After initially saying that suspended forward Chane Behanan would be out for “a long time,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino has apparently adjusted his position and now says he could return “in a short period of time.”
“The reason he’s suspended and not off the team: He told the truth,” Pitino told the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer Thursday at a book signing. “I said OK. There’s going to be a penalty and a price to pay, but he told the truth. We’ll get through this. Just do the right things and he’ll be back on the team in a short period of time.”
In a text message to SNY.tv, Pitino said there was no timeframe on a return for Behanan.
“Not at all,” he said. “My comments were he could be back if he keeps doing the right thing.”
That stands in stark contrast to what the Louisville Courier-Journal quoted Pitino as saying at the Oct. 17 news conference in which he announced Behanan’s suspension, when he said, “Chane Behanan is no longer a part of our basketball team.”
“Short is relative, now,” Pitino said Thursday to the Messenger-Gazette. “I don’t say in the next couple of weeks. He’s doing the right things right now. I was skeptical about a week ago, but so far this week he’s put in everything we’ve asked him to do. It’s not easy for him.
“It won’t be any time in the next couple of weeks, but I expect him back.”
The 6-foot-6 Behanan averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds last season when Louisville won the NCAA championship.
Photo: Courier Journal
