Empire State of Mind: Rick Pitino has St. John’s dreaming big amid historical stretch

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

NEW YORK — Though the students had been standing for the better part of three hours, the whole of Madison Square Garden joined them with 2:04 remaining in a game that was nearly finished amid a season brimming with possibility. Two free throws from hulking center Zuby Ejiofor gave way to a two-handed slam from lanky forward Aaron Scott, the result of which was a three-possession lead for St. John’s. And when point guard Kadary Richmond swooped through the air to block an attempted 3-pointer at the other end of the court, crossing his arms and clenching his fists in celebration, a roar from the crowd of 16,521 rattled this historic building with a vigor not conjured by Red Storm faithful in nearly 40 years.

Nights like this were exactly what the university envisioned by plucking Hall-of-Fame coach Rick Pitino from nearby Iona two seasons ago, entrusting a once-proud program to one of the shrewdest minds college basketball has ever seen. Pitino’s first campaign produced 20 victories and a near-miss on Selection Sunday, when the Red Storm were controversially left out of the NCAA Tournament after three years without a prayer of qualifying under former coach Mike Anderson. But 11 months later, when 12th-ranked St. John’s welcomed No. 11 Marquette to The World’s Most Famous Arena on Tuesday evening, the ramifications for a midweek regular-season game couldn’t have been greater. Not only was first place in the Big East at stake after UConn defeated the Golden Eagles over the weekend, but it was also the first time St. John’s would be involved in a top-15 matchup since Jan. 30, 1999, before everyone on the current roster was born.

That kind of historical context appealed to Pitino’s whimsical side on a night when defense, rebounding and brute force propelled his team to a 70-64 win, the ninth consecutive victory for St. John’s and the 15th in its last 16 games overall. Three players chipped in double-doubles as the Red Storm (20-3 overall, 11-1 Big East) finished an astounding plus-22 on the glass, demoralizing the Golden Eagles with 21 offensive rebounds that resulted in 16 second-chance points. Neither foul trouble nor heinous outside shooting could derail them in the first leg of what might be remembered as the most pivotal week of St. John’s season with a trip to No. 19 Connecticut looming on Friday night. 

“This is a very unique team,” Pitino said. “They defy statistical data. They just defy all statistical data almost every single game. Their effort level, though, is so incredibly high. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like this effort level-wise. A long time. I’m real proud of that.”

What Pitino described as the defiance of statistical data might also be viewed as raw coaching prowess, a mountain of which he’s leaned on while authoring 29 seasons with at least 20 victories after adding another by knocking off Marquette. How else to explain the incredible roster-building efforts that assembled the No. 4-ranked transfer portal class in the country and replaced all five starters from the 2023 campaign? Or the 15-0 record at home this season despite ranking 335th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (29.6%) and 292nd in free-throw percentage (68.7%), a ranking that will surely drop after St. John’s missed 14 of 31 attempts against the Golden Eagles? Or the fairly thin bench that has only played 27% of available minutes this season and included just one player — Utah transfer Deivon Smith — who logged more than five minutes on Tuesday night?

Pitino’s ability to shroud all that, to reel off so many wins that St. John’s cracked the top 10 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll for the first time this century is why this week’s two-game stretch against Marquette and UConn feels like the program’s most noteworthy moment in decades, with St. John’s now matching its best start since program legends Mark Jackson and Walter Berry orchestrated a 20-3 start for head coach Lou Carnesecca during the 1985-86 campaign. The last time St. John’s climbed this high in the rankings was 25 years ago when polarizing forward Ron Artest — now known as Metta Sandiford-Artest — led the Red Storm to a Big East Tournament title. 

That team, which was led by former head coach Mike Jarvis, who is now retired, enjoyed one of the most memorable stretches in program history with four victories over ranked opponents across 10 days in February 2000. St. John’s toppled No. 9 Syracuse, No. 18 Connecticut, No. 2 Duke and No. 23 Seton Hall by 23 combined points to foreshadow a postseason run that would include both the school’s third conference tournament championship and its most recent NCAA Tournament victory, a 61-56 escape against 15th-seeded Northern Arizona in the Round of 64. An 18-foot jumper by Bootsy Thornton with 13 seconds remaining against Duke remains an indelible highlight in the St. John’s canon, as the Red Storm became just the third non-conference opponent to win at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1983 — a span of 129 games. 

“When they were on the court,” Jarvis told FOX Sports earlier this week, “they were all about one thing — and that was winning. They fought like cats and dogs off the court. We had more drama than you can imagine. But on the court, at times, it was like beautiful music, poetry in motion. It was special. It was really a special group of guys that just seemed to be in-sync with one another and complement each other so well.”

For Jarvis, who had previously guided the Red Storm to an Elite Eight in 1999, the reanimation of St. John’s by Pitino comes with a groundswell of emotion given the longevity of their relationship. They first crossed paths during the late 1970s, in Boston, when both men were first-time head coaches: the former was working at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS); the latter was transforming long-dormant Boston University into an NCAA Tournament team. 

Jarvis was so enamored with Pitino’s teaching methods and drills that he used to bring his high school team to watch the Terriers practice, scribbling down notes in an effort to “copy as much as I could,” from someone who is now the only coach in NCAA history to lead two different programs to national championships (Kentucky, Louisville) and three different programs to the Final Four (Providence, Kentucky, Louisville). He says Pitino later offered him an assistant coaching job at BU during the recruitment of transformative center Patrick Ewing, who played for Jarvis at CRLS and won three consecutive state championships from 1979-81. And while the two never wound up working together — Ewing ultimately committed to Georgetown; Pitino soon joined the New York Knicks as an assistant — their years in close proximity gave Jarvis the chance to “witness what he could do with a team up close and personal.”

“I think that Rick Pitino is perfectly situated,” Jarvis told FOX Sports, “and he’s at St. John’s at just the right time. I mean, when I came to St. John’s [in 1998], I inherited some great players that [former coach] Fran Fraschilla had recruited. And you know, it was just a matter of me getting those guys to take it to the next level, which we were able to do. But with the NIL and the portal and Rick’s business experience, I think that he’s the perfect fit for St. John’s at this time.”

And the city agrees. Pitino was greeted with a standing ovation when he took the floor at 6:21 p.m., his entrance serenaded by Jay-Z’s hit song “Empire State of Mind.” The juxtaposition between Pitino’s finely tailored suit and the trademark polo over a long-sleeved shirt donned by Marquette head coach Shaka Smart was equal parts comical and a reflection of just how perfectly the former fits this city. Pitino is the reason why celebrities like actor Steve Schirripa from “The Sopranos,” New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone and former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz decided to spend their Tuesday evenings courtside for college basketball. He makes everyone believe. 

No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. No. 12 St. John’s Red Storm Highlights

It is why the student section at one end of Madison Square Garden unleashed such a gutsy chant in the waning seconds of such a satisfying victory. “We want UConn!” they shouted in unison, repeating the phrase a half-dozen times. And they’ll get their wish on Friday night when Pitino leads his gritty team into Gampel Pavilion against the two-time defending national champions, the reigning kings of the Big East. 

“I’m so proud of this damn team,” Pitino said. “I’ve been proud of a lot of teams, but I’m so proud of this team. They just are so refreshing with the way they play, how hard they play. They deserve all the credit in the world.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

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