LEXINGTON, KY., MAY 23 -- Rick Pitino doesn't plan to waste any time in deciding if he wants to become Kentucky's basketball coach or stay with the New York Knicks. "I'm going to make the decision very shortly," he said today during a news conference at Wildcat Lodge, "as soon as I get back to New York and talk it over with my wife and find out what she thinks of the place. "The most important thing to me is not how to build Kentucky basketball; that will be done and it will be done a lot easier than most people think . . . But the one thing I want is for my family to be happy. They're the most important people in my life." Pitino, who has been visiting the Kentucky campus since Monday, indicated his decision will come after he returns to New York Wednesday. While Pitino said he enjoys living in New York, he is concerned about his job security. "We would like to at this point, or some point in time, not have to move anymore," he said. "I'm not sure if that's the case being the New York Knicks' head coach." Pitino denied there was a rift between him and Knicks General Manager Al Bianchi. "We are not best friends, nor are we enemies," he said. "Al Bianchi and I have the same relationship that Tex Schramm and Tom Landry {of the Dallas Cowboys} had: We're business associates." Pitino, 36, conceded the Kentucky job might not be the perfect situation for a coach after the program was slapped with a three-year probation that includes two seasons without postseason play. "You have a dilemma here at Kentucky; a big dilemma," he said. "This program is about as rich in tradition as there is in all college basketball. You've been brought to your knees with a tremendous scandal and then sanctions came about. "But you now have C.M. Newton as your athletic director and you have a president {David P. Roselle} with a tremendous amount of integrity." Pitino's past did not escape the attention of reporters. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported today he was involved in NCAA rules violations during his first job with Hawaii during the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons. The NCAA Committee on Infractions said Pitino broke eight rules, including arranging free airline transportation for Hawaii players to the mainland, using basketball season tickets to buy cars and helping players receive free meals at a fast-food chain. "I didn't make any mistakes in Hawaii," Pitino said. "I was a graduate assistant. I didn't make any mistakes. I don't care what anybody says. "It's been 15 years ago . . . At 22, 23 years of age, there was absolutely no wrongdoing . . . I've made my mistakes in life, but that wasn't one of them."
