Report: Rick Pitino meeting with St. John's administrators on Sunday evening

Hall of Fame basketball head coach Rick Pitino has wasted no time in capitalizing on his recent success with the Iona Gaels. He led Iona to a 27-8 overall record this season and an appearance in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, where his team fell to the Uconn Huskies in the first round. On Sunday afternoon, it was reported by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein that Pitino will be meeting with administrators of the St. John’s Red Storm on Sunday evening. St. John’s has no secondary candidate for the position, according to the report.

Pitino, currently 70-years old, has led Iona to two MAAC regular season crowns and two conference championships in the past three seasons.

The Red Storm recently parted ways with their old head coach, Mike Anderson, nine days ago, after he led the program to four underwhelming seasons. The New York Post was the first to report mutual interest between Pitino and St. John’s two days before the school even officially fired Anderson.

A big key in St. John’s courtship of Pitino has been their president, Brian Shanley, who was close to hiring the Hall-of-Fame head coach 12 years ago at Providence. According to the New York Post, Shanley has been “relentless” in his pursuit of the iconic head coach.

Another report by college basketball insider Adam Zagoria said that Pitino is expected to make up his mind regarding his coaching future by Wednesday, per people close to him. Going to St. John’s and staying at Iona are the two options he’ll choose from.

Rick Pitino is unquestionably one of the all-time greats

Pitino became the first basketball coach in NCAA history to win an NCAA Championship at two different schools. He guided the Louisville Cardinals to the 2013 crown and won the 1996 national title at Kentucky. The Wildcats also finished as runner-up in 1997. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Pitino has also guided teams from four different schools to the NCAA Tournament: (Boston Terriers, Providence Friars, Kentucky Wildcats, and Louisville Cardinals). In doing so, he became just one of 11 coaches all-time to accomplish that feat (as of 2016-2017). When he landed his first college basketball head coaching position in 1978 (at 25 years old), he was the nation’s youngest Division I head coach.

Pitino brought home National Coach of the Year honors in 1987. He was also named the SEC Coach of the Year in 1990, 1991, and 1996. He’s won countless other accolades and honors throughout his highly decorated career. When it comes time for him to officially retire, there’s no question that he’ll be thought of as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all-time.