San Antonio – St. John’s most successful season in 25 years features a historic milestone: the Associated Press National Coach of the Year Award for the program.
Rick Pitino was revealed as a joint recipient of the award on Friday alongside Auburn’s coach Bruce Pearl. This marks the first instance of Pitino receiving this accolade.
Additionally, it is the inaugural occasion in the award’s voting history since 1958 that it has been shared between two coaches.
This announcement comes soon after St. John’s clinched its first complete Big East regular season title since 1985, along with the first Big East tournament championship since 2000.
He guided the team to a record-breaking 31 wins and the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years. Johnny’s campaign concluded with a second loss to Arkansas.
Pitino, 72, is also a contender for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award, with the announcement due on Sunday.
Other candidates include John Shier from Duke, Kelvin Sampson of Houston, and Pearl. St. John’s coach has not secured this award yet.
Pitino has also recently been recognized as the American Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Henry Iva National Coach of the Year. He becomes only the second St. John’s coach, after Lucar Nesecca in 1983 and 1985, to achieve this accolade.
Pitino was awarded Big East Coach of the Year after guiding the Red Storm to an impressive 18-2 record at the conference meeting. Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis earned All-Big East first team distinction.
Pearl has taken Auburn to the Final Four, and the Tigers are set to face SEC rival Florida here Saturday night.
