Newly hired St. John’s coach Rick Pitino hasn’t been back in the Big Apple for very long, but he received quite a warm welcome from the fans in New York City after the Knicks’ playoff win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
According to a tweet from Pitino — who attended the game at Madison Square Garden, where he will coach his home games with the Red Storm — on Monday, a number of eagle-eyed fans managed to ascertain his phone number when a broadcast camera caught him telling someone else his phone number.
A number of people were apparently able to figure out his number by reading his lips, and he said he received more than 300 messages following the game. Surprisingly, the polarizing coach said the vast majority of the messages were positive and even resulted in “a lead on 7 new recruits.”
So yesterday I was enjoying the Knicks game n someone read my lips on TV giving out my phone number. Over 300 plus messages came in – here’s the bizarre news, 95% were nice n positive. I got a lead on 7 new recruits. My new cell is…..😜
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) April 24, 2023
Pitino makes his return to New York City after spending three years at Iona. He previously coached the Knicks as well as the Boston Celtics, and he’s made collegiate stops as the head man at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville, winning national championships with the latter two.
However, his title with the Cardinals was later vacated by the NCAA.
After an NCAA scandal ended his tenure in Louisville, Pitino is back in major college basketball. It seems that New York City basketball fans are excited about it, if a bit overzealous.
