The changing landscape of college basketball has at least in part contributed to the exodus of several Hall of Fame coaches. Jay Wright, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams and last week Tony Bennett have all said goodbye.
The advent of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal have been seen as the impetus for them to hang it up, Bennett saying the sport is “not in a healthy spot” and needs “change.”
“I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way,” the 55-year-old Bennett said.
Rick Pitino is not going to add to that disconcerting trend, and he pointed to one major factor, despite recently turning 72, for that.
“If you have something that’s very stimulating to go into retirement it’s not a bad thing, but for somebody who’s coached as long as I have, I can’t live without teaching young players to play the game,” the St. John’s coach said on Big East media day on Wednesday at the Garden. “My perspective on it all, I took a year off and I didn’t enjoy it.”
Pitino got a glimpse of life without coaching. Of life without basketball.
He spent a year living mostly in Miami after he was fired by Louisville in October of 2017.
It was a good life. But not the one he wanted to live.
“I missed it too much,” the two-time national champion said. “I got a chance to recognize what it would be like without it, and I didn’t like it too much.”
Pitino joked that instead of home visits in recruiting, they now go right to the negotiating table.
The new terrain seems to suit him and St. John’s.
It enabled him, upon taking over the Queens school, to put together a strong roster in his first season, one that won 20 games and finished fifth in the Big East, although the Johnnies were an NCAA Tournament snub.
This offseason, the expectation is that St. John’s won’t have to worry about the selection committee.
Pitino landed two of the top guards in the transfer portal in Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall) and Deivon Smith (Utah) while being able to keep the core of juniors Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis and sophomores Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap together.
“I’m a big proponent of NIL. We’ve been paid millions of dollars through the years and players got nothing, and I think that’s totally unfair,” Pitino said. “We’ve been able to move, they’ve been unable to move. … Back when I first started coaching, there were a lot of programs running an NIL when NIL was not legal. I like the fact that it’s all legal now. They are professional athletes that are being treated like professional athletes who are getting an education. That’s the ball game.”
Pitino remains fit, which has enabled him to keep going at his current age. He routinely runs on the treadmill when he wakes up before 6 a.m. Richmond always sees him on the elliptical machine before and after practice.
“He gets after it,” Richmond said with a smile.
Pitino still personally runs his renowned skills development sessions in addition to practices, workouts Richmond raved about for their attention to detail and the consistent intensity in which they are run.
Pitino’s passion and love for coaching shows in how hard he pushes his players and the extra time he puts in, Ejiofor said.
It extends off the court, too. He meets with donors multiple times per week raising money for NIL. The legendary coach doesn’t feel 72.
“In one sense, it’s more time consuming today because of the NIL. But I would say, if I can go through this and stay healthy, I will coach until I drop dead,” Pitino said. “How many years can I go and stay healthy? That’s the name of the game.”
“I think I’m better today than I’ve ever been in my life as a coach because I don’t get so bent out of shape about little things,” he went on. “That’s the necessary evil to get by today in coaching. The NIL doesn’t get me bent out of shape, it’s getting coaches bent out of shape where they’re retiring. That doesn’t bother me at all. That’s the way it is, I’ll go out and raise money.”
Asked how long he can see himself coaching at St. John’s, Pitino said in a perfect world he would like to get an extension at some point. He has five years left on his contract (counting this one).
He is excited about his new team, and the additions St. John’s has made, from a new weight room to conference and film rooms to a refueling room for the team. A new, state-of-the-art practice facility is in the works.
Of course, as he mentioned, health will be the determining factor for how long he remains on the sideline.
But the current state of the game that has driven out top coaches will without a doubt not impact that decision. He isn’t planning on going anywhere.