Rick Pitino reacts to earthquake hitting Northeast while on Zoom call with recruit
An earthquake hit the greater New York City area on Friday morning, and Rick Pitino believes it could be a sign from a higher power.
Evidently, Pitino was on a zoom call with a recruit when the ground began to shake, and now it’s of the utmost important that he lands with the St. John’s Red Storm, as the story doesn’t get any better than that. It’s simply a sign that whoever the recruit is has to take his talents to St. John’s.
“Omg – was just on a zoom call with a recruit and an earthquake hit. First ever for me,” Pitino posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We have to get this young man now”
It remains to be seen who the recruit was, but Rick Pitino now has another reason to bring him to St. John’s. We’ll see if he’s able to close the deal, with an assists from a shocking earthquake on Friday morning.
Rick Pitino addresses coaching future, college basketball landscape: ‘I wish it wasn’t this way’
Moreover, Rick Pitino recently wrapped up his 36th season as a collegiate head coach in his first with St. John’s. He could have several more to go, though, depending on how where his joy is, especially considering where college sports are and are heading.
Pitino addressed the future and final years of his career during an interview on ‘Pardon My Take’ earlier last month. He said that, in regards to him personally, there’s nothing about his body or spirit that would keep him from going on for the next few seasons.
“Well, as I said earlier – I always said this. I’m going to coach until I’m not having fun,” said Pitino. “I’m in good shape, mentally and physically. I love the game.”
With that said, Pitino said the trajectory of the sport on their level is what will be his challenge. Name, image, and likeness along with the transfer portal are aspects that have tested the patience of a few coaches over the last few years. However, since it’s the way of things now, Pitino is doing what he can to learn to adjust to it, even if he disagrees with it completely.
“I did make a statement that I wasn’t having fun. But it has nothing to do with what’s being played on the court between the lines. It has been a tough year, really tough year being part of this, what’s happening in college basketball. So I’ve got to get my mind right with this,” said Pitino. “I’m very lucky that I have some boosters that are willing to step up.”
“I wish it wasn’t this way anymore but it is this way and I’ve got to live with it,” Pitino said. “This free agency every single year now? Just a year ago, I was told that, if you get a transfer, he can’t transfer again. So I said, ‘Okay, let’s go after transfers’. So we have them and we can build them, nurture them, and make them good basketball players. Now, all of a sudden, that’s out. Midway through this year, that’s out. There’s going to come a time where someone is going to transfer in December and he’s going to be able to play right away because he’s going to take it to court. So, I don’t like it but I have to live with it.”
It seems like neither Pitino nor these facets are going anywhere anytime soon. That means both, much like other coaches, are going to have to learn to accept it in some sense.
On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.