Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Transformation: From "Unenjoyable" to National Contender
Rick Pitino, a name synonymous with college basketball excellence and controversy, has once again orchestrated a remarkable turnaround, this time at St. John’s University. Just a year ago, the legendary coach lamented his debut season in Queens, calling it "the most unenjoyable experience" of his storied career. Following a string of disheartening losses, Pitino didn’t mince words, candidly assessing his Red Storm squad as deficient in virtually every facet of the game. "Not a great basketball team," he declared, pointing to weaknesses in shooting, defense, rebounding, and overall athleticism. His frustration was palpable, bubbling to the surface and directed not only at his team but also at his own recruiting efforts and the rapidly evolving landscape of college basketball, one now dominated by the transfer portal and its destabilizing effect on program building.
Pitino, a coaching titan who had previously built dynasties at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and Iona, faced perhaps his most unique challenge yet: resurrecting a St. John’s program that had fallen from national prominence. The question loomed: could he navigate the new NCAA model and restore the Red Storm to their former glory?
One year later, the answer resounds with emphatic clarity. St. John’s has not only reversed its fortunes but has achieved feats unseen in decades. The Red Storm captured an unshared Big East regular-season championship for the first time since 1985, a testament to their consistent dominance throughout the conference schedule. They further cemented their resurgence by winning the Big East tournament, a feat that had eluded them since 2000. Beyond the conference accolades, St. John’s reached the 30-win plateau for the first time since 1986, a marker of sustained excellence and team cohesion. Even in defeat, the Red Storm showcased their resilience, losing four games by a mere seven points combined.
A defining moment in this transformation came in their sweep of the reigning national champion Connecticut Huskies, a stark contrast to the previous season’s struggles and a symbol of the night-and-day difference Pitino had engineered. As Pitino proclaimed, "This team will be remembered for a long time at St. John’s."
The impact extends far beyond a single season’s improvement. A generation of underwhelming results had relegated St. John’s to the fringes of the national conversation, languishing near the bottom of the Big East standings. Once a fashionable and nationally relevant program, the Red Storm had become easily overlooked. Now, as the NCAA Tournament approaches, they’ve become impossible to ignore, a legitimate threat poised to make a deep run.
Junior guard RJ Luis, the team’s leading scorer with an impressive 18.4 points per game, attributes the team’s success to Pitino’s masterful leadership. "He’s the mastermind behind all of this," Luis stated, his voice filled with admiration. "I mean, it’s truly special. I’m at a loss for words."
As a No. 2 seed in the West region, the Red Storm are set to face No. 15 Nebraska-Omaha in the opening round, entering the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation and a credible contender to reach the program’s third Final Four and first in 40 years.
This type of rapid turnaround is nothing new for Pitino. He previously led Providence to the national semifinals in his second season, guided Kentucky to the Elite Eight in the program’s first year off NCAA sanctions, and steered Louisville to the Final Four in his fourth season. However, the unique circumstances surrounding St. John’s transformation underscore Pitino’s adaptability and his ability to thrive even in the face of significant challenges.
Ironically, the very environment that Pitino criticized last year – the transfer-portal-driven realm of rampant player movement – has been instrumental in flipping a mismatched roster into a cohesive and formidable unit. Five players from last year’s team exhausted their eligibility, while three others transferred out of the program. In their place came a blend of promising freshmen and highly impactful transfers.
Leading the charge is former Seton Hall guard Kadary Richmond, whom Pitino has boldly declared "the best guard in the nation." Richmond has revolutionized the Red Storm’s offense and defense, filling the stat sheet with averages of 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. His versatility and playmaking ability have been transformative.
Other key transfers include former Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, and Utah guard Deivon Smith, averaging 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and former North Texas guard Aaron Scott, contributing 8.5 points per game and averaging 1.5 steals per game. These additions have provided depth, experience, and a winning mentality.
Pitino’s praise for Richmond is effusive. "He’s a big-time player," Pitino remarked. "Rebounds, points, steals, he always makes big plays."
Remarkably, all but two of the nine players averaging at least seven minutes per game since the start of Big East play – true freshman forward Ruben Prey and sophomore guard Simeon Wilcher – began their college careers elsewhere. This highlights the significant role of the transfer portal in reshaping the St. John’s roster. "Last year we had 14 new players. This year we have four new starters," Pitino explained. "The thing that’s difficult for coaches is to get players connected offensively, defensively, and bonded, because it takes time."
The results of this roster turnover have been astonishing, particularly on the defensive end of the court. St. John’s has soared to 31st nationally and first in the Big East in scoring defense, allowing just 65.9 points per game – a dramatic improvement of 147 spots in the Division I rankings from last season. The Red Storm also rank 17th in the country in field-goal defense, 17th in steals per game, and 10th in turnovers forced per game. This aggressive defense, a long-standing Pitino trademark, has fueled an offense that averaged 78.2 points per game against opponents in this year’s Big East tournament.
"It’s the defense that turns into offense that makes us go," Pitino emphasized.
This rapid turnaround has reignited the debate surrounding Pitino’s legacy: Is he the greatest coach in college basketball history? He’s already the first of two coaches to lead three programs to the Final Four, and the only coach to win national championships at two schools. His career record stands at 884-310, with a remarkable 54-21 mark in tournament action.
While a significant portion of his success has come at historically elite programs, Pitino has never inherited a ready-made winner. The six programs he’s coached went a combined 76-105 in the year before his arrival. Most notably, Kentucky was burdened with a two-year postseason ban and scholarship restrictions due to NCAA violations under his predecessor.
Despite his personal scandals and failed NBA forays, Pitino’s latest turnaround at St. John’s underscores an undeniable truth: no coach in college basketball history has won this much at this many different stops.
"Humility is a big part of my life right now," he said. "It wasn’t always that way. I don’t believe in redemption. I believe in humility. I believe in living what I call the precious present, a gift that we all get."
To reach the Final Four, St. John’s faces a challenging path through a loaded West region, featuring top-seeded Florida and other formidable programs like Kansas, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Maryland, Memphis, and Missouri. The Huskies, now nearly two years removed from their last postseason loss, also loom as a potential obstacle.
The Red Storm’s weaker regular-season strength of schedule compared to other top contenders raises some questions about their ability to compete against elite competition. However, their recent performance, including a 6-4 record against Quad 1 opponents and dominant showing in the Big East tournament, suggests they are peaking at the right time.
In the Big East championship game against Creighton, the Red Storm unleashed a scoring barrage, making 14 consecutive field goals to seize control of the game. As Creighton coach Greg McDermott acknowledged, "They’ve had a remarkable year. Dominated our league and pretty much saved their best for this conference tournament. They just wear into you over time."
One night earlier, in the semifinals against Marquette, St. John’s forced 17 turnovers, showcasing their defensive prowess. Despite falling behind early, they outscored Marquette by a significant margin in the second half to secure the victory. "I think they’re about as dangerous as anyone," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. "What you have seen from their team is they’ve gotten better and better on the offensive end as the year has gone on because they’ve got guys that have really, really bought into their roles."
But perhaps no result better exemplifies the program’s resurgence than their two wins over the two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies. In their most recent matchup, St. John’s torched the Huskies from beyond the arc, forcing UConn to pick their poison. "If they shoot the ball like that from the perimeter, they’re going to be a problem for anyone," UConn coach Dan Hurley conceded.
As St. John’s prepares for the NCAA Tournament, they carry a red-hot streak, having lost just once this calendar year. Like Pitino’s championship-winning teams at Kentucky and Louisville, the Red Storm are improving with each passing game, fueled by a potent mix of talent, experience, and coaching expertise.
"I think we can win every game," proclaimed Deivon Smith. "Even the games we lost, we’re hard on ourselves because we’re only losing by a point or so. It’s a super-special team, making history almost every single game." The question now is, can they continue making history all the way to San Antonio?
