Being from New York and sitting in front of the members of the media one can only imagine the emotions that were going through the mind of one Rick Pitino, who sat at Madison Square Garden as now the Head Coach of the St. John’s Men’s Basketball program.
It must have only been yesterday that he was there as a member of the New York Knicks Coaching staff and later on with the Providence Men’s Basketball team.
Through trials and tribulations, Pitino has now returned home to New York where he will get the chance to revive a College Basketball program, who many feel has not been able to live up to their potential.
Here is a video package that highlights the Introduction of Pitino as the Head Coach of the St. John’s Men’s Basketball team:
Brining a combination of great storytelling, wit, humor and emotion, Pitino brought all who were at the Press Conference on Tuesday afternoon on a ride down memory lane. Showing us all a piece of his life and why he will be the right fit for the St. John’s Men’s Basketball team.
Fans are encouraged to check out the following video as Pitino is officially introduced as the Head Coach of the Men’s Basketball Program:
It will be interesting to see what may happen to the young men on the team, as the Head Coach is calling his shots already stating the following:
“The one thing that I want to be honest with is that a lot of players probably won’t be back on this team, because they are probably not a good fit for me. With me, I think my players love playing for me. Even from Mark Jackson, Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley. I spoke with Oak last night, they loved playing for me with the Knicks. It takes a certain type of a basketball player to play for me. He’s got to be a total, over-the-top in love with the game of basketball. If you’re not, it’s a bad fit with me. … There will be a lot of players that will move on to, I hope, greener pastures. Joel [Soriano] is the type of person that I want to build around and that is why I asked him to come today. I have to meet some of the other young men, but there will be other guys that don’t fit. It will be a round peg in a square hole and it won’t work.”
To see more of what Pitino had to say fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
Pitino who has had a track record of success everywhere he has gone, turning players who may not have had a chance elsewhere into All-Americans, will have an opportunity to show what he can do with the players that he hopes to bring into the Red Storm program.
1495 Sports is proud to bring the following photo gallery from the Press Conference. Photos by: Stacy Podelski/1495Sports:
One such player that Pitino had seemed very excited about is that of one Joel Soriano, who will be the captain of the Red Storm entering into next College Basketball Season. Sorino, who received the United States Basketball Writer’s Association’s All-District Team; is one of the players that Coach Pitino hopes to build around.
The Coach who is always evolving and learning new things will bring some new tools with him to the St. John’s University program, as now he was able to see Coaching styles from Europe to go along with the things that he was able to learn in his time in the College and professional ranks.
Along with the fact that Pitino, who hails from the New York area, understands how demanding the metropolitan area sports fans are about their team. In addition, he is very aware of the fact that New York has a special mentality in all that they do.
It is all of these things that the folks at St. John’s hopes will form a perfect chemistry, so that Coach Pitino and the St. John’s Men’s Basketball program will be the final team at the end of the BIG EAST Tournament hoisting that championship and eventually hopefully the NCAA Championships as well.
To start things off the Coach is going to hit the ground running and find the players that he hopes will build that winning culture. It is a great start and a great buzz and energy to the St. John’s Men’s Basketball program and one that will be an interesting one to follow as time progresses.
For more information on the St. John’s Men’s Basketball team fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
You must log in to post a comment.