Rick Pitino Changes Phone Number After Fans Read His Lips During Cavs vs. Knicks Game

Who among us hasn't had their phone number revealed by lip readers after being featured as part of a celebrity montage at Madison Square Garden?

That is exactly what happened to St. John's men's basketball coach Rick Pitino, who was on hand to watch the New York Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. Pitino was captured on camera giving out his phone number, and some viewers were able to make it out.

Pitino had some fun with the situation and ended up changing his number:

The high-profile coach has been busy this offseason since moving from Iona to his new position.

Michael Blinn of the New York Post noted he brought Quinn Slazinski, Daniss Jenkins and Cruz Davis over from Iona and added VMI transfer Sean Conway and UConn's Nahiem Alleyne. The additions are some of the early steps for a rebuilding project at St. John's, which has struggled of late.

The Red Storm have been to the NCAA men's tournament just once since 2014-15, and they lost in the First Four when they got there in 2018-19.

If anyone can turn it around, it is Pitino. After all, his resume includes two national titles, seven Final Four appearances, 14 conference tournament championships and 12 regular-season conference crowns.

And now one changed phone number because of a trip to Madison Square Garden.