#Rick Pitino still feels pain of brother-in-law’s 9/11 death

There will be tears. There will be laughter. There will be sadness.

But most of all, there will be memories — fond memories shared of the memorable life that Billy Minardi led before, at the age of 46, he tragically died 20 years ago Saturday.

“We always say this, all of us, and we don’t mean to be melodramatic at all: Life has never been the same without him,” Rick Pitino told The Post in a phone interview, referring to his best friend and brother-in-law, a bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald who was one of the thousands of victims in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. “Life was never quite as good without him. When he walked in the room, the room lit up, and when he left the room, it got dimmer.”

Pitino, the 68-year-old legendary basketball coach now at Iona College, was a senior in high school at St. Dominic on Long Island when he met Minardi, a freshman. They grew inseparable as he dated his future wife — Minardi’s older sister, Joanne. They shared the same passions in life: Golf, horse racing and basketball, among them. When Pitino coached the Knicks, Minardi was almost always behind the bench and ready afterward to take his close friend out for a drink or two to unwind.

Minardi frequently traveled to Kentucky during Pitino’s eight years coaching the Wildcats and convinced him to return to college at Louisville after his disappointing four seasons in Boston with the Celtics ended in early 2001. They talked twice a day without fail, including on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Minardi’s oldest son, Willie, described them as “frick and frack, they were so close.”

“The pain never goes away,” Pitino said. “I have so many pictures in my office, so many pictures in my home — every Final Four, every big moment in my life from a sports standpoint and a family standpoint he was involved in.

“What we try to do is tell stories, celebrate his life. But the pain of him being gone never goes away and it never will for most people who suffered through 9/11. So many families that never knew their dad, never knew their mom, never knew their loved ones.”

To honor Minardi’s legacy, Pitino will play a round of golf at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck — one of Minardi’s favorite places — with his son, Ryan; Willie Minardi, one of three Minardi children; and a former co-worker and close friend of Minardi’s, Craig Bugniazet. Both families will then have lunch together at the club, a tradition they have kept in recent years.

Pitino and Minardi often jokingly compared the differences between Irish and Italian wakes growing up, how the former were festive and the latter depressing.

“We try to make it more Irish than Italian, not that we won’t shed a tear certainly,” Pitino said. “But we’re going to celebrate his life and tell funny stories about him and toast the life that he led.”

Willie Minardi recalled the day, at the age of 12, he found out his father was gone. His dad’s work identification was found amid the rubble and his mother, Stephanie, broke the news in their Bedford, N.Y., home. It was Sept. 16, 2001, the day that would’ve been the Minardi’s 13th wedding anniversary. Almost instantaneously, Pitino was there to comfort Willie.

“You’re not alone here,” he told his nephew, “but it’s your time to be the man of the house.”

Life was difficult after Billy’s passing. Stephanie was raising three children on her own while grieving for the love of her life. Pitino was down in Kentucky coaching at Louisville. He convinced Stephanie to move close to him, so his family could help her. Pitino drove the kids to school and the two families took vacations together. He helped raise money for Billy Minardi Hall at Louisville and started the annual Billy Minardi Classic non-conference tournament (which has since been discontinued), to keep his close friend’s name alive.

Now Minardi’s children are all grown up and Pitino has moved to Iona after a stint overseas in Greece. Willie and Christine work on Wall Street, following in their father’s footsteps. Robert is in acting school, hoping to make it on Broadway one day. Everyone is back in New York City. Willie has bought Iona season tickets to watch his uncle coach, just as his father would have.

“He was there for us every step of the way and he has been for the past 20 years,” Willie said of Pitino. “Any time I ever needed to talk to him about anything, he’s right there. He’s done so much for us. He’s always tried to honor my dad in everything he does, which is always appreciated.”