Following a year that saw the St. John's basketball team make the Sweet 16, the school is reportedly trying to lock down their head coach. St. John's coach Rick Pitino is reportedly getting a contract extension with the program, per reporter Adam Zagoria.
“Rick Pitino’s new deal with St. John’s is ‘done’ whether or not he’s officially signed it yet,” Zagoria posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The news comes just as it has been reported that a billionaire donor is hoping to invest tons of money into the St. John's program. That donor is Mike Repole, who told Zagoria about the Pitino extension.
“My commitment is whatever is needed,” Repole said, per NJ.com. He is involved in finance, and also is part of the United Football League ownership group.
St. John's has made back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament under Pitino. The school just lost in the Sweet 16 to Duke.
Rick Pitino looks to keep it rolling at St. John's
Pitino has now taken four college basketball programs to a Sweet 16. They are: Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and St. John's. The Red Storm haven't seen success like this in close to three decades.
“We don’t want this to be a 1- or 2-year thing,” Repole said. “We want to build a dynasty here for the next 5-10 years.”
St. John's fans are surely excited to see their team have such success. The Red Storm have won the Big East tournament the last two seasons under Pitino. This season, St. John's came very close to upsetting Duke in the Sweet 16.
Duke fought back from a 10-point deficit to win that game.
“Our guys played with great heart. They made some defensive mistakes down the stretch, but that’s a credit to [Duke],” Pitino said after the loss, per the New York Post. “We had our moments in the game. We fought hard all season. We’re all very disappointed we don’t have a chance to win a national championship, but that’s a credit to Duke.”
Time will tell if the Red Storm can continue their recent success.
