After all these years and with all his baggage, Rick Pitino is still winning basketball games
NEW YORK — Say what you will about Rick Pitino. It’s probably nothing new at this point.
His brushes with the NCAA, his personal transgressions, the fan bases he’s left behind and at the altar, his spectrum of failures during a disastrous stint with the Boston Celtics — it's all part of a coaching career stretching back to the late 1970s.
But while you’re at it, be sure to include this — he's among the best handful or so to ever take charge of a men’s college program. And he’s in the process of bettering the immediate future just 16 games into his tenure at St. John’s.
“Providence is doing an amazing job. I’m really happy with the school I love so much — that they hired [Kim English]. Because he’s going to have a brilliant career."
Rick Pitino
More: Huskies still top dogs in Big East. Here's where Providence ended up after a pair of losses.
The Red Storm pulled out a 75-73 victory against Providence on Wednesday night, securing a first 4-1 start in Big East play since 2000-01. St. John’s was dynamic at times, showed the requisite toughness when challenged and ultimately prevailed. That’s been a winning recipe for Pitino with Boston University, the Friars, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona and, now, a former conference rival.
“I thought tonight was a great learning experience for our basketball team,” Pitino said. “I don’t think we could have played any better than the first 18 minutes.”
Pitino ran the gamut during his postgame presser in the bowels of Madison Square Garden. It was part serious, part praise for two players on stage with him — Daniss Jenkins and Joel Soriano — and part wiseacre scolding for both his team and media members alike. He still keeps the room on a razor’s edge at 71, and St. John’s seems to be at the beginning stages of a push back to relevance both here in the city and beyond.
“I’m not surprised by any league standings — especially based on preseason picks,” Providence coach Kim English said. “If you looked at 11 lions when they were cubs, I'd love to see you pick who’s going to be the big dog.
“I wait to see. Five games in, Seton Hall and St. John’s are playing really good basketball.”
Jenkins followed Pitino from the Gaels and RJ Luis Jr. came in from Pitino’s alma mater at Massachusetts. That’s where he played point guard and graduated, but he’s since self-awarded an honorary degree from another school. That would be Providence, a place where Pitino spent just two years but carved a permanent legacy by reaching the school’s second Final Four in 1987.
“Providence is doing an amazing job,” Pitino said. “I’m really happy with the school I love so much — that they hired [English]. Because he’s going to have a brilliant career.
“He’s going to be absolutely great down the road as a recruiter, as a coach. He's got it all. I really love this coach and what he’s doing at Providence, because it’s my unofficial alma mater. I was only there two years, but they were the best two years of my life.”
It was a sharp contrast from the barbs Pitino has directed at defending national champion Connecticut and head coach Dan Hurley through the opening three months. The Huskies like to think of this building as Storrs South — Pitino wants nothing to do with a split crowd in the seats, threatening to play next year’s home game on campus at cozy Carnesecca Arena. The Friars claimed maybe a third of the 11,832 fans who came out on a weeknight to watch the Red Storm win for the 10th time in their last 12 games.
“It’ll happen,” Pitino said. “As these guys keep winning, it will happen. Some day the Garden will be packed, but it’s just not going to happen overnight.
“It takes time to build a program. It takes time to build crowds.”
St. John’s enjoyed a quick 15-point lead before Providence stormed from behind to jump ahead early in the second half. Devin Carter was the best player on the floor with 31 points and 13 rebounds, a tour de force that earned him a third consecutive double-double and the sixth of his season to date. Jayden Pierre’s long 3-pointer at the horn could have stolen it, as the Friars nosed in front for just 57 seconds.
“The guy who coached against me tonight is absolutely fabulous,” Pitino said. “Fabulous. His team plays like they haven’t eaten in a week. My guys are at the buffet every hour.”
Satisfied stomachs aside, the Red Storm remain even with the rest of the league’s one-loss teams in conference play — the Pirates, Huskies and Villanova. Creighton and Marquette are both included in the current AP poll and can’t claim such a record.
To think this might only be the beginning. To know that we all should have seen it coming.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rick Pitino keeps winning despite all the baggage
