Better get Rick Pitino now while you can. The Hall of Fame coach never rests, so you better get him now while you can. Success is Rick Pitino’s choice.
There’s a storm brewing in Jamaica, the Queens…Red Storm, and there’s no shame in losing to powerhouse Union University in the Big East Tournament semifinals Friday night at the Garden.
One day, and in the not-so-distant future, Pitino will build a solid, unbreakable culture and roster that will be the envy of every school in the Big East outside of Storrs, Connecticut.
Pitino planted a seed in the land he was given, and soon the Dream Team would grow. It happens wherever he puts down roots.
Just a month ago, St. John’s needed a miracle worker to get an invitation to a dance. Pitino is a miracle worker, and Friday night’s Red Storm dares to dream of Louie Carnesecca’s classic, magical, electric Big East Garden night. He was instilled with enough belief by his HOF coaches.
I regained my pride in the program I admired so much. UConn 95, St. John’s 90 is no different. UConn is the defending national champion and a beast in the Big East and beyond. The St. John’s fan base may come trudging out of the Garden with their heads held high. The best is yet to come.
“Obviously an NCAA Tournament team,” Dan Hurley said.
At Pitino’s introductory press conference at the Garden last March, he said: “St. John’s is one of the legendary names in college basketball. Have we fallen on hard times? Yes, we have, but now we’re poised to enter great times. St. John’s is coming back and we’re ready to raise this roof. I guarantee you that.”
On a Friday night in March, when St. John’s needed to play a perfect game to shock the university and the college basketball world, the noise could have lifted the roof of the Garden.
It had the feel of a heavyweight battle. Pitino received boos from the Parent University Con crowd during his introduction. Nothing like that ever happened in his old Kentucky home. “They’re the Kentucky of the East,” Pitino said. “They gained the biggest fan base in basketball. We’ve lost a lot of fans over the last 20 years,” Pitino said. “We’ve got to get them back. And I think efforts like tonight will inspire them and get them back.”
Both coaches were given technical duties in the first half. Hurley won the money simply by pointing out to officials that the man in the red blazer was shouting profanity at him, but of course the man in the red blazer turned out to be a friend of Pitino’s. found.
What else would you expect in a lion’s den with two lions roaming the sidelines?
The Huskies exploited Pitino’s transition defense and continued to build up a 10-point lead, and the undaunted Red Storm quickly responded. UConn is big. Mandonovan Clingan was in foul trouble, but St. John’s big men weren’t enough to help Danis Jenkins and Jordan Dingle. Tristen Newton (25 points, 9 assists) and Cam Spencer (20 points, 9 assists) were active in this scene. For UConn, a good shot isn’t as good as a better shot.
“They’re just machines,” Pitino said.
St. John’s lead ballooned to 14 points in the second half, but the Red Storm remained undaunted. Pitino doesn’t let them falter. “Tonight was a step forward for St. John’s,” Jenkins said.
Hurley was Secretariat’s coach, but Pitino’s Red Storm refused to stop riding a valiant race.
St. John’s had no fear. Under Pitino, St. John’s no longer wants to win. Under Pitino, St. John’s expects to win. Even if it was against the defending national champions.
“I think they’re a dangerous team,” Pitino said. “I think when you score as much as we score, good things happen.”
When the Post’s intrepid Zach Braziler asked Pitino if he was nervous about Selection Sunday, Pitino joked, “I don’t know. So why am I nervous? So if the New York Post isn’t the Bible, then who are we supposed to believe? …I danced all night last night. ”
Hurley has relentlessly built the program block by block. Now look at UConn. The transfer portal poses a clear and immediate danger for most coaches, but Pitino has all the street cred a master recruiter needs. No, no Larry Bird or Kevin McHale or Robert Parrish or even Billy Donovan has walked through that door, but anyone who walks in should believe they’ll come out infinitely better.
“St. John can get there,” Pitino said. “It’s going to take a lot of effort by a lot of people. It’s not just us. It’s not just the players. It’s going to take a lot of effort in so many areas to rebuild St. John’s.”
Better get Rick Pitino now while you can.
When he took Iona to the Dance as a No. 15 seed in 2021, Pitino said: I dream,” Pitino said.
He gave St. John’s and the Red Storm fan base permission to dream big.
