Next Step of Rick Pitino's Rebuild Complete with Cathartic Sweet 16 for St. John's

Around this moment three years ago, St. John's held a dream.

The program had just hired Rick Pitino, a highly accomplished coach working on rebuilding his reputation in college basketball. Certainly, a two-time national champion* would provide a long-awaited spark to the Big East school.

Rock bottom, it was not. That happened a decade ago with an 8-24 season in which the Red Storm managed a single conference win.

But sustained mediocrity is a different, still painful kind of sting.

During the previous 20 years, St. John's had only managed three NCAA tournament bids and never advanced. More recently, the Mike Anderson era from 2019-23 included year-end records of 17-15, 16-11, 17-15 and 18-15.

Not great, not bad—just a relentless run of meh.

The opportunity for a home-run swing materialized, though. Pitino, who said he was done coaching after his time at Louisville ended, fit that description.

He'd returned to the college game in 2020 at Iona, which rattled off a 64-22 record and made two March Madness trips in three seasons under Pitino. The former Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and NBA coach was available.

Controversial decision, yes. Pitino has made a career of hopping around to jobs, leaving Providence for the New York Knicks in 1987 yet bolted to UK in 1989. He won a national title in Lexington, went to the Boston Celtics in 1997 and resigned before he could get fired in 2001 and headed to Louisville. Pitino won another crown, but scandals marred his 16-year tenure.

All of that history weighed, St. John's welcomed a barrage of negative publicity in hopes of Pitino resurrecting the program.

The mission is not accomplished. The mission, however, is progressing.

Despite squandering a 14-point lead in the second half, St. John's clipped Kansas at the buzzer. Dylan Darling made an acrobatic layup as time expired, sending the Red Storm into celebration—and a first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1999.

This, to a measured degree, is why St. John's accepted the undeniable risks of Pitino in that moment three years ago.

Reaching the second weekend isn't the ultimate goal. More praise will be due if the Red Storm continue to advance, especially since a showdown with top-seeded Duke looms in the Sweet 16. We're not lauding Pitino or crowning St. John's because it squeaked past a Kansas squad and its reeling offense.

Nevertheless, this is progress.

Pitino missed the NCAA tourney at 20-13 in his first season but ascended to 31-5 last year, sweeping the Big East titles. Unfortunately for the Red Storm, they lost to John Calipari and Arkansas in the second round of March Madness.

This campaign brought a Hall of Fame showdown in the Round of 32 once again, but Pitino and St. John's outlasted Bill Self and KU.

Again, progress.

The physical, defense-driven Red Storm have embraced Pitino's coaching style and system. Kansas committed 16 turnovers on Sunday against St. John's, a top-10 unit nationally in adjusted efficiency, per KenPom. Said in the kindest way possible, the rotation is littered with relentless pests.

Duke—which had 16 giveaways in its recent win over TCU—could struggle with the Red Storm's pressure. We might soon be talking about St. John's ending its 27-year Elite Eight drought, as well.

Pitino, as you'd imagine, is confident in his team's outlook. You wouldn't expect a coach to convey anything less.

"We're not done yet," he said after beating KU. "We still have a lot in the tank."

No matter whether that belief comes true, however, Pitino has elevated St. John's to a point that we believe it's possible. That's no small achievement, considering the mediocrity from which the Red Storm have emerged.

The dream is not realized. But it's closer than yesterday.