Rick Pitino Hired As St. John’s Next Head Coach

Rick Pitino, 70, is headed back to New York after agreeing to a 6-year contract to be St. John’s next head men’s basketball coach.

Pitino’s Hall-of-Fame Resume

Pitino has played integral roles as the head coach of several organizations throughout his career.

His coaching journey trails back to 1974, where he first served as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Hawaii. He then served as Hawaii’s interim head coach for the last six games of the 1975-76 season. This was his first head coach position.

From there, Pitino would become one of the most successful coaches in NCAA history.

Pitino has spent time in both the collegiate level and the NBA, with history as the head coach for Hawaii (1976), Boston (1978-83), Providence (1985-87), the New York Knicks (1987-89), Kentucky (1989-97), the Boston Celtics (1997-01), Louisville (2001-16), Panathinaikos (2018-20), Iona (2020-23) and now St. John’s.

He led Kentucky and Louisville to NCAA Championships in 1996 and 2013. However, Louisville’s 2013 title was vacated after serious program violations, and Pitino was fired in 2017 because of the scandals.

Additionally, Pitino led Kentucky, Louisville and Providence to final four appearances.

Pitino, a New York native, will spend the next phase of his historic career in Queens.

#StJohns names Rick Pitino the new head of @StJohnsBball. Welcome to Queens, coach!

For more, read the press release: https://t.co/UDhVOPTW1G pic.twitter.com/52M5bgg5pY

— St. John's University (@StJohnsU) March 20, 2023

Rebuilding the St. John’s Brand

St. Johns started the 2022-23 season strong with an 8-0 record, but did not land a spot in the NCAA tournament after finishing the season at 18-15.

The last time St. Johns had a chance at the tournament was in 2019, where they lost the play-in. Prior to that, the team’s most recent appearance was in 2015, where they lost in the first round.

He said he’s seeking all-around players who fit his system, and that players will have to compete and earn their spot.

“A lot of players probably won’t be back on this team.”

Pitino also expressed his goal to rebuild the team around Joel Soriano.

“St. John’s is gonna be back. I guarantee that.”