The Definition Of Survivor

He's been through it all, but Rick Pitino has managed to remain at the top of his game with no signs of fading away anytime soon. (Photo courtesy of New York Daily News)

It hasn't been an easy life for Rick Pitino in recent years, and the Louisville coach will be the first one to tell you that. From the day he returned to the college ranks at Kentucky after a brief tour of duty with the New York Knicks to a career that included a stop with the Boston Celtics before ultimately landing with the Cardinals, Pitino has seen his share of controversy; and has been at the center of it at times. Despite all the drama surrounding the 58-year-old Brooklyn native, be it the Karen Sypher incident or the loss of brother-in-law and close friend Billy Minardi in the September 11th attacks, Pitino has managed to remain what he has been for parts of four decades now: One of the elite coaches in the nation, getting the most out of a team that was not expected to do this much after losing two-thirds of its starting backcourt as well as its star forward after last season's NCAA Tournament appearance.

At Big East media day, Pitino retained his usual brutal honesty when saying that there would be certain players on this team asked to step it up this season in the absence of Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith and Samardo Samuels. So far, the contributions of Louisville's team as a whole have been impressive, especially when you consider the unusually high amount of injuries Pitino's squad has had to endure this season. When I asked the coach (a favorite of mine due to his refusal to hold anything back when asked a question) about the parts of the team that impressed him most through this point of the season on last week's Big East coaches' conference call, he had this to say:

"This team has been very rewarding to coach in terms of the talent they give. It's difficult to win in the Big East, period. You don't know where the next win is going to come. This team has weathered a lot of different storms to the point where we've practiced with managers."

- Rick Pitino on Louisville's performance

A big key to the Cardinals' ability to overcome adversity (besides their leader on the bench) is how Pitino approaches the rigorous Big East schedule, an 18-game endurance test that the coach breaks down into six segments of three games each. So far this season, including Louisville's stunning 73-67 victory at the Yum! Center against Syracuse yesterday, the Cardinals have won each of those segments by taking two out of three games. It is this approach that has silently landed Louisville at 8-4 in the Big East, good enough to earn the double bye in the Big East tournament that comes with being one of the top four teams in the conference if the season ended today.

Louisville's next segment comes against UConn, Cincinnati and Rutgers; and each one presents its own unique challenge. However, that's just fine for the Cardinals, given their ability to survive under the direction and leadership of a coach that has done that for over thirty years with no end to those tactics in sight.