Rick Pitino is coming off an incredible run with the St. John’s Red Storm.
His Johnnies went 31-5 and won the Big East regular season as well as the Big East conference tournament.
The Red Storm entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed with massive expectations. They crushed Omaha in Round 1 but were upset by John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks in Round 2.
Ultimately, that upset loss left a bad taste in the mouth for St. John’s, but this is undoubtedly a program on the rise with Pitino as its captain and leader.
And yes, that’s even despite the fact that he’s 72 years old and has been coaching since 1975.
Could he retire? Sure, he’s had a legendary career. Despite his age, Pitino is still in love with coaching, though.
“I’m enjoying it now more than ever in my lifetime,” Pitino told SNY on Wednesday. “Because it’s New York, it’s where I started, I’m back home. And I understand I’m going to be 73 years of age even though I act like I’m 35. But I realize I have three, five more years. Bang on some wood. So why not enjoy it? Why not have a blast? And why not try to be the best you possibly can be? So I have more passion, more hunger, more drive than ever before.”
If Pitino sticks around for five more years he’ll undoubtedly have St. John’s in the thick of things regarding a national championship for that whole time.
Of course, he could be coached by a different school, but as he mentioned, the fact that he’s doing it in New York seems to mean something to him.
For comparison’s sake, Mike Krzyzewski retired at 74. Meanwhile, Tom Izzo just turned 70 and he’s still ripping and roaring at Michigan State.
