Tag: st. john’s basketball

Thieves broke into Rick Pitino’s St. John’s office, but he was at least in good spirits about it

Well, at least he’s in good spirits about the whole ordeal.

St. John’s men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino was recently the victim of an office theft.

ESPN reported that the St. John’s break-in happened on Tuesday evening and that the thieves stole a ceremonial sword and a bullhorn from Pitino’s office during the incident, among other items.

“Police said in a statement that the two men somehow gained entry ‘without authorization’ and removed a number of items before fleeing on a moped heading westbound on Union Turnpike,” ESPN’s news service reported.

To Pitino’s credit, he seemed to have a good sense of humor about the whole ordeal. He joked on Twitter (X) about a very expensive bottle of wine being part of the thieves’ haul before clarifying that the bottle was safely in his wine cellar.

Hey, if you’re going to be the victim of a break-in at your job, at least be like Pitino and make sure the good stuff is left at home.

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Top transfer portal guard Kadary Richmond commits to Rick Pitino and St. John’s

Top transfer portal guard Kadary Richmond leaves Seton Hall and commits to Rick Pitino and St. John’s.

After one year at Syracuse and three years at Seton Hall, Brooklyn native Kadary Richmond will return to the Big Apple  – committing to join Rick Pitino and St. John’s for his final year of eligibility.

Richmond was widely considered the top available player in the transfer portal, coming off a season where he averaged 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.2 steals while shooting 46.8% on two pointers and 80.7% from the free throw line.

Richmond joins fellow newcomer Deivon Smith, a senior guard transfer from Utah, in what should be a very talented and new look backcourt for Pitino in his second season with the Red Storm.

While Smith and Richmond are both incredibly talented, physical guards, the trio of them and returnee RJ Luis lacks consistent outside shooting which could be an issue for Pitino’s team if they don’t find other floor spacers to put around them next season.

Richmond becomes the fourth intraconference transfer in the Big East over the past two seasons, a list that includes Nahiem Alleyne, Posh Alexander, and Dylan Addae-Wusu.

College basketball transfer portal: What schools have come in to visit Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi?

Two new schools are involved with Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi this week.

Cliff Omoruyi has seen a steady list of suitors in the transfer portal, the byproduct of four years of steady growth with Rutgers basketball and in the Big Ten.

There is already a strong offer list in place for Omoruyi, who was a three-year starter and an All-Big Ten selection at Rutgers.

According to a source close to the situation, two new programs have entered the recruitment for Omoruyi this week: Memphis and TCU. As part of their recruitment, Memphis head coach Anfernee Hardaway called Omoruyi and scheduled a follow-up Zoom call.

Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley visited Omoruyi this week, the source said. In addition, Georgia Tech, Kansas State and Oregon State have all visited the source said.

Villanova also sent an assistant coach to meet with the Rutgers center this week as did St. John’s.

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Oregon will visit Omoruyi on Friday.

As a senior, Omoruyi averaged 10.4 points per game in 2023-24. He also averaged 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.

As for a timetable for a decision, the source said that Omoruyi is not rushing the process. Visits will take place after April 12.

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Omoruyi hasn’t left New Jersey yet and hasn’t made any visits. He is completing his coursework at Rutgers.

Rick Pitino slammed the NCAA after St. John’s missed the 2024 men’s tournament

“I think we should all never mention that word again because I think it’s fraudulent.”

Rick Pitino’s highly underwhelming season with the St. John’s men’s basketball team unraveled even more on Sunday when the team was not selected to participate in the 2024 NCAA tournament. Afterward, Pitino ripped the NCAA’s NET rankings system, which evaluates a team’s resume throughout the season.

St. John’s men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino is still not having fun. Just weeks ago, he went on an unhinged rant about his team after a disappointing loss. He left no stone unturned when finding words to express his displeasure. Pitino eventually apologized for his behavior, but old habits die hard.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

After St. John’s failed to qualify for the 2024 NCAA tournament, Pitino panned the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking system that the selection committee utilizes to help determine who should be eligible.

Following Selection Sunday, he shared his thoughts on the NET system:

“I think we should all never mention that word again because I think it’s fraudulent…We tried to play a tough schedule. We tried to do things the right way, and we didn’t get in.

I never make excuses. I respect the committee for what they do. They give their time. They give their energy to it. They didn’t think that we measured up to their standards, and we’ll take it very positively like men and move forward. We’re not gonna gripe [or] say we got screwed. None of that helps. Bitterness does not help. I’ve had enough bitterness in my life to last a lifetime.”

Per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, St. John’s has declined to play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), a postseason tournament for teams that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

Rick Pitino walked back his blistering Seton Hall rant days after saying he stood by his words

The apology should have been just as loud as the disrespect, Rick Pitino.

On Wednesday, Rick Pitino told the media that he apologized to the St. John’s men’s basketball team days after endorsing his wild postgame rant following a game against Seton Hall.

Somehow, Rick Pitino thinks we have forgotten what he’s done in the last four days, but we have not. The internet has the receipts. On Sunday, he ripped his team after a less-than-stellar performance against Seton Hall. Pitino described coaching St. Johns as the “most unenjoyable experience” of his lifetime. On Monday, Per ESPN, Pitino told Newsday that he stood by his words, saying, “I was pointing out exactly — in a monotone voice — why we lost… I was not ripping anybody.”

By Wednesday, Pitino was walking back his words by sharing that he apologized to his team after learning that his rant hurt several players.

Here’s the thing: This apology is flimsy.

If Pitino thought he was making his team tougher by ripping them, fine. At least stand by that. Be about the words you chose. But to endorse the words and then walk them back implies it was always about escaping accountability and saving an image.

What Pitino fails to realize is that — right or wrong — how a team performs is a reflection of its leader. So, if a team isn’t up to standard, you address it with them and ask yourself what you can do better as a leader, not deflect responsibility and embarrass them in public.

Rick Pitino slams entire St. John’s basketball team in unhinged rant after stunning loss to Seton Hall

“This is the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime.”

Rick Pitino isn’t mincing words about the 2023-2024 St. John’s men’s basketball team. He thinks they stink, and Pitino let anyone who would listen know it during a postgame meltdown.

The relationship between the St. John’s men’s basketball team and head coach Rick Pitino may not be the same after a recent postgame presser. St. John’s was up by as much as 19 points during their Sunday matchup against Seton Hall, including a 12-point lead at halftime. But, extremely leaky defense and lackluster energy down the stretch let Seton Hall back in the game. Eventually, it was too much for the Red Storm to handle, and Seton Hall would go on to win 68-62.

It’s not unreasonable to think a head coach would be steaming after a performance like that. Still, during Sunday’s postgame presser, Rick Pitino ripped the entire team with insult after insult and things got awkward in a hurry.

Among the things he fired off, Pitino called the team “unathletic” and said that it was the “most unenjoyable experience” he’s had since he’s been coaching. When asked if he was second-guessing his time at St. John’s, Pitino said, “No, not at all. It’s not St. John’s. It’s my team.” (See the 1:14 mark of the YouTube video below.)

YIKES.

Rick Pitino seemingly kept track of referees with paper taped to scoreboard in St. John’s debut

Interesting decision there, Rick Pitino.

New St. John’s men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino looked to have found an unusual way to keep taps of his first game’s referees against Stony Brook on Tuesday night.

En route to a 90-74 victory, Big East reporter Ryan Cassidy shared a photo of Pitino coaching with a piece of paper taped to the scoretable with what looked to be the names and faces of the referees on it.

Y’know, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to communicate with the refs during a game for whatever reason. Pitino just found a very direct way to do accomplish that.

Pitino is still getting used to his new role at St. John’s, and he’s going to have to get acclimated for a new bunch of officials for his team’s games.

However, a piece of paper taped to a scoreboard was not on our bingo card for how Pitino would keep track of anything in the year 2023.

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Ahead of St. John’s scrimmage this weekend, Rick Pitino hails Rutgers basketball and head coach Steve Pikiell

Rutgers basketball is praised by Rick Pitino.

St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino believes that he will know more about his team and their potential following this Saturday’s scrimmage against Rutgers. That’s because Pitino has heard the buzz about Rutgers basketball and head coach Steve Pikiell.

Having made three straight trips to the postseason, Rutgers basketball is returning to make a return to the NCAA Tournament this year. They have a deep team but there are some question marks about how good this team can be.

During his team’s media day, Pitino was asked about his expectations for his group. Hired this offseason, Pitino was a massive addition as a head coach to a St. John’s program that has been consistently inconsistent over the past decade.

Pitino answered that after Saturday’s scrimmage against Rutgers, he will know more about both teams.

“I’m going to answer politically correct just because I don’t know the competition. I’ll know more Saturday. I think Saturday is going to tell me more. Because I’ve had two people, Bill Raftery being one, a couple other people saying that they were very impressed with Rutgers,” Pitino told reporters.

“And I think Rutgers feels they are every bit as good as last year if not better. They are a really well-coached team, coach Pikiell does an outstanding job,fundamentally in every phase of the game.”

It is a good test for both programs.

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For Rutgers, it is a chance to see how freshman four-star Gavin Griffiths and transfer portal guard Noah Fernandes fit into the program. And for Pitino, his first game in charge of St. John’s will be a first look at the new pieces that have come into the program.

 

“For us, being a young team, playing against Rutgers early in the season, that will tell me where we’re at. And that will judge how good we are,” Pitino said.

“Right now, I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful but I really don’t know the competition. So Saturday will tell us a lot of things.”

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(h/t to The Knight Report for the video)

Sleuthy fans apparently learned Rick Pitino’s phone number by reading his lips during Knicks game

Shockingly, Pitino said that 95% of the more than 300 messages he received were “nice n positive.”

Newly hired St. John’s coach Rick Pitino hasn’t been back in the Big Apple for very long, but he received quite a warm welcome from the fans in New York City after the Knicks’ playoff win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

According to a tweet from Pitino — who attended the game at Madison Square Garden, where he will coach his home games with the Red Storm — on Monday, a number of eagle-eyed fans managed to ascertain his phone number when a broadcast camera caught him telling someone else his phone number.

A number of people were apparently able to figure out his number by reading his lips, and he said he received more than 300 messages following the game. Surprisingly, the polarizing coach said the vast majority of the messages were positive and even resulted in “a lead on 7 new recruits.”

Pitino makes his return to New York City after spending three years at Iona. He previously coached the Knicks as well as the Boston Celtics, and he’s made collegiate stops as the head man at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville, winning national championships with the latter two.

However, his title with the Cardinals was later vacated by the NCAA.

After an NCAA scandal ended his tenure in Louisville, Pitino is back in major college basketball. It seems that New York City basketball fans are excited about it, if a bit overzealous.

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St. John’s transfer guard visits Madison

Former St. John’s guard AJ Storr visited UW-Madison on Monday after the team reached out to him on the transfer portal.

Former St. John’s guard AJ Storr visited UW-Madison this weekend after the team reached out to him on the transfer portal. The 6-foot-6 athlete averaged 8.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in his one season with the Red Storm.

With Storr visiting the Badgers, it proves that Greg Gard and his coaching staff are not done in the portal even after acquiring guard Noah Reynolds last week (Wyoming). As Jordan Davis looks for a new team following his entrance into the transfer portal, it’s clear that the Badgers are looking to find additional depth at the wing position.

Coming off of a rather disappointing season for Wisconsin, any additions out of the portal will at least pique the interest of fans heading into the offseason. On paper, the Badgers are expected to be one of the most experienced teams in the Big Ten in 2023.

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