One of the courses I took at St Johns that made an impression on me was a Philosophy Course, "Logic", where we were encouraged to think and not just accept things at face value. It is very interesting that he mentioned Soriano who was our most productive player this past season and Traore who in essence was our 13 man, but was always involved, encouraging, and supportive of his teammates. What I believe Pitino was saying to the recruits and the players who have eligibility remaining is that if you bust your ass and can accept the role you are given between 1-13, all is well. If not, this is not the place for you.
In essence, play as hard as Soriano and have the attitude of Traore. This makes perfect sense to me.