Rick Pitino is in the final chapter of his college basketball coaching career and hopes plans to revive a St. John’s program that has not made it past the Round of 32 since 1999. There are high expectations.
Upon arrival to Queens, Pitino completely overhauled his program through the transfer portal. He added players from UConn, Oregon state, Iona, Kansas, and UMass, among others. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Jordan Dingle also arrived from Penn and is expected to be the star.
Although he was joking, Pitino recently said that he would be fired after one year if the Red Storm does not make the NCAA Tournament this season. Anything short of a March Madness bid would be a severe disappointment, but there is a true belief that his team can make a deep run.
St. John’s allowed Rutgers to comeback from 20 points down during a close win in its first exhibition game of the year. It lost to Pace, a Division-II school in its second exhibition game.
Both performances served as a learning opportunity for Rick Pitino and his players, even though they were rather banged up during the loss. As does his unique grading system.
Rick Pitino (and the Red Storm staff) recently revealed how he grades each and every one of his players after every single practice. However, the focus is not on scoring or stats. It is bigger than numbers.
We grade our guys each day. They get a text message from me with all their stats.
Not shooting percentages or three point shooting, but their rebounds and their deflections— which includes steals, blocked shots, their assists and their turnovers.
— Rick Pitino
There are also two other more subjective categories. Pitino assesses his players on intangibles.
The last two categories are effort and execution.
Effort is in three categories: Low Motor, Mid Motor, and High Motor.
If I can get to the point where we have 12, 13 guys with a high motor, then we’re going to win.
— Rick Pitino
At the end of the day, Pitino knows that he has the talent necessary to push deep into March. The only question is whether St. John’s can put the pieces together and execute the vision.
That is why Pitino is more focused on effort and execution than points scored!