St. John's University Athletics
Rick Pitino Named Naismith National Coach of the Year Finalist
3/24/2025 12:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Naismith National Coach of the Year will be announced on April 4 in San Antonio
QUEENS, N.Y.– St. John's men's basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino was named one of four finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award, as announced on Monday.
The winner will be named at the annual Naismith Awards Dinner on Friday, April 4, in San Antonio ahead of the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four. Pitino was tabbed one of four finalists alongside Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Auburn's Bruce Pearl and Duke's Jon Scheyer.
On Friday, the Hall of Famer added to his lengthy list of career accolades being named the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association (USBWA) National Coach of the Year. Pitino was also tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the first time in his career becoming the second-ever coach to be named coach of the year in four different conferences, joining Dana Altman.
In his second season in Queens, Pitino led St. John's to a historic 2024-25 campaign, the best the program has seen in decades. The Red Storm matched a program record for wins finishing with a 31-5 record and set a new all-time mark going 18-2 in BIG EAST competition. The Johnnies won both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament titles for just the third time in program history and first since 1986.
St. John's earned the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament for the 30th time in program history and won its first game in the Big Dance in 25 years. In the BIG EAST Tournament, the Johnnies won three games in three days by an average margin of victory of plus-17.7, the highest by a tournament champion since Villanova in 2017 (19.0).
During the 2024-25 campaign, the Red Storm strung together two separate 10-game win streaks and went 21-0 in New York City. The undefeated home record is the longest streak in NCAA Division I and marked the program's first since it went 16-0 during the 1931-32 season under Head Coach James "Buck" Freeman.
In the national rankings, the Johnnies have been ranked for nine consecutive weeks dating back to Jan. 20. The Red Storm reached the top-five in both the Associated Press poll and USA Today Coaches' poll. The latest No. 5 AP poll ranking on March 17 marked the program's highest since Jan. 29, 1991.
Pitino mentored RJ Luis Jr. to a breakout season as the junior was named to all four major All-American teams and tabbed the BIG EAST Player of the Year and Dave Gavitt Trophy as the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player. In addition to Luis, Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor were both selected as All-BIG EAST honorees, the program's first time having three players honored since 2000.
One of the most decorated collegiate coaches in the sport, Pitino recently surpassed revered coaches Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith on the all-time wins list sliding into seventh place with 885 career victories. The lead man became the first coach to ever lead three different schools to the Final Four, where he has made seven appearances and two National Championships at Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013). The Hall of Fame became the first-ever coach to lead six different schools to the NCAA Tournament. Pitino holds a 55-22 (.714) record in the NCAA Tournament and has recorded at least one victory in the Big Dance in 19 of 24 appearances.
The winner will be named at the annual Naismith Awards Dinner on Friday, April 4, in San Antonio ahead of the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four. Pitino was tabbed one of four finalists alongside Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Auburn's Bruce Pearl and Duke's Jon Scheyer.
On Friday, the Hall of Famer added to his lengthy list of career accolades being named the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association (USBWA) National Coach of the Year. Pitino was also tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the first time in his career becoming the second-ever coach to be named coach of the year in four different conferences, joining Dana Altman.
In his second season in Queens, Pitino led St. John's to a historic 2024-25 campaign, the best the program has seen in decades. The Red Storm matched a program record for wins finishing with a 31-5 record and set a new all-time mark going 18-2 in BIG EAST competition. The Johnnies won both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament titles for just the third time in program history and first since 1986.
St. John's earned the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament for the 30th time in program history and won its first game in the Big Dance in 25 years. In the BIG EAST Tournament, the Johnnies won three games in three days by an average margin of victory of plus-17.7, the highest by a tournament champion since Villanova in 2017 (19.0).
During the 2024-25 campaign, the Red Storm strung together two separate 10-game win streaks and went 21-0 in New York City. The undefeated home record is the longest streak in NCAA Division I and marked the program's first since it went 16-0 during the 1931-32 season under Head Coach James "Buck" Freeman.
In the national rankings, the Johnnies have been ranked for nine consecutive weeks dating back to Jan. 20. The Red Storm reached the top-five in both the Associated Press poll and USA Today Coaches' poll. The latest No. 5 AP poll ranking on March 17 marked the program's highest since Jan. 29, 1991.
Pitino mentored RJ Luis Jr. to a breakout season as the junior was named to all four major All-American teams and tabbed the BIG EAST Player of the Year and Dave Gavitt Trophy as the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player. In addition to Luis, Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor were both selected as All-BIG EAST honorees, the program's first time having three players honored since 2000.
One of the most decorated collegiate coaches in the sport, Pitino recently surpassed revered coaches Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith on the all-time wins list sliding into seventh place with 885 career victories. The lead man became the first coach to ever lead three different schools to the Final Four, where he has made seven appearances and two National Championships at Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013). The Hall of Fame became the first-ever coach to lead six different schools to the NCAA Tournament. Pitino holds a 55-22 (.714) record in the NCAA Tournament and has recorded at least one victory in the Big Dance in 19 of 24 appearances.
Players Mentioned
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