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Rick Pitino made it very clear he’s not happy with the performance of the players who are currently under his watch at St. John’s following a loss to Seton Hall, but he’s disputed the narrative surrounding the spicy comments he issued after the game.
No one was necessarily expecting St. John’s to transform into national contenders overnight after the program hired Rick Pitino to helm the team ahead of the current season, but it’s pretty evident he was expecting to experience much more success than he’s seen so far during his inaugural season in Queens.
The Red Storm are currently sitting at 14-12 after coming off a loss against Seton Hall on Sunday, a game where they boasted a double-digit lead at halftime but were ultimately unable to stop the Pirates from mounting the comeback en route to walking away with the 68-62 victory.
Pitino wasn’t shy about sharing his true feelings in the wake of the loss, describing the current campaign as “the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime” while making it clear he’s not thrilled with the group of players he’s been tasked with coaching, adding, “It’s a good group, they try hard, but they’re just not very tough.”
The head coach caught some flack from people who felt he threw his players under the bus with those comments, but according to Newsday, he attempted to downplay the harshness of his remarks while insisting he was comparatively composed during his postgame tirade, saying:
“I truly wasn’t ripping anybody. I was pointing out exactly—in a monotone voice—why we lost…I am not always calm and certainly not when I rip someone…I was not ripping anybody.
I sometimes want my players to hear my words and read my words. That was my intention.”
We’ll get a chance to see if those players took those words to heart when they face off against Georgetown on Wednesday.