The last time Hall of Famer Rick Pitino walked a sideline as Iona men’s basketball coach, he was going through the handshake line at MVP Arena after Friday’s season-ending loss to UConn in the NCAA Tournament.
Pitino, 70, will never return to Albany as Gaels coach. He resigned on Monday to become the new head coach at St. John’s of the Big East, a move long speculated over and expected. The New York Post reported Pitino received a six-year deal from St. John’s.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to @SeamusCarey13 President of Iona,” Pitino tweeted. “Thank you to @mglovs23, the AD and to all those people who touched our lives. Follow up, I’m not sad it ended. I’m so grateful it happened. To my players, the last three years. All I can say is you know how much I love you.”
Pitino leaves Iona after three seasons during which he went 64-22 and guided the Gaels to two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships, raising their league-record total to 14 league titles.
He lost all three of his trips to Albany as Iona coach. The Gaels were beaten by MAAC rival Siena at MVP Arena the last two seasons before being defeated by UConn last week.
He denied Siena a possible MAAC title in 2021 when the Gaels beat the top-seeded Saints in the conference quarterfinals in Atlantic City on their way to the championship.
Pitino revived his coaching career at Iona after his 2017 firing by Louisvillle following numerous scandals.
Now the Gaels will try stay atop the MAAC. It is unclear how many of Iona’s players will enter the NCAA transfer portal and possibly follow him to St. John’s as Pitino tries to rebuild the Red Storm into Big East and national relevance.
One head coach being mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Pitino at Iona is former Siena assistant Tobin Anderson, a hot name after leading Fairleigh…
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