Rick Pitino Already Swinging Sledgehammer in SJU rebuild

Rick Pitino: He’s Baaaaack in the New York Groove. And the former coach of the Knicks and Boston Celtics on the pro level and hall of fame college coach for Boston University, Providence, Iona, Kentucky and Louisville coach–the later two that he steered to NCAA championships–is back in New York. That’s where he began life and where he truly belongs. He’s back at Madison Square Garden–and back in the Big East, where years earlier he helped revolutionize the college game when the three-point play first came into existence and he was coaching Providence to its first ever final-four appearance in only his second year.

Basketball Hall of Fame coach Pitino, 70, left Iona, where he once again turned a nondescript school into a champion, to take on the challenge of breathing life into the moribund men’s basketball program at the hallowed Queens university.

Just saying the words “St. John’s” makes New York hoops junkies of a certain age smile broadly. Once upon a time, St. John’s drew as much media attention as the Knicks in our town.

That was back in the early to mid-1980s, when the much-admired Lou Carnesecca was the St. John’s head coach. Future NBA Dream Team star Chris Mullin popped in jump shots all over the court and helped make St. John’s one of the toughest teams in the nation. Their battles against the Georgetown Hoyas led by Patrick Ewing filled Madison Square Garden to the rafters. In recent years, at times they did not bother to open the top level of MSG for SJU games.

Star Cred

Now, Pitino brings his star cred to the job. He won national championships in 1996 and 2013 (although the latter, with Louisville, was vacated by the NCAA). The hallmarks of his title teams were speed and toughness. When he coached the Knicks in the late 1980s, Pitino put his mark on the team by frequently installing a full court press, designed to capitalize on the Knicks youthful, speedy play and put pressure on the opposition. In 1987, that style of play brought them their first division title in 18 years. The full court press and three point shooting have been trademarks of all his teams.

Further, he oozes charisma—New York charisma. He was born in the shadow of MSG and went to high school at St. Dominic’s in Oyster Bay, N.Y., when it was a powerhouse in the CHSAA Catholic School league.

In New York, a notoriously stressful place to coach, the fans expect success. Nothing less. They expect to see St. John’s qualifying for March Madness and playing deep into the tournament.

Was the school’s recent failure the result of subpar recruiting or poor strategy? Probably a mixture of both.

High school basketball stars tend to pick schools that will give them a high profile–until they bolt to the big money of the NBA. Local Long Island and New York City standout players have fled our area for the powerhouse programs in other parts of the nation. Carnesecca in his heyday had great insight and scouting reports on the best high school stars in the metro area and often convinced them to stay local.

We will know Pitino’s magic is working when St. John’s can recruit a player that is coveted by the likes of Kansas, Duke, and his former schools at Louisville and Kentucky. According to Zach Brazilier, the NY Post’s beat reporter for SJU, Pitino has his eyes on Harvard’s Chris Ledlum, a 6’ 6” Brooklyn native who is also reportedly being recruited by Indiana and Towson’s Nick Timberlake, both in the transfer portal. And Pitino also is reportedly trying to get his Iona star, Walter Clayton Jr. to follow him to SJU.

Pitino will need to call up his enormous charm and reinforce the notion that he is a winner.

Before Iona, he was in exile coaching in Europe while the NCAA investigated a recruiting scandal at Louisville while he was head coach, not the first time he was caught in the crosshairs of an NCAA investigation.

Carnesecca, who attended the press conference when Pitino was introduced, gushed that the hiring represented “a home run with the bases loaded.”

At his welcome press conference, Pitino told the St. John’s it was a complete rebuild. “Certain players won’t fit in and should not play for me,” he said. “They should go to a different place and fit in.”

Right now, St. John’s Nation echoes Carnesecca’s good feeling. The alumni and city fans believe that Pitino will make St. John’s big time again. They fully expect him to bring his trademark enthusiasm and full court press defense and put a team on the court that can score three point baskets at a much better than average clip.

He landed his first head coaching job at Boston University when he was only 25. It took him four years, until the 82-83 season, for the team to be invited to its first NCAA bid in 24 years. When he briefly turned pro and coached the Knicks, he brought them their first division title in 18 years in 1987. At SJU the drought has not been quite that long, but it is still 12 long years since they landed an NCAA invite. And at his opening press conference, he said he probably needs to bring in seven or eight players. Since there are only 13 scholarship players allowed under NCAA rules, it means a complete rebuild. After hearing that, six members of the past season’s Red Storm team opted for the transfer portal: Juniors Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu, Kolby King and AJ Storr only a week after O’Mar Stanley and Rafael Pinzon entered the transfer portal. Two others who were recruited by former coach Mike Anderson and were expected to transfer to SJU are now looking elsewhere.

Pitino is already at work on the gut renovation. He tweeted on March 30: “Worked out Joel Soriano n Drissa Traore yesterday. Worked hard, loads of potential to improve. We start the process–build, work and create unparalleled passion. We are St John’s!!”