VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Kevin Willard waited in the Boston Celtics’ staff room as Rick Pitino unloaded after a crushing last-second loss and delivered one of the great rants in ticked-off sports coach history. Pitino’s tirade is remembered and mimicked to this day — how Larry Bird and other Celtics greats weren’t “walking through that door” — a reminder that the championship days were over and it was past time for fans to embrace patience with a younger team.

“He walked out the door and went right into the staff room,” Willard said with a laugh. “At the time, we were watching the press conference and (assistant) Jim O’Brien was like, ‘uh oh.’ I was like, how can I escape the room? But there was no escaping.” There is no way for any name-brand sports team with a championship pedigree to ever

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