The results are there, no doubt, but the turn-off involves getting there. Translated: I’m not a Rick Pitino fan.
I have to hand it to him. Rick Pitino can coach. He knows what he’s doing, and that was apparent in the coaching clinic he put on Thursday afternoon as St. John’s lambasted Seton Hall by 19 points to advance to the Big East Tournament semifinals. The Red Flash will now face #2 Connecticut on Friday evening at Madison Square Garden in what will be St. John’s first Big East tournament semifinal game in 24 years. Unreal!
Pitino had Joel Soriano and RJ Luis ready to play, used the zone defense to shut down Kadary Richmond, Dylan Addae-Wusu, Al-Amir Dawes, and Dre Davis, and worked the refs to ensure his team got the benefit of the whistle. But he also made a fool out of himself by screaming at his players during a timeout when the Hall cut the deficit to one at 41-40.
I don’t know if the win means the Red Storm are a sure bet to be in the NCAA Tournament. Experts say they are, but I still feel they need to beat UConn, and I wouldn’t be surprised if St. John’s does, goes on to win the Big East Tournament, and then makes noise in the Big Dance.
But even if all that happens, it doesn’t mean I have to embrace Rick Pitino. For starters, I don’t like what he stands for. His history at Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville speaks for itself. For another thing, I believe he has this misplaced arrogant belief that he’s the only one in college hoops who knows what championship basketball looks like.
I never thought I’d feel that way about him when he got the job because I called for St. John’s to hire Pitino to coach. I want to see the program return to relevance and for college basketball to matter in this city again. There is nothing else like it when St. John’s wins and the city rallies around the team. I just wish the Red Storm would be easy to root for. Pitino’s conduct this season made it harder than ever for me to root for him. A case in point is what I saw on February 18 in Pitino’s presser after a loss to Seton Hall, filled with bombast as it was.
That is who Pitino is, a coach that is about himself. That’s how it has always been and will likely never change.
I am sure that most St. John’s fans could care less about what I’m writing here. For sports fans, it’s win, baby, and ethics be damned. Fair enough. They can hail Pitino, but don’t count me in.
To Pitino’s credit, all of what I’ve described has made him successful, and he’s another example of why and how bad guys win. But the way I see it, there’s more to sports than winning and championships. So, don’t include me in hailing Rick Pitino. Instead, I’ll root for head coaches with integrity and decorum.
