After collapsing against Seton Hall on Sunday, Rick Pitino lost his patience with his new team, to put it nicely.
The 71-year-old coach went on a tirade in the Red Storm’s postgame press conference, bashing the lack of talent on the roster, the university’s facilities, and declaring that his first year in Queens has been “the most unenjoyable experience I’ve had since I’ve been coaching.”
With five games remaining in the regular season, Pitino didn’t sugarcoat where his players are lacking — not just as a group, but with some getting a personal roast after the team’s third straight loss.
St. John’s blew a 19-point lead in a crushing 68-62 loss against Seton Hall at UBS Arena.
Joel Soriano
Pitino says he is “slow laterally” and that the Yonkers native is “not fast on the court.”
The center has been pushed to lose weight and increase his speed since the start of the year, which Pitino said is difficult to get a handle on for Soriano.
“It’s difficult for him,” Pitino said at the Big East media day in October. “He’s not used to rim running every single possession and playing this type of defense. So, it’s just different for him. It’s not that he’s not willing to work. It’s just different.”
At the time, Soriano brought his body fat down to 8.5 percent, which Pitino said was “nice” to see.
Chris Ledlum
The graduate transfer was also categorized by Pitino as “slow laterally.”
He also lamented Ledlum’s inability to draw fouls to get to the free-throw line as a power forward.
“We just lack toughness. We don’t move our feet on defense. They shot 37 free throws. Throughout the stats, you see it every game the amount of free throws they shoot, the amount of free throws we shoot…Look at what Chris Ledlum shot on the year. I mean, you’re a power forward and you play 29 minutes without a free throw,” Pitino said shaking his head.
“That means you’re not offensive rebounding. You’re not getting to the line. It’s really all the toughness things why we give up leads.”
Sean Conway
Pitino said he is “slow laterally.”
Drissa Traore
“Slow laterally,” Pitino repeated.
Brady Dunlap
At 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, Pitino wants the freshman forward to strengthen up in the gym after calling him “physically weak.”
“We are so non-athletic that we cannot guard anyone without fouling,” Pitino later added.
When Pitino took the job in March of last year and held his first press conference, he admitted that many of the St. John’s players would not return to play for him at the helm as they were not a “good fit.”
He brought in 11 new players while losing AJ Storr, David Jones, Posh Alexander, and O’Mar Stanley. Now, he’s fed up with the players he added.
“We kind of lost this season with the way we recruited,” he said. “We recruited the antithesis of the way I coach, with speed, quickness, fundamentals, strength and toughness. We did not to do that. It’s a good group, they try hard, they’re just not very tough.”
When he was asked if he was second-guessing taking the job, Pitino said: “It’s not St. John’s; it’s my team.”
The Johnnies (14-12) sit in ninth place in the Big East with a 6-9 conference record. They will face Georgetown twice, Creighton, Butler, and DePaul before the conference tournament begins on March 13.
