Rick Pitino vs. Jon Scheyer age difference: How much older is St. John's coach compared to Duke counterpart?
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Rick Pitino vs. Jon Scheyer age difference: How much older is St. John's coach compared to Duke counterpart? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Age is but a number as far as college basketball is concerned.
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The sport is filled with aging talent, both on the floor and on the sidelines. Veterans like Rick Pitino, Tom Izzo and Rick Barnes continue to conjure up magic as their careers stretch into their 70s. Meanwhile, young minds are finding their way, including Todd Golden and Jon Scheyer.
Pitino and Scheyer's successes have proven especially noteworthy. They'll come under the microscope when the dueling tacticians -- who helm St. John's and Duke, respectively -- meet in this year's Sweet 16.
So, just how many years separate Pitino and Scheyer? Here's what you need to know.
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Rick Pitino vs. Jon Scheyer age difference
Pitino and Scheyer represent dueling poles in the coaching landscape. The St. John's boss is 73, while the Duke head coach is 38. They're separated by a 35-year age gap.
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Pitino is college basketball's oldest coach, barking out orders towards his cadre of basketball players since before Scheyer was a tot. In fact, Pitino got his first head-coaching gig in 1978, nine years before Scheyer was born. Scheyer was just five years old when Blue Devils star Christian Laettner sank Pitino's Kentucky with a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper to in the Elite Eight.
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Suffice to say, the differences between Pitino and Scheyer's ages will be a talking point for as long as the two tacticians find success in the collegiate game. Neither looks to be slowing down as the years go on, with Pitino leading the Red Storm to back-to-back tournament appearances and Scheyer sending nearly a dozen players to the NBA (and counting).
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How long has Rick Pitino been coaching?
Pitino has been coaching since the mid-1970s. He got his first taste of head coaching as interim boss at Hawaii, replacing Bruce O'Neil on the sideline after the Rainbow Warriors head coach was fired. In 1976, he joined Jim Boeheim's staff as an assistant before landing a head-coaching gig in Boston. The Terriers made their first tournament appearance in 24 years under Pitino's tutelage.
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In the more than 40 years since Pitino settled in Boston, he’s taken his talents to a variety of institutions across the college basketball map. More often than not, he’s found success—he led Kentucky and Louisville to the 1996 and 2013 national championships, respectively (the Cardinals’ win was vacated due to NCAA violations)—and led all six of the schools he’s coached to the NCAA Tournament. Pitino has also helped resurrect a St. John’s program that was dormant upon his arrival, leading the Red Storm to back-to-back Big East titles.
MORE:How old is St. John's coach Rick Pitino?
Pitino might be aging. But he remains one of college basketball's sharpest tactical minds. He'll look to keep the good times rolling for as long as he can in Queens.
How long has Jon Scheyer been coaching?
Scheyer joined Duke's staff in 2013, teaming up with his former head coach, Mike Krzyzewski. He was promoted to the title of full assistant coach in 2014 and rose up the ranks to become co-associate head coach in 2018. In 2021, Krzyzewski announced his plans to retire after the 2021-22 season. The Blue Devils immediately named Scheyer as his successor.
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Scheyer officially took the reins of Duke’s roster in 2022. He hasn’t quite reached the heights of his famous predecessor, failing to win a national title in any of his first three seasons. Still, the Blue Devils have remained a powerhouse under Scheyer. They’ve won back-to-back ACC titles, dropping just one conference game in each of the past two seasons. Expect gold to keep raining down at Cameron Indoor Stadium throughout Scheyer’s tenure.