Jordan Dingle is the smartest college basketball player in the Big East and he has a unique perspective on head coach Rick Pitino. The 23-year-old senior was surprised by his new head coach’s ability to connect with his players on a deeper level in such a short amount of time.
Dingle, an unranked recruit out of high school, committed to the University of Pennsylvania. He spent his first three seasons in Philadelphia while earning an Ivy League education.
His impact on the Quakers lineup was immediate. Dingle was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2019/20, a unanimous All-Ivy League First Team selection in 2021/22, and was named the conference’s Player of the Year in 2022/23 after finishing second in the nation with 23.4 points per game.
The 2020/21 season was canceled due to the pandemic, so this will be Dingle’s fifth year of college but only his fourth year of college basketball. It will also be his first year with St. John’s.
Rick Pitino was hired as the Red Storm’s new head coach in March. Dingle joined the two-time* national champion’s roster in May after graduating with a degree from Penn and entering the transfer portal.
There is a lot of buzz around St. John’s. The Red Storm has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2018/19. That is almost certain to change this year. The thought is that they could even make a pretty deep run during Pitino’s first year.
Rick Pitino is personable.
St. John’s star transfer was recently asked to describe his new head coach in one word. He offered a very well-spoken and contemplative perspective. His Ivy League education was on full display.
One word that I think, actually, is something that was surprising to me, not necessarily the most prominent thing about him would be: personable.
He’s done a really great job at building connections with all of us and I think that when you know someone through their success and their accolades, you kind of lose a piece of your humanity, in terms of how you view them. But he’s a really down-to-earth, humble guy who really cares about each one of us, and I’m really grateful for that.
— Jordan Dingle, via the Big East
Everybody on the outside has an opinion of Pitinio, good or bad. That is also true with the players, even after they choose to play for the (semi-controversial) head coach.
However, as Dingle so astutely pointed out, there is a lot more to him than headlines and championships. Pitino is so often chastised, but his players find him to be a very different person than how he might be portrayed.