Ahhh, the glory days of college basketball in New York. Let’s harken back to yesteryear in the glorious 1980’s. Believe it or not, college basketball used to be one of the most popular sports in the Big Apple. The main cog of that excitement was basketball played at St John’s University.
Coached by the legendary late Lou Carnesecca, St. Johns was a perennial powerhouse each year. Names Like Chris Mullen, Mark Jackson, Walter Berry, Bill Wennington, and Malik Sealy came through the program. The “Redmen,” as they were called back then, were ranked in the top 20 of college basketball rankings each year. They made the NCAA tournament regularly.
In fact, in 1985, they made the final four in what has been mentioned as one of their best final four groups ever. That year, St. Johns, Patrick Ewing with Georgetown, Villanova, and Memphis State composed the last four teams in the tourney. Sadly, the Johnnies lost to the Hoyas in the semis, with Villanova winning the championship that year.
Even though St Johns didn’t win the title that year, they remained relevant for several years afterward. However, by the late 90s, the program had lost its luster. Carnesecca, who left after the 92 season, saw his program reach the postseason in every year he coached the team from 1973-1992, but he was sorely missed. But he fell off the college basketball map once he left the program.
The school went through numerous head coaches, none of whom could return the old magic. Names like Brian Mahoney, Mike Jarvis, Steve Lavin, Norm Roberts, and Fran Fraschilla all tried their best, but they all failed to get St Johns back to the Final Four. Hey, they could not even get to the NCAA tourney itself! The school even brought back NBA Hall of Fame legend Mullin to try his hand at coaching his alma mater. However, he also failed to produce a winner.
Recruitment was at an all-time low. St. Johns once could get some of the best young players in the land to play for them, but suddenly, it became a lost cause. Even games the team would play at Madison Square Garden became a problem. Back in the 80s, they would sell out with no problem, with some tickets going for $500-$800 a pop! Lately, however, games at MSG have become a ghost town, with less than half the arena being filled for a game.
The program needed a spark. No, it required a big spark! They needed to bring in someone who could finally turn the program around. Someone who could bring the magic back. A man who could land the top recruits again for this small Queens, NY, school. Someone with a pedigree, or better off, a Midas touch! Lo and behold, the school may have finally struck gold two years ago when it agreed to sign Rick Pitino.
Ahh, Rick Pitino is a coaching lifer. He is a man who has coached both in college ball and the NBA and has been mostly a success wherever he landed. His college record spoke for itself. From his early days at Providence College to winning NCAA championships for Kentucky and Louisville, Pitino knows how to create a winner. He even had success with the Boston Celtics in the big league.
Pitino was coaching at Iona, another small NY area school, in 2020-23. Knowing their program desperately needed a quick and significant fix, the St. Johns power brokers negotiated a deal to get Pitino out of his Iona contract and bring his talents to the Red Storm.
Almost immediately, the program started to become a winner again. After Pitino nearly gutted the roster in the 2023-24 season, he began landing some big recruits. He even got players to transfer from other big programs to play for the Red Storm. Last year, the team narrowly missed the big dance, although many basketball experts felt the team should have made the dance.
Coming into the 24-25 season, the team is on a mission to make the NCAA tournament and be a top ten team in the country. Most people are unaware of this, but St Johns is the seventh-most-winningest program in college basketball history. But since the team, an original member of the Big East Conference, has been bad for so long, it’s not hard not to know this.
But King Midas, I mean Rick Pitino, has his golden touch on another program! Led by junior standout RJ Luis Jr, senior Deivon Smith, and the big guy in the middle, junior Zuby Ejiofor, the team has the makings of a potential big winner this year. As of this column, the team has a record of 16-3 and is in first place in the Big East. Luis Jr, who most feel will go pro after this year, leads the team with almost 18 points per game.
Pitino also has a deep roster with this team, with a regular rotation of almost 9-10 deep. For some odd reason, the team is not ranked in the top 25 yet. Considering all of their losses were to other top-25 teams like Baylor, Georgia, and Creighton, it’s a joke the team is not ranked as of today. But No worries, Midas Pitino will make it happen!
Recently, in two back-to-back home games at Madison Square Garden, the seats were full again. Sellouts like the old days! St John is finally having a rebirth in the Big Apple. Of course, I am a little biased since I am a St John graduate, but it’s been so long since I have been able to cheer on my school. But as they used to say for another sport in NY, “the magic is back!”
There is no doubt that the program is now back on its feet. Pitino has brought back the winning culture that was missing for so long. You can now walk around the streets of NY and see fans proudly wearing team paraphernalia like in the 80s. Maybe, just maybe, the team can bring something back to New York we have not seen in ages….a championship!
Of course, with Rick Pitino, there is no telling how long he will want to stick around and coach this team. The man is in his 70s and has privately told people close to him this will be his last coaching assignment. Rumor has it that when he decides to hang it up, he will turn over his roster and program to his son, Rick Jr, the head coach at New Mexico.
But for now, St Johns fans can see the good times again. The ghosts of Mullin, Berry, and Jackson winning games and selling out the arenas have been brought back to life. Let’s hope for New York area college basketball; it’s not for just a short period, but for a long time to come. Somewhere in heaven now, Carnesecca is wearing one of his old sweaters and doing his best to help his old school become relevant again!!
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