Rejecting Arizona: Pitino says he's staying put in Louisville

By Seth Davis, SI.com

Despite rumors swirling that he's a possibility to fill the Arizona opening, Rick Pitino said he is definitely not considering a move to Tucson.

"I'm not a candidate for the Arizona job and I never was," he told SI.com on Wednesday. "I am not interested in any job. I am definitely returning to the University of Louisville."

Pitino, who has rebuilt programs at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville during his career, was thought to be at the top of Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood's list of full-time replacements for Lute Olson, who retired in October.

Other names that have been linked to the Arizona vacancy include Gonzaga's Mark Few and Oklahoma's Jeff Capel.

Pitino's Cardinals defeated the Wildcats in the Sweet 16 round Friday. Asked about the Arizona job before that game, Pitino said Providence is the only school he has considered since he was hired by Louisville in 2001.

"Outside of that, for eight years I haven't thought about any job except the University of Louisville," he said.

Russ Pennell, the interim coach at Arizona since Olson's retirement, has already cleaned out his office at the McKale Center.

"I asked [Livengood] who the next coach was going to be and he wouldn't tell me," Pennell said Tuesday after an exit interview with Livengood.