Rick Pitino - Head Coach at St John’s University!!!

RedStormNC said:
He better be, he's the head coach and that's what he's paid to do.

Maybe though he shouldn't make videos from his SJU office, about Mark Pope and his future success at KY.
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I didn't take anything bad away from it. He's helping a friend who he knows is walking into a viper's nest and he's using the Pitino name to soothe the angry doubters.

Plus he's making the video from St. John's. It's all about branding.
 
L J S A said:
I didn't take anything bad away from it. He's helping a friend who he knows is walking into a viper's nest and he's using the Pitino name to soothe the angry doubters.

Plus he's making the video from St. John's. It's all about branding.
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I have no problem with the concept of the video to help ease the concerns of a rabid fan base and to support the hiring of a former player and a friend. However, I do have “issues” with a couple of things he mentioned in toe video.

I thought he could have stayed away from his discussion about looking forward to Pope leading Kentucky to another championship (I doubt he was referring to a SEC one but the National one). Leave Championship talk to congratulating UConn and your plans to leading us to our first one.

He mentioned that Pope was a great recruiter and could have stopped there without going into NIL. This doesn’t annoy me as much as there could be an ulterior motive with a hidden message to our collectives that we need more.

I have no problem with him making the video from his office at St. John's. However the most prominent branding I saw was the Nike swoosh logo on Pitino’s top. He could have at least wore a top with St. John’s or our logo either below or on the opposite side of the swoosh as the only other St. John’s branding I noticed was the top of the STJ logo in the distance to his left that is on the wall of the courts below him. Unless you are a St. John’s supporter, I doubt you even notice it.
 
Jack Williams said:
anyone else wish Rick would shut the hell up about Kentucky? Making himself sound like a has been and also comes off as him weirdly trying to make the hire about himself
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It did have that feel to me, but I wasn’t surprised at all. He loves to be the center of attention and it probably hurt his ego a bit that Barnhart didn’t reach out to gauge Pitino’s interest in the job.
 
Jack Williams said:
anyone else wish Rick would shut the hell up about Kentucky? Making himself sound like a has been and also comes off as him weirdly trying to make the hire about himself
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Many (if not most) Kentucky fans were expecting a big-name hire like Drew or Hurley. I interpreted Pitino's video as lending a hand to a former player in a situation that could have been extremely difficult. Have no problem with it.
 
kranmars said:
He was giving his former player acknowledgment. And Pope gushed about him at his presser in return. Don’t take things so seriously.
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It was cute at first when he endorsed him for the job but honestly the video he made was a jump the shark moment for me

they made their hire, it is not your job to convince the Kentucky fanbase he's gonna win national championships, let's win one for us
 
He left KY for their hated in state Louisville, a school who KY admin, alum and fans, DO NOT think is their equal in any way.

Then he wins it at UoL, a sacrilege to hardcore Cat fans.

Many KY BB fans still fondly recall him now, but back when he went to Louisville they were not happy with him.
 
Jack Williams said:
It was cute at first when he endorsed him for the job but honestly the video he made was a jump the shark moment for me

they made their hire, it is not your job to convince the Kentucky fanbase he's gonna win national championships, let's win one for us
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is his heart (and horses) still in the bluegrass state? I remember reading a long time ago, his wife saying she liked it so much more in KY than in NY

Who knows.
 
If we already signed Cliff up and outbid the big boys for him, I think the NIL check comment would have been received much more differently for me personally.
 
Does anyone seriously believe Pitino is rooting harder for Pope to win a national championship at Kentucky, than he is trying to win a national title here?

We are a very sensitive bunch, even more so when considering our coach is a HOF, who wants nothing more than to make one last run at a final four to top off his résumé.
 
RedStormRising said:
It did have that feel to me, but I wasn’t surprised at all. He loves to be the center of attention and it probably hurt his ego a bit that Barnhart didn’t reach out to gauge Pitino’s interest in the job.
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Are you sure he didn’t? I read the situation as UK boosters, at least, reached out to Pitino. If you read x or other boards you would see the zillions of calls from fans for RP to return. My read was that Pitino instead endorsed Pope to UK and his video was his effort to support Pope and RP’s UK buddies to help with the fanbase. Also to cool any speculation about him leaving or being passed over. If no one reached out to him, would his ego have him insert himself? He seemed pretty confident Kentucky nation cared about what he had to say. And Pope was grateful for it.
 
SJU stalwart said:
Are you sure he didn’t? I read the situation as UK boosters, at least, reached out to Pitino. If you read x or other boards you would see the zillions of calls from fans for RP to return. My read was that Pitino instead endorsed Pope to UK and his video was his effort to support Pope and RP’s UK buddies to help with the fanbase. Also to cool any speculation about him leaving or being passed over. If no one reached out to him, would his ego have him insert himself? He seemed pretty confident Kentucky nation cared about what he had to say.
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It was reported by multiple news outlets, but the answer is nope I can never be sure.
 
Pitino's praise is about his recruiting package. "You may not be a player at the next level, but you can make some bucks coaching."
 
Lefteris Liotopoulos will bus tables

Web Release


QUEENS, N.Y. (April 22, 2024) – St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino will be honored for his outstanding contributions to Panathinaikos B.C. of the EuroLeague on Sunday, June 16 at the 2024 Panatha Gala. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer will be recognized along with Panathinaikos great Fragiskos Alvertis during a dinner reception at Terrace on the Park in Queens hosted by Panatha USA and organized by Dream Hospitality Group.



Pitino was the head coach of Panathinaikos from 2018-20 and led the club to back-to-back Greek Basket League (GBL) championships. During his first season with Panathinaikos in 2018-19, Pitino guided the team to a Greek Basketball Cup title after defeating PAOK B.C., 79-73, in the championship game. Pitino has also served as head coach of Greece’s senior national team at the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Victoria, Canada in 2021.
 
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