NEW YORK – Jim Calhoun sat in the front row in the MSG Theatre on Wednesday afternoon as his old foe, Rick Pitino, accepted his first Big East Coach of the Year Award.
Pitino, 72, has only added to a career resume that rivals college basketball’s very best since he took the job at St. John’s. In just his second year, using the transfer portal as well as anyone to accelerate the rebuild, Pitino’s Johnnies stormed through the Big East, matching UConn’s record for wins in the conference (18) which was set during the Huskies’ historically dominant 2023-24 season.
“Apparently he’s still good enough at it, isn’t he?” Calhoun told The Courant after the ceremony. “I don’t think anybody could ever question how good of a coach he was.”
Calhoun and Pitino became rivals when they shared the mantle of college basketball in Boston; Calhoun at Northeastern (1972-86) and Pitino at Boston University (1978-83).
Bettina Hansen/Hartford Courant
UConn Head Coach Jim Calhoun talks to Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino before the game.
“Even when we were adversarial, in the sense of, they used to have to bring police in and close the gym because BU and Northeastern – beyond the Bean Pot in hockey – it was the biggest thing in Boston when Rick and I were against each other,” Calhoun said. “I fought him, he fought me, but I have great respect for him. He’s always been a very special coach. He can take yours and beat you with yours, and then beat you with his.”
Fences have been mended since Pitino returned to the Big East. He mentioned Calhoun during his acceptance speech Wednesday among a list of Big East coaches he referred to as “some of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball.”
“We had some great battles, but it shows that if a man can keep doing what he’s doing – I’m a little bit older than him, 11 years, and it was time for me (to retire). It’s certainly not time for him,” Calhoun said. “He’s at the top of his game, he’s a great basketball coach. The fact that we weren’t best friends, one has nothing to do with the other. Like many times in a boxing match, you fight like crazy and then hug each other afterwards. I’m not gonna do this, but I could walk over and hug him because he’s stood the test of time being a great coach.”
The best player on the league’s best team
St. John’s wing RJ Luis Jr. was named Big East Player of the Year Wednesday after earning a majority of votes from the league’s coaches, Dan Hurley included.
“It was tough because (Ryan) Kalkbrenner was such an awesome player, but it was a pretty clear Coach of the Year, Player of the Year this year,” Hurley said. “I thought last year, like when a team dominates the regular season the way they did, the coach should get it and the best player should get it. T-New (Tristen Newton) last year, that’s kind of where we thought it would head with him.”
A 6-foot-7 junior, Luis averaged 18.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Originally Published: March 12, 2025 at 4:49 PM EDT
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