Rick Pitino honored by St. John’s for reaching 900 career wins
NEW YORK (AP) — Rick Pitino was honored Wednesday night by St. John’s for reaching 900 wins as a Division I head coach.
Moments before the 25th-ranked Red Storm tipped off against Butler, a tribute to Pitino featuring a montage of the Hall of Famer’s highlights played on the large video screens that hang from the roof at Madison Square Garden.
St. John’s vice president and athletic director Ed Kull then presented Pitino with a framed jersey at center court.
The 73-year-old Pitino became the fourth Division I men’s basketball coach to earn 900 wins on the court when the Johnnies rallied Saturday from a 16-point deficit in the second half for an 88-83 victory at Xavier.
The others are Mike Krzyzewski (1,202), Jim Boeheim (1,116) and Roy Williams (903).
Pitino’s milestone win came against his son, Richard, the first-year coach of the Musketeers.
Pitino entered Wednesday night’s game 900-316 overall in 38 seasons, beginning with six games in an interim role at Hawaii in 1976. However, the NCAA credits Pitino with only 777 wins after stripping him of 123 because of infractions while he was the coach at Louisville.
Pitino also made stops at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Iona, sandwiched around NBA jobs with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, plus a stint with Greek team Panathinaikos.
Now in his third season at St. John’s, the reigning AP national co-coach of the year has been to seven Final Fours and is the lone coach to take six schools to the NCAA Tournament.
St. John’s, ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll, returned to the AP Top 25 on Monday for the first time since mid-December following wins over Seton Hall and Xavier last week. In both games, the Red Storm trailed by at least 15 in the second half.
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