St. John's basketball introduced Rick Pitino as its new head coach, and he was blunt about what his approach will be when it comes to managing the roster.
“A lot of players probably won't be back on this team, because they're probably not a good fit for me,” Rick Pitino said, via Jaden Daly of Daily Dose of Hoops.
He also talked about the amount of players he wants to bring in next season. Pitino will likely bring “6 or 8” new players into the team from the transfer portal, according to Thomas Cavanagh of WSJU radio. It will be a quick revamping of the roster for Pitino.
He spoke on previous coach Mike Anderson as well.
“Mike Anderson is a terrific coach and person, but maybe not the perfect fit,” Pitino said, via John Fanta. “New Yorkers are a special breed. You have to understand New York and the culture of it. We've got to get players who are committed to winning.”
St. John's went 18-15 in the 2022-2023 season, 7-13 in Big East play. The goal is obviously to do better than that and finish higher up in the Big East standings.
There is one player from last year's team who will be sticking around. Forward Joel Soriano is staying, and he was named captain of the team for next season.
Joel Soriano averaged 15.2 points and 11.9 rebounds last season according to sports reference, so him staying is a significant first step for Pitino and St. John's basketball. That is one less piece the team has to add to have a successful season in 2023-2024.
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