St. John’s men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino has made it clear that the program will not recruit high school players. Pitino said this in an interview posted on Instagram by SportsCenter Next on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Rick Pitino to make NCAA history in March
“Well, we’re not recruiting any high school basketball players. Not this year. We’ve already recruited Ruben [Prey], Lefty [Lefteris Liotopoulos] — come on, we’re building from that. This year, we’re not even looking at high school basketball players cos we’re losing Devon [Smith], Kadari [Richmond], and Aaron [Scott]. We can’t replace them with high school kids,” the second-year St. John’s coach said.
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The Red Storm are currently ranked 10th in the AP Top 25 and lead the Big East Conference, going 22-4 overall and 13-2 in the conference, with a two-game lead in the conference standings.
Pitino’s high-flying starting lineups are mostly transfers. Senior guard Richmond, who tops the Red Storm in assists and steals, came from Seton Hall this season. Scott came from North Texas, while Smith transferred from Utah. St. John’s leading scorer, RJ Luis Jr., is in his second season after transferring from Massachusetts.
Pitino is the only coach in NCAA history to win national championships at two schools, Kentucky and Louisville. Pitino is also the first coach to take three schools to the Final Four, making the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
In March, the New York native will make another history when he takes St. John’s men’s basketball to the NCAA tournament, making it the sixth men’s program he has taken to the tournament.
“I’m so proud of this damn team,” Pitino said to FOX Sports on Feb. 5. “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.”
St. John’s men’s basketball program is ranked in the national polls for the fifth consecutive week. This is the program’s longest streak since the 2014-15 season, when it was ranked five consecutive times from Dec. 8, 2014, to Jan. 5, 2015.
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In addition, the Red Storm have been named in the AP poll seven times this season, making it the program’s highest total since their 2000 Big East Tournament Championship team.
With three top-25 wins in the last 12 days, St. John’s will focus on their next game against DePaul on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
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