St. John's coach Rick Pitino seems likely to be back Saturday after bout with COVID-19
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino reacts against the Providence Friars during the second half at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 10. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The prospects look promising that Rick Pitino will return to the bench when St. John’s unveils new throwback uniforms for a Big East matchup against 17th-ranked Marquette on Saturday at noon at the Garden.
Pitino was forced to miss Tuesday’s game — a lopsided 80-65 loss at Seton Hall in which the Red Storm allowed 28 straight points — because of a bout with COVID-19.
The school has scheduled Pitino to meet with the news media on Friday.
St. John’s will be wearing uniforms modeled after the ones it wore beginning in 1994-95, when it became the Red Storm after dropping what was viewed as a Native American nickname and logo.
The throwback uniforms have red lettering with yellow trim. The shorts feature the New York skyline and the original Red Storm logo, “Thunder” the horse with a lightning bolt.
That model of uniform is best remembered for a 1994 Sports Illustrated cover shot of then-freshman Felipe Lopez.
St. John’s also announced that the game will be played on a specially designed court to “pay homage to the Red Storm’s original visual identity.”
The Red Storm (12-6, 4-3) are seeking to bounce back from their first back-to-back losses this season. Marquette (12-6, 3-3) has been in the AP Top 25 all season and was ranked as high as No. 4. It snapped a two-game skid on Monday with a win over Villanova.
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.
