Iona's Rick Pitino tweets out suggestion to NCAA regarding college basketball season

Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino has some wise words for the NCAA.

On Wednesday, Pitino, Iona’s new head coach, tweeted out an idea about how college basketball should go about playing games in the upcoming season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Suggestion to the NCAA, push the start of the season back to January and only play league games,” Pitino wrote. “Buy some more time for a vaccine and to get things under control. Although I can’t wait to be back on the sidelines, the health of my players and staff is what’s really important.”

Pitino, who coached at Louisville from 2001-17, was fired in a pay-for-play scandal and had been coaching in Greece. He replaces Tim Cluess at Iona, who resigned due to health concerns after 10 years and six NCAA Tournament appearances.

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“My passion in basketball started in New York and will end there at Iona College,” Pitino said in a statement released by the Catholic school located north of New York City in suburban Westchester County that has an undergraduate enrollment of 3,300 students.

The 67-year-old Pitino has a 770-271 overall record in college and became the first coach to take three different schools to the Final Four. He won national championships at Louisville (2013) and Kentucky (1996) and also went to the Final Four with Providence in 1987.

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Pitino coached twice in the NBA, with the New York Knicks (1987-89) and the Boston Celtics (1997-2001), where he was also team president.

Last June, Pitino coached Panathinaikos to the championship in the Greek League.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.