Louisville coach Rick Pitino has reached out to his old friend Ralph Willard about filling the coaching vacancy caused when Richard Pitino left for Florida.

“Coach Pitino called Ralph last week,” said a source with direct knowledge. “They go back to high school days. He’s probably thinking about it.”

Ralph Willard is the head coach at Holy Cross. His son, Kevin, is the head coach of an up and coming Iona team.

The elder Willard and Pitino attended St. Dominic’s High School on Long Island and Willard later coached under Pitino with the Knicks and at Kentucky.