Rick Pitino restores St. John’s to NCAA Tournament in epic turnaround

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Gordon Hayward discusses Rick Pitino’s greateness and his impact on St. John’s

Mackenzie Salmon caught up with former NBA All-Star and Butler Bulldog Gordon Hayward and spoke about Rick Pitino’s impact on St. John’s this season.

Sports Seriously

In the span of one week last February, Rick Pitino called his debut season at St. John’s “the most unenjoyable experience” of his career — this coming after a loss to Seton Hall — and then, sitting behind a rickety table inside Madison Square Garden following a loss to eventual national champion Connecticut, matter-of-factly described the Red Storm as “not a great basketball team,” deficient in shooting, defense, rebounding and general athletic ability.

“Outside of that, we’re pretty good,” Pitino said.

Anger, frustration and impatience were bubbling toward the surface — directed at his team, his own recruiting efforts and the new landscape of college basketball, where the frenzy of annual player movement had made it “tough to build a program.”

At Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona, the 72-year-old Pitino constructed a case for being counted among the finest coaches in the history of the sport. If not his biggest test, the reconstruction of St. John’s promised to be the most unique project of his career: Could Pitino weather these seismic changes to the NCAA model and return another Division I blueblood to national prominence?

One year later, that question has been answered with authority.

The Red Storm won an unshared Big East regular-season championship for the first time since 1985. Won the Big East tournament for the first time since 2000. Won 30 games for the first time since 1986. Lost four games by a combined seven points. Along the way, St. John’s swept and demoralized the Huskies, highlighting the night-and-day difference from Pitino’s debut.

“This team will be remembered for a long time at St. John’s,” he said.

St. John’s has reversed more than just one uneven season. A…

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Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/03/20/st-johns-rick-pitino-march-madness-rebuilt/82543034007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-20 09:16:00

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