If you choose to play college basketball for Rick Pitino, you know exactly what you are going to get. It should not come as a surprise when the two-time* national champion lets out his frustrations.
Donovan Mitchell said that playing for Pitino is “another level” of crazy while describing some of his experiences at Louisville. Other former players have made similar remarks.
Pitino is a classic hard-nosed coach. He expects greatness and will not settle for anything less. His style of coaching is brutal. We know this. Recruits know this.
It is part of the deal.
Thus, it was not a huge surprise when Pitino went scorched earth on his St. John’s players after an ugly loss to Seton Hall on Sunday. The 71-year-old coach later doubled down on his fiery rant in response to some of the backlash surrounding his comments and stands by what he said.
Although Pitino’s rant was not unusual for him, it was pretty intense and sparked a lot of conversation. Some people found his tirade to be out of line. Others considered it to be par for the course.
Quinn Slazinski, who played for Pitino at Iona, is among the latter. West Virginia’s transfer forward was asked about what his former coach said on Tuesday night. He was not fazed.
While explaining that Pitino is always going to be Pitino, Slazinski was initially hesitant to share a story about his time with the Gaels. However, some kind encouragement finally got one out of him.
Pitino once told Slazinski, “out of love,” that he was going to dismember his body and send him back to wherever he came from. Of course, as the fifth-year senior explained, there was not any legitimate intent behind the threat. Pitino just likes to win.
No coach likes to lose. That is obvious.
However, very few coaches are as brutal as Pitino in public settings. It’s an old-school approach, but it works and his players love him— even though it might come across in a way that non-athletes can’t comprehend.