As noted by Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media, legendary St. John’s Red Storm basketball head coach Rick Pitino raised some eyebrows when he recently shared that he told people when he accepted his current job in 2023 that he was “going to give it three great years at St. John’s, see if we can turn the thing around, build it, and then after three years, make a decision of, does the future have upward mobility.”
Understandably, those comments left some wondering if the 73-year-old was thinking about retiring or about walking away from St. John’s following the ongoing season. Per Zach Braziller of the New York Post (h/t Storm the Paint), it sounds like Johnnies fans don’t have to start thinking about who may replace Pitino quite yet.
Rick Pitino “not making plans” to do this amid hot St. John’s run
“I haven’t had any conversations,” Pitino said on Thursday about possibly working on a restructured or new contract with St. John’s. “My agent deals with that type of stuff. I’m not making plans to move anywhere or do anything. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it’s not a big deal.”
Last season, Pitino guided St. John’s to Big East regular-season and tournament championships before the Red Storm suffered a 75-66 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. While expectations were high for St. John’s this past fall, the program surprisingly dropped five of its first 14 games. Since that time, the Johnnies have embarked on a 10-game winning streak that was extended via a nervy 87-82 overtime victory over the Xavier Musketeers this past Monday.
Are Rick Pitino, St. John’s working on a new agreement?
In a different piece, Zagoria mentioned that billionaire St. John’s booster Mike Repole suggested earlier this week that the university should “rip up” Pitino’s current contract, which is reportedly a six-year deal, and get the coach “a new three-year agreement.” Such a deal may already be in the works, as Pitino said on Thursday that his agent spoke with the university on Wednesday about future negotiations.
For now, Pitino and the No. 17 Johnnies (19-5) will prepare to face the Providence Friars (11-14) at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff for that contest is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
