Rick Pitino has seen a lot of good assistant coaches leave over the years so he couldn’t have expected Kevin Keatts to be around very long.
Keatts, who formerly coached at coached at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia, where he won two national prep school championships, joined the University of Louisville three years ago. Among his recruits was Montrezl Harrell, a former Hargrave player.
Reports are circulating that Keatts has accepted the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) and that he will be leaving after the season is completed.
One always had the impression that Keatts was a special assistant, integral to UofL’s success over the past three seasons. Pitino appeared to greatly respect his opinions, sometimes actually taking Keatts advice during game situations, which says a lot about both individuals. Pitino had recently promoted him to a senior association position.
One is somewhat surprised that Keatts would begin his collegiate head coaching career at such an obscure school, thinking he should have been in contention for more visible programs. But one would also expect him to move up the ladder quickly.