Rick Pitino wanted the record to be straightened: St. John's is not the product of a salary of high names, images, or caricatures.
“First of all, I think there's a lot of misrepresentation about Nir,” the Hall of Fame coach said after top seed Johnny blows up No. 2 Clayton 82-66 to win his first Big East Tournament title in 25 years. “Nil didn't get this team because of Zuby [Ejiofor] and RJ [Luis Jr.] He's a very low paying player. That's nonsense about Nir. ”
There have been several recently written stories about the key roles of St. John's Il and the billionaire booster Maiklepole.
St. John's recently reported St. John's has a payroll of around $4 million, which is considered number one in the Big East.
No one on the roster will make seven people, but there will be three players with six or more people.
St. John's brought in Cadalie Richmond and Davon Smith, a highly acclaimed transfer in the offseason.
But Pitino is correct. Two of their best players, Ejiofor and Luis, have now become stars from role players this season. This is a key aspect of a team's success.
Ezifol set a St. John's Big East Tournament record with 33 points in the semi-finals at No. 5 Marquette on Friday, and Lewis was the best player in the tournament after scoring 27 of the 29 points after halftime.
He was also Johnny, who became Big East Player of the Year for the first time in 39 years.
“Someone asked me about Zuby and RJ. I don't know what you're getting,” Pitino said of the two juniors. “Zuby didn't play in Kansas either. RJ was a good freshman. [at UMass]firmly, but you didn't know what you were getting. So here are two stars. I'm sure they're there [general manager] mat [Abdelmassih’s] As soon as the season ends there are windows, but they don't go anywhere.
“So you build a team by making sure you understand the whole puzzle of what goes into it, and people just mischaracterize Nir [how] St. John's was built. St. John's was not built by Nir. St. John's is built with the player's characters and certainly looking forward to having these young men. ”
When asked about “low wages,” Egiofort said with a smile. All I care about is winning and going there, playing for Johnny Nation, and playing for teammates. These are the moments I play. I play to make championships and history. ”
