BearTalk

Louisville coach Rick Pitino talked Thursday about how his career path and that of Cal’s Mike Montgomery actually have paralleled a bit.

“Mike tried the pros, and certainly I spent eight years in the pros and I’m sure he . . . I shouldn’t say I’m sure, but I’m sure he had some great experiences with it,” Pitino during his NCAA Tournament news conference. “Guys like Mike are really students of the game. Kids are very lucky to play for guys like Mike because (they’re) going to get a different perspective.

“He’s seen it all at both levels,” said Pitino, the one-time Kentucky coach who returned from the NBA to rattle folks in commonwealth by taking up with Louisville. “I was glad to see him back in the game.

“I’m very shocked, though, (that) he went back to a rival of coaching at Stanford. I was very disappointed in that.”

Laughter ensued.