talking to them? And I know you're talking about hustle and defense and the rest of the. What are those character traits you really want to see in your players?

Rick Pitino (28:30)

The number one message I get to them is always tell the truth. I said, always tell the truth. If you tell the truth, and even though. Even though it's going to have penalties for you, I said, your problems become part of your past. When you lie, your problems become part of your future. So just tell the truth. If you did something wrong, we'll get to the bottom of it. We'll correct it. You may have your penalty, but it'll be behind you. So don't lie. Just tell the truth at all times.

Andy Beshear (28:59)

I think the other side of that is if you find yourself at the bottom of the hole, stop digging.

Rick Pitino (29:04)

No question.

Andy Beshear (29:04)

Then you got it. And I see in the world that I live in two different types of leaders. One that run away from problems and one that run ones that run towards it, that own whatever's going on and saying, it's my job to make this better.

Rick Pitino (29:20)

You know, when I meet with my players and they're foreign players, one from Portugal, one from Austria, one from Sweden, the Congo, Nigeria, I have Greece on my team. I sit them down, I said, look, do you smoke weed? And they look at me and their eyes get big. Do you drink alcohol? And their eyes get big. I said, I want to know now because you're not going to do that with me. So just tell me if you do it. Yeah, I have, coach. Yes, I have. Okay, listen, to play for me, your body's gotta be a temple. You can't be hungover. You can't smoke weed. Do you understand that? I said, so that's gotta be strict, okay, Coach? Is not gonna happen again. And so I coach a team that doesn't drink and doesn't do weed because I'm a big believer in that. Not that I don't have a glass of wine. Not that I don't have a beer, but I don't have to go out there and play.

Andy Beshear (30:12)

Right?

Rick Pitino (30:12)

And you can't play drink and smoke. You just can't do it. I know it's being done, but in my belief, you can't be in unbelievable shape and wear people down mentally and physically without other things bringing you down.

Andy Beshear (30:27)

Anybody who's watched you coach, know that you really get into the game. So tell us both how you deal with success, but also when, when you have that game, your team hadn't performed or just barely slipped away. What's your post game ritual and how to get yourself back up.

Rick Pitino (30:46)

You know, it's very easy in my estimation to get guys to deal with adversity. Adversity is very easy. The most difficult thing with people is to get them to deal with success. Success goes into ego. And I call. Ego from a spiritual sense is edging God out. Ego from a basketball athletic standpoint is edging greatness out. Once you develop an ego and you think you're the reason we are successful, you start to go the other way. That's to be hungry and humble. I gave my team a speech yesterday, coming up to Connecticut victory, that if you lack humility. I noticed things in practice where they were starting to lack humility. Humility is the greatest word in the dictionary. If you stay humble, you're going to stay hungry and successful is never going to be hugged. You're always going to be driven to be more successful and you'll lift people up around you rather than yourself. Adversity, I've always found to be easy to deal with. So getting people to just be locked in when they're successful is difficult.

Andy Beshear (31:56)

When people look back on your career, what do you want your legacy to be?

Rick Pitino (32:03)

I got the most out of their potential. That's important.

Andy Beshear (32:08)

Tell me a player that comes to mind where you look at where they started and where they finished, where you saw, because I have one in my head.

Rick Pitino (32:18)

So I coached Billy Donovan at Providence College, and Billy. I was hoping he'd transfer. I wanted him to transfer. I just got the job. He played two minutes a game as a freshman, four minutes a game as a sophomore. I think he averaged three points a game. I. I needed his scholarship to get a point guard. That was key. He walked in, he was definitely 30 pounds overweight, 6 foot, looked like he was 192 pounds. I said, Billy, what are you thinking? He said, coach, I'd like to transfer. I didn't play as a freshman, didn't play as a sophomore. I Know you have an athletic system of running and pressing. It's not for me. I made the sign at a cross and thank God that he was going to transfer. I said, okay, where do you want to transfer to? He said, fairfield, step down or Northeastern? I said, okay, come back tomorrow. I'll call Terry o'. Connor. Fairfield. Jim Calhoun at Northeastern. Call Terry o'. Connor. Oh, Rick, he can't play for me at Fairfield. He's too slow. I called Jim Calhoun. I said, jim, I got a Big east guard for you. Who is it? Billy Dun. Bill. I looked at him in high school. He can't play for me. Providence made a big mistake in bringing him into the Big East. And remember the Big east was this time was big John and Roly Massimino and Jim Boeheim and all the great coaches. Billy came back the next day and said, which school wanted me more? I said, well, I never made the call, Billy, because I need four guards to run and press. I brought him in the gym. I was young at that time and I was still playing the game. I never forget. I played him one on one. And not bragging of my great ability, I beat him 11 0. 11 0, 11 1. I said, okay, I want you to lose 30 pounds, come back to me after Labor Day and I want you to work on the following things. Here's your jump shot I want you to work on. Here's your one on one moves I want you to work on. This is what I want you to do. But you got to lose 30 pounds. He came back 160 that year. He was my fourth God, became my third God. We still played one on one all the time. It was 11 5, 11 6. He worked so hard like nobody I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. And Billy Donovan, his senior year, wore a cowboy hat, guns, boots for the COVID of the press guide. And the caption read, billy the Kid, the fastest gun in the East. He carried us on his back to a Final Four with a very average team. Played for me with the Knicks for six months and the rest was legendary. So he got the most out of his body that any human being could ever get out of. He went from the Pillsbury Doughboy to a pro all biggies player carrying his.

Andy Beshear (34:59)

Team onto a final Four and then a coach that wins two national champions.

Rick Pitino (35:02)

Champions back to back.

Andy Beshear (35:04)

You gotta be proud of all those folks that you've helped.

Rick Pitino (35:07)

Yes, I am. Because reaching that potential is what I can't promise you. You're going to play in the NBA. I can't promise you, you're going to make millions of dollars. I can promise you. I'll get you to reach your potential.

Andy Beshear (35:19)

Well, Coach, you've been generous with your time. Thanks for joining the podcast.

Rick Pitino (35:22)

Thanks, Governor. It's a true honor.

Andy Beshear (35:29)

Our next segment of the Andy Beshear Podcast, filmed and recorded in Sirius XM's headquarters here in New York City, is my Conversation with the Johns. This podcast has always been about a conversation among friends where we can work through the tough issues of the day. And so from the very start, I've had two of my closest friends, John Rabinowitz and John McConnell, on to talk through what we're seeing this week. And I think we've got to start with that interview we just had with Rick Pitino.

John Rabinowitz (36:01)

It was amazing. First off, I can't believe we're back in New York. We got invited back. John. This is amazing.

John McConnell (36:07)

Let us come back into their studio.

Andy Beshear (36:08)

Again, the little podcast that could.

John Rabinowitz (36:10)

It was great.

Andy Beshear (36:11)

Two times in the Big Apple.

John Rabinowitz (36:12)

It's great. I will tell you the thing that stood out in that interview. I know you probably will not comment on it, but I am pretty sure Rick Pitino encouraged you and endorsed you to run for president.

Andy Beshear (36:24)

John, you are violating the first rule of podcast.

John Rabinowitz (36:28)

I'm just telling you, I violate a lot of those rules.

Andy Beshear (36:30)

The first rule of Fight Club is don't talk about Fight Club. The first rule is politics. Podcast is don't talk about that. I did not hear that. But I am appreciative that he likes the leadership style that brings people together. And certainly you have to do that for a team and think about all the different places he's won. I can't think of another coach that's been able to repeat this winning culture in so many places.

John McConnell (36:55)

And the energy he brought in here after staying up late last night, winning a game in overtime, beating his son. Beating his son, and coming in here, and the stories were just awful.

John Rabinowitz (37:05)

Had you ever heard that Richie Farmer story before?

Andy Beshear (37:08)

I had not.

John Rabinowitz (37:09)

That was a great story. I mean, it really was a great interview. And you could tell that he still loves the Commonwealth, loved the time he spent there. And, I mean, listen, our state might be the best coach of all time that ever came out of our state.

Andy Beshear (37:24)

Well, what we didn't talk about was there was a time when I was a young lawyer, he was the coach of the University of Louisville. We were doing a tour of their facilities, and he recognized me and he said, andy, come up here and run this tour with me. I mean, that's something that validates you in front of that business community that's there. He didn't have to do it, but it was really kind. I've never forgotten that.

John Rabinowitz (37:46)

And I love they still. I know we couldn't talk about it, we didn't talk about on the air, but I love that he's still part of the horse racing world and racing horses in Kentucky. So it was a great interview, man. You did an awesome job on it.

Rick Pitino (37:56)

It was great.

John McConnell (37:58)

Well, hopping in now. There was another event in sports that happened this week and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people tuned in to come watch this. So the super bowl. And all we talked about was the halftime show.

John Rabinowitz (38:12)

Can we talk about first off, I thought this was going to be a high scoring game. Turns out to be a defense focused game.

Andy Beshear (38:21)

First half was brutal.

John Rabinowitz (38:22)

As a viewer, I mean, what five field goals? I certainly did not. Even though I said on the air the money was on the Seahawks, I still went with the heart with the Patriots and lost.

Andy Beshear (38:33)

How is the MVP not the kicker?

John Rabinowitz (38:35)

Well, that's a great point. That running back there's a stud though.

Andy Beshear (38:38)

Yeah, yeah.

John Rabinowitz (38:39)

But what a game. And I think we got to turn to what a halftime show.

Andy Beshear (38:44)

So if you remember last week we made predictions on who would win the Super Bowl. One of you went the Patriots. When he went to Seahawks and I went Bad Bunny. I think I won that bet.

John Rabinowitz (38:54)

I think you won that bet. I mean the. And we've talked about this, the choreography of all the dancers and just telling the story of Puerto Rico even though I couldn't understand a word. You didn't have to.

Rick Pitino (39:07)

Yeah.

John Rabinowitz (39:07)

It was amazing to watch and I thought it was great and I'm glad the NFL held strong and let him perform.

Andy Beshear (39:13)

And for all the detractors that said there wasn't English in it, it was up on the scoreboard and it talked about love being more powerful than hate. It was on the football that talked about togetherness. I think it's pretty special in this time. Bad Bunny for the win for sure.

John Rabinowitz (39:29)

Now Listen, in the 90s, I was a Kid Rock fan. I don't know if you guys liked Kid Rock. I did not get to see it though.

Andy Beshear (39:36)

Kid Rock is a little different in the 90s and 100 plus million people tuned into Bad Bunny. I think 6 million people tuned into Kid Rock. If that was an election, I'd call it a landslide.

John Rabinowitz (39:46)

Yeah, fair point. And it was really, really impressive.

Andy Beshear (39:49)

Let's turn to something a little more serious and a little more concerning. We have talked about a Lot of posts from the president on Truth Social, and I think we've all agreed that a lot of them are really inappropriate. But we saw one that was more than just inappropriate with the posting of this Lion King meme that depicted the Obamas as. As apes. Just wrong. Racist, shouldn't happen.

John McConnell (40:17)

And still not willing to apologize for the post. And now deflecting.

John Rabinowitz (40:22)

I mean, listen, as a Republican, as both of you know, it's so wrong and offensive and to come out and say that, in fact, that you don't think it was wrong and try to justify it in some ways, completely inappropriate.

Andy Beshear (40:42)

One thing I'm disappointed about in our state and in the Kentucky Republican Party is how they reacted to it, because this isn't the first time somebody's done this. There was a county Republican official in Kentucky and I think it was September or October that posted a nearly identical or similar video with the same depiction of the Obamas. And you know what? At that time, the Republican Party of Kentucky got it right. They said, this is wrong. We're going to look at it. There's going to be repercussions. What'd they do after the president's post? They said Democrats were trying to manufacture outrage.

John Rabinowitz (41:18)

That's disappointing.

Andy Beshear (41:20)

It doesn't change just because the message.

John Rabinowitz (41:23)

Is still offensive and they should come out and own it and apologize and move on.

John McConnell (41:29)

Yes. It doesn't seem they're capable of taking those steps.

John Rabinowitz (41:35)

So, Andy, moving to the next topic. We've had a lot of great political guests recently this, this past month or.

Andy Beshear (41:43)

Two, prime for 2026.

Rick Pitino (41:45)

It's.

John Rabinowitz (41:45)

It's been great. And I think. Listen, Amy was awesome last week. Amy Acton running el Bye was amazing. But maybe some updates in Michigan, some updates with any of the candidates. And what do we have in the future coming?

Andy Beshear (41:58)

So we had the governor candidates at the time on the Democratic side in Michigan, we had the sheriff, the lieutenant governor and the Secretary of state. Since then, the lieutenant governor dropped out of the governor's race and is running for secretary of state.

John Rabinowitz (42:14)

Smart move.

Andy Beshear (42:15)

That's Gilchrist. I thought he was phenomenal on the podcast. Very good guy. But we thought all three of them were great candidates. And so knowing that at least two of them could win and still do good in Michigan is, I think, a real positive thing. I know upcoming we're going to have Maine and there's a ton of candidates in Maine. So we've already interviewed, I think, four of them and have one more to come. And I think people are going to be really excited when they See that episode too.

John Rabinowitz (42:44)

I'll tell you, the candidates, it's really interesting backgrounds. I think we've talked about it off the air before with a lot of military backgrounds, a lot of blue collar laborers coming in. I think it's a great model for you guys.

John McConnell (42:58)

And we talk about public service veterans and are you seeing more of a shift of the candidate we're starting to get?

Andy Beshear (43:05)

Yes. I think you see more veterans running for office as Democrats than we have in a long time. I believe that if you look at them, we have more right now than Republicans. This is about service and certainly your military service itself partisan at all. It's about serving the United States of America and protecting all of our freedoms. I think at some time people have tried to make that more this side or that side. So I think we're best if we have veterans running on both sides of the aisle. But glad to see it. And you know, our veterans are recruited in Kentucky for jobs because they work hard and, and I think they'd work just as hard in Congress and make great members or as governors or up and down the ballot.

John Rabinowitz (43:53)

I was going to say it's also shocking how many of these candidates are marathon runners.

John McConnell (43:57)

Yes.

John Rabinowitz (43:57)

I mean really, I'm power walking on the treadmill and these guys are running 26 miles. I don't know what's going on here.

Andy Beshear (44:04)

But if you can power walk 28, then maybe you pass them, but I'm not sure.

John Rabinowitz (44:07)

Listen, my old man walking club is fire.

Andy Beshear (44:12)

Getting Gen Z lingo. Applying it to old man walking club.

John McConnell (44:16)

I'm learning John's locked in. He's locked in.

Andy Beshear (44:19)

One of the hot topics this week because it's involved me are invitations or lack of invitations in this upcoming National Governors Association. So the news broke that first none of the Democrats were going to be invited to the business meeting and then two of our Democratic governors were going to not be invited to the dinner. I think while we've been in studio, some of that may have changed. But I don't think anybody's denying at least where the White House started. I mean, I just would like to see the few bipartisan traditions that we have continue that it's pretty simple to make sure that everybody's invited to each of these and that we at least take a few moments where we can all be together. That's not going to happen this year.

John Rabinowitz (45:10)

What is the history with these meetings? Maybe on a broad scale kind of explain.

Andy Beshear (45:15)

So the National Governors association comes together in February, sometimes March of every year. We have our own panels that we put on of programming where we try to find bipartisan solutions. Transportation infrastructure was one year, Energy infrastructure has been one in other years. And what you find out is we've talked about windmills. There's more windmills in red states than there are in blue states. And so you find that there are a number of areas that we can hopefully push the partisanship out. And most of the governors who will attend fall in that area where we at least believe that there should be dialogue. In most years, the White House invites us to come have a business session where different members of the administration talk. We've had breakout sessions in the past where, for instance, Donald Trump's individual heading hud, I had an opportunity to talk to after our flooding last year about how HUD and FEMA could work better together. Those can be constructive regardless of who is in the White House. But when you suddenly say I'm not inviting you if you have a different registration than I do, that's when it all breaks down.

John McConnell (46:27)

Well, transportation is not a red or a blue issue. It's how everybody gets to work and how they're going to get there safely. And it's just sad to see that that's where it's at.

John Rabinowitz (46:38)

Yeah, we can't move, move ahead as a country if we're so divisive.

Andy Beshear (46:42)

I am seeing hope. I'm seeing hope in a lot of our county elections in Kentucky where we see some of the most partisan folks losing to people who are practical who just want to move their county with or the area ahead. I see Republican and Democratic county judges working seamlessly and saying we want to push for that next employer, whether they're in our county or in yours, because we know people from all of them are ultimately going to work there. And so I think in everyday America, in our neighborhoods, in our towns, in our communities, we're seeing people want and demand better. And I just hope we can see that throughout our government, all the way up to the federal.

John Rabinowitz (47:26)

Yeah, and we talked about that last week in Texas and across the country. You're seeing a lot of change.

Andy Beshear (47:31)

Gentlemen, thank you, thank you, thank you. Sling is the live TV service that.

Rick Pitino (47:39)

Puts you in charge.

Andy Beshear (47:40)

Choose your plan. Orange for sports and entertainment favorites, blue for news and reality, or select for the essentials. Only pay for the stuff you actually watch and pause your your subscription anytime. Because paying for TV or not watching, that's just rude. No long term contracts, no nonsense.

Rick Pitino (47:56)

Pick your plan, add what you want.

Andy Beshear (47:58)

Sling lets you do that. Visit sling.com to learn more. Thy ticket Lady Jennifer of Coolidge. Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance Fairs?

Lila Bashir (48:14)

Yeah, they do here.

Andy Beshear (48:15)

Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.

Planet Fitness Announcer (48:20)

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Andy Beshear (48:22)

You're playing the loot.

Rick Pitino (48:25)

Yeah.

Planet Fitness Announcer (48:25)

And it sounds pretty good, right?

Rick Pitino (48:27)

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

Andy Beshear (48:36)

On our last segment on the Andy Beshear Podcast. We like to have a little fun. We know that the world is still. We know that the news is hitting you over and over and over. We know that concerns about the future of our country can take a heavy toll on us emotionally. So we like to make you laugh a little bit. And we're taking it back Old school with Jen Z. Lingo. This is the segment that we started on the very first episode where Will taught us fire. But I think it was on the second episode that Lila Bashir taught us what I still think is the most popular segment that we've done of this, which is doing it for the plot. But she is back today here in New York City to give us that next term. Lila, welcome back.

Lila Bashir (49:23)

Thank you. So today we actually have two words instead of one. They're both versions of the same word. We have cooked and we have cooking.

Andy Beshear (49:35)

Oh, okay. So cooked and cooking. And I take it they can't mean what they normally mean in life.

Lila Bashir (49:42)

No, they don't.

Andy Beshear (49:43)

Does it mean kind of heating up?

John Rabinowitz (49:45)

That's.

Lila Bashir (49:46)

Nope.

John Rabinowitz (49:46)

It doesn't.

Rick Pitino (49:47)

That's right.

John Rabinowitz (49:47)

Like warming up, and then you've just. You've killed it. So you've cooked it. That's what I'm thinking.

Lila Bashir (49:53)

No, in a way. Yeah. Cooking is like. You're killing it. Like, you're in a cooking. We learned flow state, right?

Andy Beshear (50:00)

We did.

Lila Bashir (50:01)

Yeah. We're in a flow state. We're doing really well.

Rick Pitino (50:04)

Yeah.

Lila Bashir (50:04)

And cooking or cooked is like, it's over. You're done.

Andy Beshear (50:10)

You peaked.

Lila Bashir (50:10)

You know?

Andy Beshear (50:12)

Okay.

Lila Bashir (50:13)

It's. It's awful.

Andy Beshear (50:14)

Like, oh, it's awful. So cooking is great, but cooked is like.

Lila Bashir (50:18)

Yeah.

John Rabinowitz (50:19)

So cooked is negative.

Lila Bashir (50:21)

Yes.

Andy Beshear (50:21)

So, Lila, give us an example of how you would use cooking or cooked.

Lila Bashir (50:28)

So a sentence that you could say is, for example, John Rabinowitz thought that he was cooking when he auditioned for Star search in the 90s, but he was actually cooked.

Rick Pitino (50:41)

Oh.

Andy Beshear (50:41)

So how did this. 1990s, in Star Search, John Rabinowitz, you gotta tell us this story.

John Rabinowitz (50:49)

Well, Listen, I was 14 when you grew up in Orlando. You're either in a boy band or you're on Star Search. And it was. Right. I was not in a boy band, but I did sing a country. There is. I mean, maybe we do it on the podcast. Who knows? But I did perform at MGM Studios on Star Search, sing a Garth Brooks song back in the day.

Andy Beshear (51:10)

Which one?

John Rabinowitz (51:11)

The dance.

Andy Beshear (51:12)

Okay.

John Rabinowitz (51:13)

And so I'm so glad that my family has decided to share that with you guys. And if they share the video, they're gonna be cooked.

Andy Beshear (51:21)

Oh, hey, YouTube will go wild. Yeah.

John Rabinowitz (51:25)

So, John, just the outfit alone, they go wild.

Andy Beshear (51:27)

Were you cooking or were you cooked?

John Rabinowitz (51:29)

Listen, I crushed that, but I did not make. Didn't advance. But I feel like I was cooking.

Andy Beshear (51:36)

So this brings me to the question is, is cooking something other people would say when you're doing really well, or you would say, oh, I'm cooking.

Lila Bashir (51:44)

It's more. You say it.

Andy Beshear (51:46)

So you were cooking on Star Search, singing Garth brooks in the 90s.

John Rabinowitz (51:51)

I mean, it was fire.

Andy Beshear (51:53)

Folks, I've shared my belt buckle story. I've shared my 1982 Cavalier. I've made fun of myself a lot on this podcast. But as we sign off on this week's episode of the Andy Beshear podcast, we want you to hit the comments demanding that we see the video of John Rabinowitz performing on Star Search. We'll see you next time.

John Rabinowitz (52:14)

Thank God there was not social media then.

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