Unsurprisingly, the Hall of Fame head coach is regarded among the top in the nation this season for leading St. John’s to their best season in decades
Amid leading St. John’s men’s basketball to their best season in over two decades, it is no surprise that the Naismith Awards announced that Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino was named to the Naismith Men’s National Coach of the Year watch list on Friday afternoon.
Pitino was among 15 men’s basketball head coaches regarded to be among the top coaches in the nation this season, and he was the only Big East coach to earn a spot on the watch list.
Rick Pitino orchestrated another second-season turnaround as he’s famous for. Under the Hall of Fame head coach’s guidance, St. John’s has reached its highest win total since the 1999-00 season (23), tied for their most Big East wins since the 1985-86 season (14), and is back in the top ten of the Associated Press poll rankings for the first time since the end of the 1999-00 season.
St. John’s is also leading the Big East conference as of February 21 with a record of 14-2 in conference games, as they look to win the Big East regular season title outright for the first time since the 1985-86 season or at least a share of the Big East regular season title for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
Pitino and the No. 10 St. John’s men’s basketball team (23-4, 14-2 Big East) square off against the UConn Huskies (18-8, 10-5 Big East) on Sunday, February 23 at Madison Square Garden (noon, FOX).