Pitino wastes no time getting on his new players, pushing them to a win in Greek debut

Rick Pitino got straight to business in his EuroLeague debut for Panathinaikos on Friday, chastising players for blowing a 10-point lead before they ultimately prevailed 96-84.

“You’re all standing watching one guy take bad shots,” Pitino scolded his players on the bench in a video posted on Twitter by the EuroLeague’s account. “That’s not offense! You blew a 10-point lead because you’re all standing watching one guy play. Run your offense and get all your assists.”

Panathinaikos led 72-62 to start the fourth quarter, but saw the margin shrink to 72-70 when Pitino called a timeout. They then pulled away for a victory against the league’s third-place team in CKSA Moscow. It was Panathinaikos’ seventh win in 15 EuroLeage games.

Nick Calathes, one of the team’s American players, offered positive reviews after the game. Calathes had 10 of the team’s 20 assists.

“You can tell we were more hungry, we were more tenacious, defensively and offensively,” the former Florida Gator said. “It was just a great win, and hopefully we can build off this for the next games.”

Attendance for the home game in Athens was 15,733, according to the box score. Pitino, a former Louisville and Kentucky coach, appreciated the crowd.

“The fans were awesome,” Pitino said in a quote posted on the EuroLeague site. “It reminds me of being back home in Kentucky, and that’s the greatest compliment I can give fans, because those are the greatest fans in the States.”

Pitino only arrived in Greece and signed a contract to coach on Wednesday. The team had planned for its caretaker coach to run Friday’s EuroLeague game, according to reports earlier in the week, but there was no doubt who was in control Friday.

“I’m excited,” Pitino said. “The assistant coaches from Greece did a fabulous job with the players and with me getting ready for this.”

Panathinaikos next plays in its domestic league on Sunday.