"I want to make it a top-20 program"- Rick Pitino wants to hit the ground running at St. John's after agreeing to 6-year deal

Rick Pitino has agreed to become the new coach at St. John's, signing a reported six-year deal. Pitino leaves Iona after three seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

In an interview with the New York Post, the Hall of Fame coach revealed his plans to make the Red Storm a top-20 program in the nation. He even wants to take St. John's back to its glory days under legendary coach Lou Carnesecca.

"I want to make it a top-20 program," Pitino said. "I want to go back to when they were a perennial power, not only in the Big East, but the entire country. I wouldn’t even consider taking it if I didn't think that was a distinct possibility."

St. John's was once one of the top programs in college basketball but has fallen off since 2015. They rank ninth in NCAA Division I with 1,904 total wins and have 30 March Madness appearances. They made the First Four in 2019 but failed to reach the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Meanwhile, Rick Pitino is considered one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history despite all the scandals and controversies. Pitino won two NCAA titles, one with Kentucky in 1996 and the other with Louisville in 2013 (later vacated by the NCAA).

Pitino returned to college basketball in 2020, taking over Iona. He proved that he still has it by helping the Gaels make the NCAA Tournament twice. He also helped Iona win two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championships and two MAAC tournament titles.

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Rick Pitino career retrospective

Rick Pitino was a point guard for UMass from 1971 to 1974. He didn't turn pro but became an assistant coach at Hawaii in 1974 before becoming their interim head coach in 1976. He then had two seasons as an assistant at Syracuse until 1978.

Pitino's first official coaching job was at New York University from 1978 to 1983. He also coached Providence from 1985 to 1987. He took over Kentucky in 1988, helping the Wilcats win the national championship in 1996.

The Hall of Fame coach then became Louisville's coach in 2001 until his firing in 2017 due to a corruption scandal. He helped the Cardinals win the 2013 NCAA championship but had to leave due to the scandal.

Apart from college basketball, Pitino also coached in the NBA. He was the coach of the New York Knicks from 1987 to 1989 and the Boston Celtics from 1997 to 2001.

After Pitino was fired by Louisville in 2017, he tried his hand at coaching in Europe. He took over Greek team Panathinaikos from 2018 to 2020 and was also the coach of the Greek national basketball team from 2019 to 2021.

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