St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino Named “The Looie” Men’s Division I Coach of the Year by Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association
4/23/2025 9:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2024-25 National Coach of the Year adds another award to trophy case after leading the Red Storm to the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament titles
QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John's men's basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino was named "The Looie" Men's Division I Coach of the Year by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association (MBWA) on Wednesday.
The award is presented annually to the top coach in the metropolitan area and was renamed this past year in honor of legendary St. John's Coach Lou Carnesecca, who passed away at the age of 99 on Nov. 30, 2024.
The award will be presented at the 92nd Annual MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner on Thursday at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel in Tarrytown, N.Y. Five of Pitino's players earned All-Met honors with Kadary Richmond, Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis Jr. being named First Team selections, marking the first time a single school has landed a trio on the top team since former Johnnies' Erick Barkley, Lavor Postell and Bootsy Thornton received the recognition 25 years ago. Deivon Smith and Aaron Scott were tabbed All-Met Honorable Mention.
Pitino earned three major National Coach of the Year awards as he was named Naismith National Coach of the Year, Associated Press National Coach of the Year and U.S. Basketball Writers' Association Henry Iba National Coach of the Year. He becomes the fourth St. John's Head Coach to earn the MBWA Coach of the Year award joining the award's namesake and three-time winner Lou Carnesecca (1983, '85, '86), Brian Mahoney (1993), and Mike Jarvis (1999).
The 2013 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee guided the Johnnies to their best season in decades. St. John's captured both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships in convincing fashion. The Red Storm closed out a memorable 2024-25 campaign with a 31-5 record, matching a program record for single-season victories and an all-time best 18-2 mark in BIG EAST play.
The New York native brought the Red Storm as high as No. 5 in the national polls and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where the Johnnies recorded their first victory in 25 years. He became the first-ever NCAA Division I Coach to lead six different programs to the Big Dance.
The Johnnies entered the BIG EAST Tournament as the top-seed for the first time since 1986. St. John's dominated at Madison Square Garden winning all three games by 16 points or more, defeating Butler, Marquette and Creighton as Pitino brought the BIG EAST Tournament trophy back to Queens for the first time since 2000.
The Red Storm finished the season with a 21-0 overall record in New York City and went undefeated at home for the first time since the 1931-32 campaign. In home games, the Red Storm won by average margin of 14.6 points per contest.
Pitino developed three players into All-BIG EAST selections in Luis, Richmond and Ejiofor. Luis was named to all four major All-America teams and became St. John's first BIG EAST Player of the Year since Walter Berry in 1986 and the program's first consensus All-American since Ron Artest in 1999.
The award ceremony on Thursday will be livestreamed beginning at 7 p.m., to tune in click here.
The award is presented annually to the top coach in the metropolitan area and was renamed this past year in honor of legendary St. John's Coach Lou Carnesecca, who passed away at the age of 99 on Nov. 30, 2024.
The award will be presented at the 92nd Annual MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner on Thursday at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel in Tarrytown, N.Y. Five of Pitino's players earned All-Met honors with Kadary Richmond, Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis Jr. being named First Team selections, marking the first time a single school has landed a trio on the top team since former Johnnies' Erick Barkley, Lavor Postell and Bootsy Thornton received the recognition 25 years ago. Deivon Smith and Aaron Scott were tabbed All-Met Honorable Mention.
Pitino earned three major National Coach of the Year awards as he was named Naismith National Coach of the Year, Associated Press National Coach of the Year and U.S. Basketball Writers' Association Henry Iba National Coach of the Year. He becomes the fourth St. John's Head Coach to earn the MBWA Coach of the Year award joining the award's namesake and three-time winner Lou Carnesecca (1983, '85, '86), Brian Mahoney (1993), and Mike Jarvis (1999).
The 2013 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee guided the Johnnies to their best season in decades. St. John's captured both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships in convincing fashion. The Red Storm closed out a memorable 2024-25 campaign with a 31-5 record, matching a program record for single-season victories and an all-time best 18-2 mark in BIG EAST play.
The New York native brought the Red Storm as high as No. 5 in the national polls and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where the Johnnies recorded their first victory in 25 years. He became the first-ever NCAA Division I Coach to lead six different programs to the Big Dance.
The Johnnies entered the BIG EAST Tournament as the top-seed for the first time since 1986. St. John's dominated at Madison Square Garden winning all three games by 16 points or more, defeating Butler, Marquette and Creighton as Pitino brought the BIG EAST Tournament trophy back to Queens for the first time since 2000.
The Red Storm finished the season with a 21-0 overall record in New York City and went undefeated at home for the first time since the 1931-32 campaign. In home games, the Red Storm won by average margin of 14.6 points per contest.
Pitino developed three players into All-BIG EAST selections in Luis, Richmond and Ejiofor. Luis was named to all four major All-America teams and became St. John's first BIG EAST Player of the Year since Walter Berry in 1986 and the program's first consensus All-American since Ron Artest in 1999.
The award ceremony on Thursday will be livestreamed beginning at 7 p.m., to tune in click here.
Players Mentioned
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