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Fans Loved Rick Pitino's Fiery Speech Before Epic St. John's Comeback vs. Providence
Rick Pitino can still give one heck of a speech.
On Monday, video circulated of the 72-year-old St. John's coach exhorting his team to play better and battle through adversity during what wound up being a comeback victory over Providence on December 20.
Clip from Vice Sports of Rick Pitino at halftime of the St. John's game at Providence. #sjubb was down big, and rallied to win. pic.twitter.com/5gAbXa0BVS
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) February 17, 2025
That is a phenomenal speech that clearly sank in with his players. And fans on social media were eating it up.
Anyone who thinks kids today are too soft to be coached like this doesn't understand kids today—or leadership.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 17, 2025
If your players know you honestly and truly care about them, you can raise the standards as high as you want and they will strive to meet them. https://t.co/5MZkGkbwd2
I’d put good money on the fact there are lots of coaches trying to get across this same message, but don’t have the team to receive and act on it. The fact Rick does is scary. There’s a reason why they’re going on a run. They finally gave in, listened, and played how he wanted. https://t.co/MCT4pWo6Rj
— Bryan Kennedy (@BKennedyTV) February 17, 2025
— Eamonn Brennan (@eamonnbrennan) February 17, 2025
I would run through a brick wall for this man. #sjubb https://t.co/iSWcITif72
— Pitino Parkway (@PitinoParkway) February 17, 2025
Best coach in college basketball
— Ersin Demir (@EDemirNBA) February 17, 2025
The clip is from the Vice Sports docuseries Pitino: Red Storm Rising that is chronicling Pitino's time at St. John's. The Basketball Hall of Famer is in his second season coaching the Red Storm and he has the program ranked in the top 10, with a 22–4 record and a 13–2 mark in the Big East.
Pitino hasn't lost his touch. He's still the fiery head coach he was back when he was leading Kentucky to a national title in 1996. The all-time great has a career record of 753–307 (.712).
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Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.