Pitino, Williams bury the hatchet

But on the Allen Fieldhouse court Dec. 9, 1989, the relationship between two of college basketball's most renowned coaches was decidedly hostile.

Pitino, now the Louisville coach, was in his first year at Kentucky, on the road for the first time with a team that had been devastated by NCAA sanctions. But he refused to stop pressing.

Williams, now the North Carolina coach, was in his second year at Kansas with a loaded team, and he refused to stop running.

The result was a 150-95 Kansas whipping, one of the worst losses in Kentucky history. Pitino steamed through the final minutes.

"I think he only had about eight guys, but they kept pressing and we kept running through it," Williams recalled Friday. "He had some guys foul out.... It was wild. I hadn't been involved in anything like that. It was a fortunate day for us and an unfortunate day for them."

More than 18 years have passed since that blowout, which engendered some frosty feelings. Williams and Pitino meet again Saturday night in the NCAA tournament East regional final at Bobcats Arena, an eagerly anticipated matchup between Williams' top-seeded Tar Heels and Pitino's third-seeded Cardinals.

They not only have established themselves as two of the most successful coaches in the college game, they have repaired their relationship. Pitino extended the ultimate olive branch to avid golfer Williams: an invitation to play with him, former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson and former Purdue coach Gene Keady at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.

"I owe him big-time because I haven't