Rick Pitino is glad that his team did not win its first college basketball game of the season by a big margin. The first-year head coach at St. John’s believes that a blowout would have been detrimental.
His logic makes perfect sense, but it is surprising to hear it said out loud. In most instances, a head coach wants his or her team to win as big as possible.
Rick Pitino is the same way.
However, there are a few exceptions and this past weekend was one of them.
The Red Storm and Rutgers Scarlet Knights collaborated to play an exhibition game benefitting the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at the Jimmy V Foundation. Not only did it raise a lot of money for a great cause, it gave both programs a great opportunity to feel out where they stand before the season.
Rutgers was robbed of an NCAA Tournament bid last season. St. John’s is beginning a new era with a new head coach and a mostly overhauled roster.
There are high expectations for the Red Storm to make March Madness in Pitino’s first year. The team is going to be good, and they got their first taste of action against another solid team in an instant classic.
St. John’s ended up defeating Rutgers 89-78 in double-overtime. The Scarlet Knights battled back from a 20-point deficit during the second half to extend the game.
That, of course, was not ideal for the Red Storm. Nobody wants to give up a 20-point lead.
Except for Pitino in this specific instance. He spoke with Niki Lattarulo of SNY after the game and was glad that the visitors rallied. It actually makes sense.
For us, if we would have blown them out by 20, it would have really hurt our basketball team. To get into a double overtime, in this type of environment, is just the best thing you could ask for […]
I wanted this game from a technical standpoint, to get offensively and defensively. We checked that box […]
I liked everything I witnessed tonight. I liked the way we fought […]
We played our best basketball in double overtime from an execution standpoint.
— Rick Pitino, via SNY
Pitino believes that a blowout game would have hurt his program in terms of preparation. His players learned not to get complacent, they learned to keep fighting, they learned to execute.
If it was the other way around, St. John’s may have had an inflated ego. Players may have been complacent with the result instead of learning how to play better as a team.
As weird as it may sound, Rick Pitino is glad that the Red Storm did not win big.