David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Pitino became the head coach at
Boston University in 1978, when he was
twenty-five years old, and he used the
press to take the school to its first
NCAA tournament appearance in
twenty-four years. At his next head-
coaching stop, Providence College,
Pitino took over a team that had gone
11–20 the year before. The players were
short and almost entirely devoid of talent
—a carbon copy of the Fordham Rams.
They pressed, and ended up one game
away from playing for the national
championship. Again and again, in his
career, Pitino has achieved
extraordinary things with a fraction of
the talent of his competitors.