Earlier today, the Big East announced St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino as their coach of the year. The league also named St. John’s junior guard RJ Luis Jr. as their player of the year, rounding out one of the most successful regular seasons in Red Storm history.
Red Storm Picks Up POTY and COTY Honors
One year after missing the big dance and refusing to play in the NIT, St. John’s turned their season around in the biggest way. They won the Big East regular season by a full three games and are projected as a three-seed in the NCAA tournament. All this after they were picked to finish 5th in the Big East preseason poll.
Luis was a huge part of that resurgence. He had dealt with injuries the season prior after transferring from UMass, but this season, he hit the ground running. Starting all but three games, the Miami native averaged 18.1 points per game and snagged 7.2 rebounds per game, both top five in the conference.
Luis attributed his strong bounce-back season to simply being able to play healthy.
“I think it’s mostly me being healthy,” Luis said in an article from The NY Daily News’ Peter Sblendorio. “Just the person that I am, I put a lot of work into my craft. Now I’m stepping up as one of the best defenders. … I’m gonna play-make. I’m gonna score. I’m really just playing both sides of the ball.”
The last time a St. John’s player won Player of the Year honors was in 1986 when Walter Berry won it. That season, St. John’s won both the regular season and the Big East Tournament.
Rick Pitino Adds to his Trophy Case
Pitino also picked up some hardware as he was named coach of the year in the conference. Despite multiple prior stints in the Big East with Providence and Louisville, this is Pitino’s first Big East Coach of the Year award. He’s St. John’s fourth-ever winner and the first since Mike Anderson won it in 2021.
The Oyster Bay-born head coach took St. John’s to a top-10 ranking in only his second year in Queens, a rapid turnaround that even St. John’s president Rev. Brian J. Shanley couldn’t have predicted.
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He also coached three all-Big East players; Luis and junior forward Zuby Ejiofor made the first team, while graduate student guard Kadary Richmond made the second team.
Pitino, Luis, and the Red Storm will continue their quest for championships with the Big East Tournament. They will play the winner of the Butler vs. Providence game tomorrow at noon on Peacock.
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