After Rick Pitino decided to return to college basketball, St. John’s approached him. He accepted the head coach job in 2023, and in these three years, he has changed the path of St. John’s basketball. Pitino has brought a different energy into the program. However, he has yet to take St. John’s to a national championship final game or even a Final Four. And one man certainly has a lot of problems with that.
American entrepreneur, worth around $2.5 billion, Mike Repole, recently made an appearance on Pat McAfee’s talk show. He first talked about his recent successes in the business world. He has made major strides recently with Tom Brady’s company, Body Armor, Vitamin Water, Repole Stables, and finally NIL deals for St. John’s.
Answering all that, he shared how, being from Queens, he had been to St. John’s a lot. Now that he is dealing with their NIL as well, he said:
“We got an announcement on a player. We are 50-50 on a player. If we get this player, and if Rick Pitino doesn’t get to the Final Four, I’d be coaching St. John’s next year. It’s been 4 years but he is 74, if he doesn’t get to the Final Four, I gotta say it’s because of his age.”
Rick Pitino has been a top head coach for over 52 years now. He has coached some great teams and some brilliant players over the course of his decorated career. From college basketball to the NBA and back to college basketball, he has experienced all the highs and lows of a head coach career.
Rick Pitino’s impact on St. John’s
In the last three seasons, St. John’s has become a strong program. Rick Pitino has led the team to some great wins. St. John’s won the Big East regular season championship and Big East tournament championship back-to-back in 2025 and 2026.
Rick Pitino was also the recipient of the AP Coach of the Year, Big East Coach of the Year, and Henry Iba Award in 2025. The last two years, St. John’s has had a collective overall record of 61-12, and there is optimism around next year’s success.
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