Five years after his firing, ex-Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino was exonerated Thursday by an independent NCAA panel investigating alleged recruiting violations stemming from the Cardinals' pursuit of former five-star prospect Brian Bowen II.

Pitino, now heading into his third season at Iona University, sat down with reporters after the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) released its ruling in the Louisville case. The Hall of Fame coach discussed everything from his former school avoiding a postseason ban and other major punishments as a result of the investigation to the prospects of raising the 2013 national championship banner at the KFC Yum! Center again.

The full story:Louisville basketball won't face postseason ban in Adidas, Rick Pitino, Brian Bowen scandal

Here's what Pitino had to say:

On the IARP's ruling, what he's done since leaving Louisville

"The IARP apparently is going away, and I'm very disappointed in that for other coaches and other programs and other universities, because these are legal experts who are strict with due process. They don't believe in hearsay. I'm certainly not going to knock the NCAA, because I'm part of the NCAA — I'd be knocking myself. But I will say this: I've been through two different hearings. This one was much more professional from the standpoint of they would not take into consideration just like a red flag. I'm being accused of having strict rules. I was told that I was too strict, that an assistant coach could not come to me if he violated rules because he would be terminated. I've told my staff going back 40 years that, if they knowingly violate NCAA rules, they will be terminated. If they break a rule and it's unknowingly, we turn ourselves in, and we obviously take it to our athletic director and our compliance department. They felt that that was too strict. Well, that's should be their goal and what they're shooting for.

"Now, two assistant coaches (Kenny Johnson and Jordan Fair) have had a show cause. One of them has apologized to me just recently through his attorney and he's glad that this is now over with, and I appreciate that and you're certainly forgiven of anything as far as I'm concerned. But, as you sit for two years away from the game you love, you sit at your home with nothing to do and suddenly it's not eight hours a day on a basketball court. Suddenly, it's not scouting, watching film and breaking away and not realizing that you may not get back in the game. You suddenly realize that you you have to take accountability for who you may hire, but then you start looking at all the positives.

"You know, I've had over 25 people become head coaches. Three have gone to Final Fours. One of my ex players and coaches won back-to-back national championships, a future Hall of Famer. Another at UCLA, Mick Cronin, was an outstanding assistant who was totally compliant to rules. Another, Tubby Smith, won a national championship at Kentucky. So it is about 23, 24, 25 others. The first female coach to ever sit on the bench became a head coach and was part of that great game with Duke where we lost on that Christian Laettner jump shot. So there are so many great assistants out there that did it the right way, and I'm so appreciative of them and the teams that they helped me build.

How bad was it:Where does Louisville's punishment rank in the history of NCAA penalties? It doesn't.

"When I left (Louisville), I got a phone call about a week prior to Christmas. I decided to take a job in the professional league, Panathinaikos into EuroLeague. I just left my family, took off — never been to Greece, and then the next two years were an unbelievable experience. I coached against great coaches in the EuroLeague. We made the playoffs both the years. We won two Greek League championships, and I later became the national coach. So, through great adversity, sometimes unbelievable things happen. I've had so many friends — from my agent over in Greece, he's like a little brother to me, and the thousands of people I met that treated me with such great kindness over in Greece. I can't thank them enough, and to become their national coach was a distinct honor that I'll never forget.

"So those two years went by, and I got the opportunity now to come back to Iona and coach college basketball once again. I'm deeply appreciative of them, as well. But now it's time to get on with this and certainly Louisville's behind me. I wish them nothing but the best. Kenny Payne is a friend. I want to see him have great success."

On Louisville's vacated 2013 national championship

"You don't take championships away. You can't rewrite history. We won the championship. No, we did not use steroids. We did not steal signs. We did not do anything illegal to gain an advantage of the game of basketball. We beat Michigan with great defense — an outstanding, well-coached Michigan team. We beat Wichita State — an outstanding, well-coached team — with hard work ethic, great defense, unselfish offense, and my players should be commended. They are champions. You can't take that away from them.

Raise the banner?Will symbol of Louisville's 2013 national championship hang inside KFC Yum! Center again?

"I will tell you this: If the IARP was involved in looking at that case, that banner would still be hanging today, because they don't have anything except experts on that panel — not a committee hired by the NCAA. It doesn't work that way. It's not about hearsay; it's looking at the facts, looking at the evidence and coming away with an honest decision. So that's not a knock on the people that serve on those committees, but those young men in 2013, they won a championship the honest way. Was it reprehensible behavior that some of them were involved in and an assistant coach? 100%. We were against that at the University of Louisville.

"... You can't take that championship away. You celebrate, guys. This is your 10th anniversary. You've earned it. Luke Hancock, you were the Most Outstanding Player, you earned that. Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, all you guys earned that."

On former U of L athletic director Tom Jurich

"The only thing I regret — amongst a lot of personal things, as well as professional things, in my life — the thing I regret the most is that Tom Jurich resigned. See, Tom Jurich, in all of this, he came to me — and a lot of people don't know this — three weeks prior to me being fired and said two people, two people that I don't want to mention their names because I have such a distaste for them, two people said that, 'Tom, if you don't fire Rick Pitino, we're gonna fire you.' And he said, 'That's not gonna happen, Coach. You're not gonna be fired. You did nothing wrong.'

"He came to me a week later and said, 'Coach, they're gonna fire me if I don't let you go.' I said, 'Tom, that's it. You're firing me. You built this place. You took a soccer program, made them No. 1 in the country and built a new soccer stadium. You enhanced the football stadium; you have a top-10 football program, a Heisman Trophy winner; coaches were brilliant there. You took a women's basketball program, made it top five in the country; a top-five men's program in the country; a baseball program that was the eye of so many baseball programs in the nation, and you built that stadium, as well.'

How we got here:Louisville men's basketball got handed its punishment by NCAA IARP

"Tom Jurich, and if you take 1,000 athletic directors — and you all know that listening to me — 999 would have fired me, and I don't blame them for doing so. Tom Jurich said, 'I could not sleep at night if I let you go,' and that's the biggest regret I have looking back on the situation."

On the possibility of visiting Louisville if the 2013 banner is hung again

"I believe the championship banner will be hung again. I believe the championship will be recognized, as it should, because I believe in the NCAA. I believe in the character of the NCAA.

"You know, I tweeted out the other day about Reggie Bush needs to, in light of all these NILs and these football players making millions and millions of dollars, I think Reggie's Heisman Trophy should be given back to him, because let's not be hypocritical about that . There's gonna be some Heisman Trophy winners right now that are going to make more than coaches in a lifetime, so let's give Reggie his Heisman Trophy back. Let's stop the hypocrisy, and I do believe the NCAA will hang the banner and give these young men — these young men, they earned it on the court. We all know that what went on in that dorm was reprehensible behavior, but that had nothing to do with the play on the basketball court, and it should not be taken out on them, the great fans of Louisville and certainly the pride that we took in building that championship.

"... I wish (athletic director) Josh (Heird) nothing but the best, and Kenny Payne I absolutely love, but my days at Lousiville are over. I love the fans. I think, when they reconcile with Tom Jurich, then I would possibly consider coming back. But until that day happens, I think it's better that I stay in New Rochelle."

On if he feels vindicated by the IARP's ruling

"You can't get certain things back, and I realize that. You know, the past, sometimes you want to forget, and other times you want to cherish. The future you certainly want to plan for, and I'm doing that now, but they took a great job away from me.

"Two people took a great job with a great fan base, something that I, for 17 years, enjoyed it thoroughly. But what was taken away was also given back to me with Greece. What was taken away was also given back to me with Iona, so you take your lumps and then you move on. You get tougher and then you certainly appreciate all the great things that you have, and that's the way I look at it right now, I'm not going to go back and say, 'It's been five years of hell,' because they haven't been.

Rick Pitino:Ex-Louisville coach said he'd be vindicated 5 years ago. What's he saying now?

"You know, Jim Valvano once told me something, and I spoke to Bobby Valvano about it, his other brother, and it was an amazing thing. He thought what he went through — with the enforcement step and NC State — he thought his whole constitution, his ability to fight cancer, was broken down by everything that he went through. He felt his immune system was broken down, and I checked with Bobby: 'Bobby, is everything he told me, is that the way he felt?' He said, 'Yes, 100%,' and that story resonated with me so strongly, because we all admire Jim so much in the way he fought cancer, that I said, 'Those five years, that's not gonna happen to me. It's not gonna beat me down to the point where it kills my immune system, and I'm not going to do that.' No matter what people said, I was gonna move on, and certainly, if it wasn't for Greece, I don't know if that would have happened. If it wasn't for Iona, I don't know if that would have happened, but I got lucky. I got a lot of great breaks along the way."

On if he'll purse more prominent coaching opportunities after being exonerated by the IARP

"That really has nothing to do with it. I enjoy where I live. I'm part of the greatest city, greatest state in the United States. I know everybody says, 'All New Yorkers are moving out.' I don't see it. I'm part of a great city, where I grew up seven streets from Madison Square Garden, where I had the great fortune of coaching the Knicks. Now, I'm back home. I love where I live; I love the players I'm coaching. You know, the players are really what it's all about. These guys, every single day, give me four player development sessions five days a week. They give me practice in the afternoon; they give me every ounce of their abilities, so it's really about the players. It's not about me, and I'm enjoying coaching the hell out of them."

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Rick Pitino on Louisville's IARP ruling, vacated title and Tom Jurich