Rick Pitino spent his Thanksgiving watching basketball even though St. John’s did not play. He sat courtside at the most famous arena in sports, Madison Square Garden, to support — and chirp — his former player.
Prior to being hired by the Red Storm, Rick Pitino spent four seasons coaching the Iona Gaels. Walter Clayton Jr. was a big part of his success in New Rochelle.
The 6-foot-2 guard was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year last season after averaging 16.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game during the regular season. Clayton later hit the transfer portal after Pitino bounced to the Big East.
After initially considering a move to St. John’s, he chose to play at Florida.
The Gators are currently competing in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at Madison Square Garden. They dominated the Pitt Panthers with a 15-point win on Wednesday night.
Pitino, who coaches just around the corner and played a game at MSG earlier in the year, was in attendance. Clayton scored 13 points in the first half, drained six triples and finished with 28, 5 and 2.
His former head coach had just five words and a laugh for his strong performance after the game.
You still can’t play defense!
— Rick Pitino
Clayton and his current coach, Todd Golden, shared a chuckle about the exchange afterword. Golden joked that Pitino is not wrong.
Like him or hate him, it is impossible to argue that Pitino doesn’t love his guys. He didn’t have to show up for Clayton on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He wanted to. Pretty cool move.
Pitino is a player’s coach, and he hopes that St. John’s will be able to find similar or greater success to his time with Clayton and the Gaels. The Red Storm have had an up-and-down start to the college basketball season. They have plenty of time to figure it out. Their coach clearly has their back regardless of the result!