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Posted June 8, 2024 at 6:00 pm Eastern Time
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Rick Pitino credits his team with progress in his first season in St. John’s, but says there is still a lot of work to do to build a consistent Big East winner in Queens.
Sitting in his VIP box in the clubhouse at Saratoga Race Course, where he spends the weekend supporting the horses of his friend and St. John’s alumnus and reinforcement Mike Repole, Pitino laid out the challenges ahead.
“We had a really good year,” Pitino said of the Red Storm’s 20-13 overall records and 11-9 in the Big East.
Although those numbers did not result in a bid to the NCAA Tournament, they were an improvement over the 18-15 and 7-13 marks of the final year of the Mike Anderson era.
Rick Pitino talked about his St. John’s team. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“The hard part is building a culture,” Pitino said. “I don’t know if it’s impossible, but I think it’s not easy because of the ball loss. Good or bad, it’s a new game and you can’t really build a culture. Your culture is something annual.”
The Red Storm will have a new backcourt next season with former Seton Hall star Kadary Richmond and Utah transfer Deivon Smith along with former North Texas wing Aaron Scott.
But Pitino says a lot of behind-the-scenes tinkering is needed to get this house in order.
“Most of St. John’s work has to be done off the court, not on it,” the 71-year-old Hall of Fame coach said. “On the court it is like any other job. Off the field we have to deal with important things that need to improve.
Rick Pitino expects St. John’s to make the NCAA tournament this year. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“It’s almost a time warp to where St. John’s lived. Right now, we have to create a first-class program in every phase: weight room, meeting rooms. From a training standpoint, everything is very behind and we are doing something about it right now.”
Pitino is clear that the financial support the team receives from Repole, the billionaire businessman and now renowned horse owner, is essential.
“Without Mike, we can’t do what we’re doing now,” he said. “It would be impossible. We don’t have that kind of support. Without Mike, we would be low on the totem pole, or in the bottom three.”
Repole spent much of his week visiting his horses and trainer Todd Pletcher in the barn area at Saratoga. On Saturday, his horse Crupi ran from last to first to win the Grade 2 Suburban.
Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino during the first half of a Big East tournament game. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
And later that day, he would be sweating it out in the 156th Belmont Stakes, which featured two of his horses, Mindframe and Protective.
But his thoughts are never far from his beloved Johnnies, even here.
“What Rick and his staff have done is amazing. When Rick last year started getting his staff together and getting acclimated to St. John’s, more than a year ago, it’s a different story,” he told The Post. “They played incredible at the end of last year, he improved the team and we were able to have the best defense in the country.
“At the end of last year we got a little taste of what the Garden could be, and I think next year you will feel it on another level.”
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