Rick Pitino: We're trying to make St. John's brand special
St. John's coach Rick Pitino looks on at Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Credit: Errol Anderson
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino this week penned a letter to New Yorkers that was published on Thursday in Newsday as well as other area publications and on digital platforms. In it, he communicated his joy at taking over the signature program in his hometown as well as his commitment to head a team that will work hard and make people in the area proud.
It was an unusual move, but he believes these are unusual times for the Red Storm.
“St. John’s needs a brand because they lost 20 years,” Pitino said Friday before practice as the Red Storm readied to play Michigan on Monday night at the Garden. “People from age 15 to . . . 35 don’t remember the greatness of St. John’s. We’re trying to make this brand special.”
St. John’s has been to the NCAA Tournament only three times in the past two decades.
In the open letter, Pitino wrote “it feels good to be home” about the way growing up in New York fueled his desire to be great and added, “No matter where I’ve been or what I accomplished, New York has always been with me [and] I am back where I belong.”
“People understood what it meant to me to not only play at Madison Square Garden but to be the coach at St. John’s,” Pitino said of the letter’s reception.
He went on to write, “My passion and hunger and drive have never been higher. This is personal. The Red Storm embodies the pride of New York.”
And he signed it “your own, Rick Pitino, Bayville, NY”
“We’re trying to brand St. John’s in the right light,” he said. “We thought that letter was very important for our brand.”
LI Lutheran star visits
Long Island Lutheran star VJ Edgecombe, the 2023 Newsday Long Island Player of the Year, will be on an official visit with St. John’s this weekend and will attend the Michigan game. Edgecombe’s most recent official visit was with Duke. Baylor, Kentucky and Florida round out the final five he is considering.
The 6-4 Edgecombe, who averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals for the Crusaders last season, is by consensus one of the 10 best high school recruits in the Class of 2024. He would be the most impressive recruit St. John’s has brought in since then-coach Steve Lavin signed Maurice Harkless, who went on to become an NBA first-round draft pick.
Garden growing?
The Michigan game will be the first of eight dates at the Garden this season, and Pitino said he believes the team will have 10 Garden dates next season and possibly 12 annually soon after. He also suggested that the 2024-25 season opener could be against Alabama at the Garden.
Jump shots
RJ Luis, who has been out with a broken left hand for close to a month, has been cleared to start working out, Pitino said. He could be in uniform for the three games in next week’s Charleston Classic, but Pitino said, “I would say Holy Cross [on Nov. 25] is a realistic game for him to come back and play.” . . . Pitino said he expects Michigan coach Juwan Howard to return to the bench for Monday’s game. Associate head coach Phil Martelli has been leading the Wolverines since Howard, 50, had heart surgery on Sept. 15.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
