PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rick Pitino struck a reflective tone as he prepares his second-seeded St. John’s team to face No. 15-seeded Omaha in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Thursday.
Pitino, 72, said he’s reveling in the moment because he knows his legendary coaching career is in its final chapters.
“I don’t know if God will bless me with two, three, four more years, but if he does, it’s going to stop. So why not have a blast? Why not get the most out of it? Laugh, have fun, get great experiences,” he told reporters at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
“Early years it wasn’t like that, trying to move up the ladder. You’re trying to accomplish certain things collectively, with the team, yourself. Now I don’t have to move up the ladder. I don’t have to look for another job. I don’t have any dreams of coaching elsewhere, so it’s just fun. It’s laughter, it’s all the great things, but I do know it’s coming to an end.”
Pitino led St. John’s to a 30-4 record this season, his second at the helm. The Johnnies won their first outright Big East regular-season championship in four decades and were conference tournament champs for the first time since 2000.
With a victory over Omaha on Thursday (CBS, 9:45 p.m. ET), they would tie the program record for wins previously set in 1984-85 and 1985-86.
Pitino, who owns a career record of 884-310, is making his 24th NCAA tournament appearance, with six different schools — Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona and St. John’s.
“Without question, I revel every single day in all of it. Being part of the NCAA tournament is what college basketball is all about,” he said.
Pitino’s return this week to Providence, where he led the Friars to a Final Four appearance in 1987, has contributed to the anticipation in advance of Thursday’s games — fourth-seeded Purdue vs. No. 13-seeded High Point; fifth-seeded Clemson vs. No. 12-seeded McNeese State; seventh-seeded Kansas vs. No. 10-seeded Arkansas.
If St. John’s advances, it would face the winner of Kansas-Arkansas, setting up a high-powered coaching matchup between Pitino and Bill Self or John Calipari.
Pitino wouldn’t look ahead to that possibility, saying his team was locked on Summit League champion Omaha (22-12).
“If we knew who was going to win, I wouldn’t be coaching and you wouldn’t be writing,” he told reporters. “You have no idea who is going to win Kansas-Arkansas. Two great coaches, great talent. You just focus on what you can control, and that’s Omaha.”
