Iona coach Rick Pitino has been named the new coach at St. John’s, returning to the Big East Conference with ambitions of restoring the Red Storm to national prominence. He will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Pitino informed his Gaels team in a meeting Monday afternoon that he was leaving the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference squad that he led to two NCAA tournament appearances in his three seasons on the job.
St. John’s courted Pitino, 70, fervently since firing coach Mike Anderson recently, and landed him with what’s being described as a lucrative financial package.
Pitino is the only coach to lead three programs to the Final Four (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville), and won national titles with Kentucky and Louisville.
Pitino will be St. John’s most decorated coach since Lou Carnesecca stepped down in 1992. Pitino is a Hall of Fame coach who has been to seven Final Fours.
St. John’s has been to two Final Fours in its history and reached just three NCAA tournaments since 2002. Pitino has not only won two national titles but has coached in 23 NCAA tournaments.