Roger Rubin: Rick Pitino's 904th win highlights St. John's coach's ability to develop talent
St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor drives the ball defended by Xavier Musketeers forward Anthony Robinson in the first half of a Big East mens basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Win No. 904 for St. John’s coach Rick Pitino proved to be as difficult as they come.
The 17th-ranked Red Storm didn’t just have to battle Xavier but also themselves through two halves and overtime as they persevered for an 87-82 Big East victory before 14,512 at the Garden on Monday night.
St. John’s 10th straight victory not only broke a tie for third place between Pitino and Roy Williams on the career wins list but vaulted the Red Storm into a tie with No. 6 Connecticut atop the Big East.
“Because I was not pleased with our defense tonight, I’m not real happy about 904,” Pitino said. “If we played better defense, I’d be much happier. [Still] happy with the victory.”
Pitino’s legacy has many parts. The victories, playing in seven Final Fours and winning two national championship games are why he is in any conversation about the best college basketball coach in history. But it is only one part. That he has restored several prestigious programs that had fallen on hard times – as he’s doing now with St. John’s – is another. A third, perhaps least discussed, is how he develops talent.
The stars of Monday night’s game — Zuby Ejiofor, Dylan Darling and Bryce Hopkins — are excellent examples.
When he transferred from Kansas, Ejiofor was a decent defensive player with little game on the other side of the court; now he stands as the odds-on favorite to be the Big East Player of the Year. Darling arrived from Idaho State, looked like a mid-major point guard playing over his head until a few weeks ago and now is a catalyst in all the Red Storm do. Hopkins went from a tentative talent early to a difference-maker today.
“He has a vision for what a player can become when he arrives and then he almost has a willpower to get that player to become that guy,” associate head coach Steve Masiello said of Pitino.
The Red Storm (19-5, 12-1) had to overcome a 16-point second-half deficit to beat the Richard Pitino-coached Musketeers (12-12, 4-9) for a five-point win on Jan. 24 in Cincinnati, and Monday was no easier. St. John’s missed 13 free throws and made only three three-pointers.
Darling helped St. John’s rally from a five-point deficit with 9:26 left in regulation with four of his 16 points and Oziyah Sellers tipped in his own miss with 16.3 seconds left to tie the score at 78.
In the overtime, Ejiofor had six of his 25 points and Hopkins (19 points) made a pair of steals to fuel a 5-0 run that put the Red Storm up for good. “Bryce Hopkins won the game for us,” Pitino said. “He made big plays for us on the defensive end.”
Darling was treading water early in conference play, shooting poorly on three-point attempts and getting into foul trouble. Pitino has worked with him on his shot and his confidence. He entered Monday’s game having cut down on his fouls and having shot 14-for-28 from outside the arc in conference play.
“I started off slow and . . . I feel like Coach P still believed in me when I was lacking that a little bit, and I think that did wonders for me,” Darling said. “Now I’m just trying to get better every single day and get more comfortable in my role with the team.”
“The magic of how [Pitino] makes players better is that there is no magic,” assistant coach Bob Walsh said. “He spends as much time on the basketball court with his players as any coach in the country and he’s an expert in technique. He gives relentless attention to improvement and development.”
Ejiofor is averaging 16.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists — all team highs. Asked if he envisioned this version of Ejiofor when he transferred, Pitino replied, “There’s a way I look at it with every player. He was a limited offensive basketball player without a jump shot and he developed his offensive game because he brings it every day in practice, in individual [workouts] and games.
“ . . . I’ve had guys that work hard, but they don’t bring it every day, every game, like Daniss Jenkins did [in 2023-24], like Billy Donovan did [at Providence]. When you do, you get better and better and better.”
Pitino may not have enjoyed the battle against his son's team on Monday, but he is sure to look back on its standouts with the same pride they felt afterward about him reaching third place all-time.
“It’s really, really cool when you get to play for the best college basketball coach of all time,” Darling said. “I’ve only been a part of [904] for 19 wins, so I won’t take too much credit, but I’m happy for him. If you come to practice every day, it’s not hard to see why he has so many wins.”
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.
