Rick Pitino is no stranger to controversy. The legendary basketball coach found himself in some very hot water several years ago when news broke that Pitino was allegedly arranging for his players to be paid to play for him at Louisville in the pre-NIL days of collegiate athletics.
Pitino then took a brief stint from the collegiate ranks. Now, Pitino is coaching for St John’s in New York, and it’s clear the coach is back to his winning ways.
“𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑. Coach Rick Pitino has been named the 2025 (Big East Men’s Basketball) Coach of the Year,” St. John’s official Men’s Basketball Twitter account revealed on Wednesday.
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
In an interview with GQ Magazine, Pitino talked about what it’s been like getting St John’s back to the top of the college basketball world.
“Well, we wanted to build a lot of things. We obviously wanted to build a strong team between the lines, but we had to bring [back] our fans between [the ages of] 21 and 41. They lost that whole generation.
“Two decades have gone by for St. John’s fans and we’re bringing ’em back one by one. We’ve had four sellouts. In the past, St. John’s would sell out the UConn game, because UConn would bring 8,000 fans.
“Now we’re selling it out with all St. John’s fans. And yes, it is a pro town, but we are part of the pro fabric—we are the 11th professional basketball team in the city.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Pitino and St. John’s do in the tournament.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.