Louisville home for dynasty, Pitino

LOUISVILLE, Ky -- Rick Pitino listens to the laughter, and it reminds him how much he has changed.\nLike so many basketball coaches, he has made one stop after another, always ready for the next job. Now at Louisville, he takes time to look around.\nPitino certainly likes what he sees: a No. 2 ranking and the country's longest active winning streak.\n"The biggest mistake I've made in my life is you get so wrapped up in future games, you never really appreciate the journey," he said. "Now, I'm old enough to understand I have to appreciate this right now."\nWith the Cardinals, Pitino has transformed a fallen program into a winning team, as he did at Boston University, Providence and Kentucky. He is a long way from his NBA days with the Knicks and Celtics, where things did not work out as well.\nLouisville (18-1, 8-0 Conference USA) has won 17 straight -- the program's longest streak since it won the 1986 NCAA championship. The Cardinals' next game is at Saint Louis on Wednesday.\n"The whole thing has caught me offguard," Pitino said. "I'm excited about it, but then I realize it could end tomorrow night."\nThe fun started long before the Cardinals became the talk of college basketball.\nIn mid-December, they were unranked with a 2-1 record when they headed to New York, where Pitino grew up, to play Seton Hall. The night before the game, Pitino took his team to a party hosted by Norman and Susan Scott, New York doctors and longtime friends.\nA small jazz band was playing, but the Cardinals soon became the main act, serenading the guests.\n"We probably laugh more as a team than any team I've ever coached," Pitino said.\nAnd it doesn't stop. Even when he turns serious, he's laughing again before long.\nAfter the Cardinals won 72-69 at Tennessee on Jan. 25, Pitino made an impassioned speech in the locker room. When he was finished, freshman Francisco Garcia approached the coach with mock seriousness. "Coach," he said, "we love you, too."\nPitino burst into laughter.\n"I've had more fun coaching this team than I've had in a long, long time," he said after last week's 77-71 win over Cincinnati.\nIt's not just the victories. Pitino said he would be enjoying this season even if the Cardinals hadn't exceeded his wildest expectations.\nBut they have.\nThe turnaround actually began in January 2002. Help arrived from the most unexpected place Kentucky, the program Pitino restored to prominence from 1989-97.