Among the three of them, Seth Greenberg, Fran Fraschilla and Dan Dakich have more than 40 years of head-coaching experience at the Division I level. Each week, they get together to discuss the hottest topics in college basketball.
1. How do you expect Louisville to respond? How difficult is it to keep a team focused in times of turmoil?
Fraschilla: Coaching is crisis management. You're paid to handle adversity whether it's a three-game losing streak, a star player's injury or even something as overwhelming as this Louisville scandal.
If I'm Rick Pitino, I explain to my team what's going on outside the program, but then I get them players to lock into the season and make the practice court their sanctuary. This team has an opportunity to create its own identity based on how well the Cardinals stick together, how they play for each other and how they succeed on the court. The other stuff outside the program is all noise.
Given Pitino's coaching ability and experience, I think he'll rally this team for as long as he remains the coach. He's competitive, and he has no other choice.