Part 2/8:
Looking back during the press conference, Coach Pitino highlighted that the goal of reaching the championship was a shared vision from the beginning of the year. The sight of the sold-out arena, filled with enthusiastic students, was particularly rewarding for him. Despite acknowledging that the team did not perform at its best in recent games, he credited their opponents, Seton Hall, for their formidable play.
He indicated that a drop in performance can often be attributed to setbacks in conditioning, which he noted is crucial for his team's style of fast-paced basketball. Pitino recognized that the team’s recent struggles were partially due to players missing practice, leading to rustiness in their play.