St. Johns head men's basketball coach Rick Pitino took out his rage on the entire St. John's athletic department, including the school's facilities, following a 68-62 loss Sunday to Seton Hall.
After blowing a 19-point lead and shooting just under 34 percent with 15 turnovers, Pitino, who is in his first season as coach of St. John's, called it the "most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime," but he didn't stop there.
"Do we have sh**ty facilities? Yes, we do," Pitino told NJ.com. "But we're doing something about that. But that's not the reason we're losing. Having sh**ty facilities has nothing do with guarding."
Pitino targeted his own players during his rant.
"Joel [Soriano] slow laterally, he's not fast on the court," Pitino said. "Chris Ledlum is low laterally, Sean Conway's slow laterally. Brady [Dunlap's] physically weak, Drissa [Traore] is slow laterally."
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After ripping apart his players, Pitino even took aim at his staff and the athletic department for losing recruits. Pitino added 12 new players after taking the job.
Pitino defended his comments on Monday, insisting that he "truly wasn't ripping anybody," commenting that he was "fine with what I said."
"I was pointing out exactly — in a monotone voice — why we lost," he told Newsday. "I am not always calm and certainly not when I rip someone...I was not ripping anybody. I sometimes want my players to hear my words and read my words. That was my intention [Sunday]."
Here’s some video from the Rick Pitino show tonight https://t.co/TPLQ41Q4k4 pic.twitter.com/P8Hqheux3o
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) February 19, 2024
Asked if he had second thoughts on taking the job last March after leaving Iona for a six-year, $20-million deal and then adding 12 new players at St. John’s, Pitino said, “It’s not St. John’s, it’s my team.”
Pitino has coached across college basketball after being terminated at Louisville following a massive investigation into corruption in college basketball. Pitino would eventually fail in a lawsuit aimed at recovering the $44 million remaining on his contract. The school argued that Pitino was responsible for the charges brought by the FBI and that this responsibility in the matter created a breach of contract.
