Rick Pitino regrets taking page from Kirk Herbstreit's book after "disaster" pet experiment

Rick Pitino did not enjoy taking a page out of Kirk Herbstriet's playbook. On Thursday, Pitino tried to mimic the ESPN College GameDay analyst's habit of taking his golden retriever, Ben, to games.

However, he shared an unpleasant moment from his experience on X. In his latest post, Pitino revealed his dog, Gigi, caused a mess on the court, vowing to never take her to practice again.

"Took a page from ⁩@KirkHerbstreit⁩⁦⁩ and took my Gigi to practice. What a disaster-peed all over the basketball court -never again," wrote Pitino.

Herbstreit initially brought Ben to a 'GameDay' preview of a game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in 2021, which marked the golden retriever's first appearance on TV. Since then, Ben has constantly been by Herbstreit's side.

Rick Pitino enjoys memorable Blue Big Madness experience

Rick Pitino visited Lexington and was in the audience for the Kentucky Wildcats basketball's annual preseason event, Big Blue Madness.

He was surprised when asked to make a speech but used it to hype the Wildcats' new coach, Mark Pope:

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"I had no idea I would be speaking, nor did I expect such an incredible ovation," said Pitino. "It was truly one of the best nights of my life, and it touched me deeply."

"And now we get to root for someone that that name Kentucky, it’s what he’s all about. The most selfless, humble young man I’ve ever coached in my lifetime. One of the great, great examples of what Kentucky basketball is all about … He’s going to lead you to greatness in every sense of the word. Thank you all very much."

Pitino shares a special relationship with Pope, with the latter looking up to him as his mentor. In 1996, Pope was the captain of Pitino's 1996 Wildcats team which won the national championship.

Rick Pitino will be keen to revive the Red Storm in the 2024-25 season. Entering his second season as the program's head coach, he will look to take them back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

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