The moment Rick Pitino walked through the doors at St. John’s, he made a promise.
“We’re going to be back,” he said in March 2023, standing inside Madison Square Garden, the very building where the Red Storm had once ruled but had since faded into the background of college basketball’s biggest stage.
One year later, they’re not just back. They’re at the top.
For the first time in 40 years, St. John’s is the outright Big East regular-season champion. A 27-4 record. An 18-2 mark in conference play. And now, for the first time since Walter Berry in 1986, the Red Storm have the Big East Player of the Year in RJ Luis Jr.
𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑.
Coach Rick Pitino has been named the 2025 @BIGEASTMBB Coach of the Year 👏🏆
🗞️: https://t.co/IICauf3XsS pic.twitter.com/eMcWfC8mff
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) March 12, 2025
For Pitino, it’s another milestone in a career full of them. On Wednesday, he was named Big East Coach of the Year, marking his sixth conference coaching honor across four different leagues. Already the first coach to lead five different programs to a regular-season conference title, he now adds another accolade to a résumé that is unmatched in modern college basketball.
And yet, this one might mean the most.
A Legacy Rekindled
At 72 years old, the Hall of Famer has done it again.
Pitino’s name is synonymous with success—national championships at Kentucky and Louisville, Final Fours at Providence and Louisville, coaching stints in the NBA, a career spanning nearly five decades.
But when he arrived at St. John’s, it wasn’t just a coaching job. It was a redemption story.
From growing up in Manhattan to filling Madison Square Garden, St. John's coach Rick Pitino tells @notthefakeSVP what this NCAA tournament means for him and his team 🍿 pic.twitter.com/Hg7kGLrwN8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 11, 2025
“Where else could Rick Pitino do what he’s doing except here at [Madison Square] Garden with St. John’s?” Rev. Brian J. Shanley, the university president, said this month.
The Red Storm were picked to finish fifth in the Big East preseason poll. They finished first.
They were a 20-win team that missed the NCAA Tournament last year. This year, they’re ranked sixth in the country and a top seed in the Big East Tournament.
“This is an answer to a prayer,” Shanley said. “This is what I hoped when we hired Rick, that we would get back to where we are right now, contending for a national championship.”
Luis Shines as St. John’s Soars
If Pitino is the architect, RJ Luis Jr. is his masterpiece.
The junior wing from Miami led the Red Storm in scoring (18.1 PPG) and rebounding (7.1 RPG), ranking fourth and sixth in the Big East in those categories, respectively. Over the final three games of the regular season, he averaged 24.3 points, cementing himself as the program’s first Big East Player of the Year since Berry in 1986.
🔥 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 🔥@RJLuisJr is the 2025 @BIGEASTMBB Player of the Year ⚡️🏆
🗞️: https://t.co/f0AeehsyEd pic.twitter.com/Gb3HnMaTBs
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) March 12, 2025
What’s Next for St. John’s?
Pitino rebuilt this roster from the ground up, losing six of the top seven scorers from last season but dominating the transfer portal.
He found Kadary Richmond, a do-it-all guard.
He landed Deivon Smith, a speedster who gives the Red Storm an edge in transition.
He watched Zuby Ejiofor and Luis emerge as breakout stars.
Now, St. John’s leads the Big East in scoring (78.6 PPG), rebounding (40.8 RPG), and defense (66.3 PPG allowed).
And for the first time since 2019, they are headed back to the NCAA Tournament.
The only question left: How far can they go?
