Rick Pitino is not happy in St. John's.
The longtime basketball coach reached out to the Red Storm team and the St. John's athletic department after Sunday's 68-62 loss to Seton Hall at UBS Arena. The Red Storm jumped out to an early 19-point lead, committed 15 turnovers and shot just 34 percent from the field as a team. This is their third straight loss and their eighth loss in their last 10 games.
Pitino's first season with the program isn't over yet, but he looks like he's completely done with it.
“This was the least enjoyable experience of my life. It was very disappointing,” he said, via NJ.com.
Pitino has been coaching all over the college basketball world for decades and has seen a lot of bad teams during his career. He was hired by St. John's before the season after three successful years at Iona, making his first return to the sport since his rocky exit from Louisville in 2017.
But Pitino appeared to be shooting at everyone he could on Sunday, including college athletic departments.
“Are there any bad facilities? Yes, they are,” Pitino said. “But we're doing something about it. But that's not why we're losing. It has nothing to do with security that we have terrible facilities.”
Coach Pitino also called out his players directly, naming some by name and saying, “They're so unathletic that they can't defend anyone without fouling.''
“Joel [Soriano]He’s slow laterally, but he’s not fast on the court,” Pitino said. “Chris Ledlum is slow laterally, but Sean Conway is slow laterally. Brady [Dunlap’s] Physically weak, Drissa [Traore] Laterally slow. ”
The 71-year-old coach also blamed his struggles on a “lost” recruiting effort for his staff. He added 12 new players to St. John's after his appointment, but he clearly thinks he's targeted the wrong type of player.
“We lost this season because of the way we recruited,” he said. “We've hired guys that are the exact opposite of how I coach. It's a good group, they try hard, but they're not very tough…that's not the job. Being at Missouri State, They could also recruit slower players. Trust me, this isn't St. John's.
“We had to pull the team together at the last moment. We will never do something like that again.”
St. John's has five games left in the regular season before the Big East tournament begins Wednesday against Georgetown. The Red Storm hold a 14-12 record and sit in ninth place in the Big East behind Georgetown and DePaul. These two teams have won just one conference game this season.
“I've been disappointed all year,” he said. “I'm sure [Georgetown coach] Ed Cooley was disappointed. Coach DePaul must be disappointed. If we lose, everyone will be disappointed. ”
In fact, Pitino defended his comments on Monday as well.
Pitino said his comments were “not really deceiving anyone” and insisted there was “no problem with what I said.”
“In my monotone voice, I was pointing out exactly why we lost,” he told Newsday. “I'm not always calm and I'm certainly not when I rip someone…I wasn't ripping anyone.
“Sometimes I want the players to hear and read my words. That was my intention.” [Sunday]. ”
Either way, it looks like March, and especially its end, can't come soon enough for Pitino.
