Basketball <\/p>\n
Rick Pitino<\/a> is turning St. John\u2019s into a college basketball behemoth. Since he took over the Red Storm, Pitino has found a way to make them relevant. They\u2019re back in the NCAA Tournament<\/a> for the second straight season and in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. This isn\u2019t the first program he\u2019s turned around either.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bullet point summary by AI<\/p>\n Pitino has engineered rebuilds at Kentucky, Louisville and even Iona before he landed at St. John\u2019s. Getting through the group of death in this year\u2019s March Madness, having to get past Duke and Michigan State or UConn after already beating Kansas, it would give Pitino a near bulletproof resume.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to dispute it really. He\u2019s 80-24 at St. John\u2019s and is closing in on 1,000 career wins. He\u2019s 914-317 overall in college basketball. He\u2019s been one of the most dominant coaches in the game. If he manages to take down Jon Scheyer, Bill Self and possibly even Tom Izzo in the same tournament run, it would solidify him as the best.\u00a0<\/p>\n He last won a national championship with Louisville in 2013, but he hasn\u2019t been back to the Final Four since. This is his chance to prove he deserves to be in the same conversations as Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski. It\u2019s crazy to think about, but there\u2019s not much else he would need to do if St. John\u2019s continues its tournament run through the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the biggest hindrances to Pitino\u2019s GOAT case has to be the scandals that have followed him throughout his career. The Louisville recruiting scandal is the most prevalent one \u2014 it forced him out of coaching in the U.S. for three years before he returned to the college sidelines at Iona. Pitino was essentially fired, though it officially went down as a resignation, from Louisville as a result of the pay-for-play scandal.<\/p>\n Pitino faced a recruiting scandal earlier in his career as well at Hawai\u2019i. Although he wasn\u2019t fired from Hawai\u2019i, it highlighted a pattern of Pitino not always following the rules. It seems this time around at St. John’s, he’s above board. Which is exactly why he can re-enter the conversation. Thanks to the Louisville recruiting scandal, Pitino technically<\/em> only has one national championship he won with Kentucky.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pitino’s 2013 national championship with Louisville was vacated by the NCAA. He needs one more national championship to prove he deserves the same respect as Krzyzewski and Williams. Both have at least three national championships (Coach K has five).\u00a0<\/p>\n Izzo and Calipari each have just one, while Self has two. Pitino doesn\u2019t need another to be comparable to them. But one more legit championship would confirm why he\u2019s one of college basketball\u2019s best. Pitino has St. John\u2019s in a prime position to be college basketball\u2019s king. He\u2019s made them a powerhouse in the Big East and reminded everybody why he\u2019s one of the most feared coaches this time of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
Rick Pitino\u2019s resume is already in rare air<\/h2>\n
The scandals that complicated his legacy<\/h2>\n
What this March run could change for good<\/h2>\n
More March Madness news and analysis<\/u><\/h3>\n