In a new interview, St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino admitted to some stunning recruiting news. He has no intention of bringing in any high school players — not even five-star talents — in the offseason.
Over the last 25 years, New York City’s most beloved college basketball program, the St. John’s Red Storm, has only participated in the NCAA tournament five times. It is a disappointing statistic for a basketball program that was as popular as the New York Knicks during the 1980s.
That is why it should come as no surprise the university turned to embattled coaching legend Rick Pitino two seasons ago. With his stock as low as ever the school saw an opportunity to sign the coach in the hopes that the 72-year-old could bring the program back to prominence in the final years of his career. Mission accomplished.
- St. John’s record (2024-25): 30-4
The Johnnies are 50-17 under his guidance and just won their first Big East title in 25 years. A huge part of Pitino’s success has been through the transfer portal. Before this season they added Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall), Deivon Smith (Utah), Vince Iwuchukwu (USC), and Aaron Scott (North Texas). All of them have played key roles for the 30-4 team.
Well, with plans to mine the portal again this offseason, the coach claimed on the Pardon My Take podcast recently he won’t even look at high school recruits this spring.
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino rather add a transfer portal player than a 5-star high school recruit
“I like [the portal] because I spent 10 years in the pros. To me, it is a carbon copy of the Euroleague. In the Euroleague, if you sign a player for two years that’s a long time. So it’s really a one-year contract and you’re getting different players every year,” he said. “And that’s the way it is with us.
“Fortunately for us, we haven’t lost our freshman yet. Our freshmen have come back. So this year, we’re not even looking at a high school basketball player,” Pitino said. “We’re losing Aaron Scott, Kadary Richmond, and Deivon Smith. So we’re looking for three transfer guys. And I like it.
- Rick Pitino record (Career): 884-310
It was a stunning admission. When asked about that and if a five-star recruit wanted to join the program for next season, the coach had a surprising response. “I probably wouldn’t take him. Because I don’t think you can win, and win big with high school kids.”
No. 2 seed St. John’s will play Omaha in Round 1 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Also Read: Schools like Notre Dame, Duke, and St. John’s could soon have easier route to land elite transfers