Iona head basketball coach Rick Pitino spoke on speculation on him going to St. John's, Stadium basketball analyst Jeff Goodman wrote in a Thursday tweet.
“It's not a distraction for my players,” Pitino said. “It's not a distraction for me.”
Pitino was asked about the rumors on Sunday.
“I don't know,” Rick Pitino said, via Justin Walters of PIX11 News. “At one time there was talk about an extension, new contract and so on, it didn't work out.
“But that doesn't mean… there's no hard feelings. If anything it's the opposite, there are great feelings. So, I don't know. At the end of the year, I'll look at certain situations.”
A long-time head coach for six different NCAA programs, Rick Pitino earned three Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards since he started his coaching career in 1975. In 1,126 games, Pitino took home 834 wins and 292 losses. He spent four years as the head coach of the Boston Celtics from 1997-2001 and moved up the ranks of the New York Knicks between two stints in the 1980s.
Rumors of Rick Pitino heading to St. John's started swirling after the basketball program fired head coach Mike Anderson on Friday.
“There is significant interest on both sides with the St. John's job and Iona coach Rick Pitino, source told @Stadium,” wrote Goodman.
Anderson earned an overall record of 68-56 in four seasons with St. John's, peaking at a 16-11 record in the 2020-21 season with a team that featured now-San Antonio Spurs guard Julian Champagnie. Champagnie ended his collegiate career with St. John's following the 2021-22 season when he scored 19.2 points and grabbed 6.6 rebounds per game.
Iona will take on the Connecticut Huskies in the first round of March Madness at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Friday in MVP Arena. The game will be broadcasted on TBS.
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