"Quitting, resigning, complaining, is of no value": St. John's HC Rick Pitino makes feelings known on adapting to NIL era instead of "grumbling"

St. John's coach Rick Pitino has made his feelings known about adapting to the NIL (name, image and likeness) era for college athletes. The NCAA allowed players to engage in endorsement deals, which has stirred controversy in the college circuit.

When Pitino appeared on Colin Cowherd's The Herd show on Wednesday, the host asked the St. John's coach why he wasn't "grumbling" about the NIL era like most other top college coaches.

"Well, I felt the change was here," Pitino responded (0:43). "And quitting, resigning and complaining is of no value. You have to win the day, you have to get the job done. And I just felt that, okay, we’re going to use it, to the best of our abilities at St. John’s. So we’re an urban school, we’re a commuter school, we play in Madison Square Garden, that's our home court. How can we maximize our potential by embracing the NIL and the transfer portal?

"We went away from high school basketball players, although we have taken one or two a year to develop. But, by and large, we’ve gone after older players."

Pitino also explained how many young players want to play college basketball in the US, referring to the influx of talent from European countries.

The introduction of NIL has offered several young players lucrative deals. However, as per the new NCAA revenue sharing model, schools can make payments directly to athletes up to $20.5 million per year from July 1 onwards.

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None of Rick Pitino's St. John's players were taken in the 2025 NBA draft

St. John's HC Rick Pitino - Source: Getty

Despite St. John's strong 2024-25 season, none of its players were taken at the 2025 NBA draft. The Red Storm won the Big East regular season and conference tournament titles.

Rick Pitino's St. John's earned a No. 1 seed for March Madness but was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament with a loss to John Calipari's Arkansas in the Round of 32.

Nonetheless, three former St. John's players - Kadary Richmond, RJ Luis and Aaron Scott - were signed by NBA teams as undrafted free agents.