Rick Pitino’s extended commute has St. John’s on road back to NCAA Tournament

Joanne Pitino has been there from the start, from the days and nights in high school when she would retrieve free throws under the basket at the St. Dominics High School gym, with the faint promise of a trip to the beach when her then-boyfriend decided he was done. For years, they have both told the stories of how that usually turned out.

A lot of trips to Carvel instead, she said with a laugh a few years ago.

This time, though, Joanne figured her husband had officially taken leave of his senses. It isnt that shes unaware of the signs that havebuzzed around Rick whenever it seemed like he was targeted for a move; thats been a part of the deal from the start, when Jim Boeheim famously interviewed him for an assistants gig at Syracuse the night of their wedding.

Its just that after all the moves, after all the stops, he had finally earned about as comfortable a spot as the job allows its most ambitious practitioners. He was already in the Hall of Fame. He worked for bosses he liked at Iona, coached players he enjoyed, had an enthusiastic fan base that wouldve signed him up to be coach for life in New Rochelle.

The capper: Their house sits off the third green at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, which is exactly 4.2 miles from the Iona campus. You can get there in 11 minutes by car. On nice days you can ride there by bike.

Rick_Pitino_s_extended_commute_has_St_John_s_on_road_back_to_NCAA_Tournament 3Rick Pitino’s commute to St. John’s quadruples that of last year’s trip to Iona. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostThe older you get, Pitino, 71, says with a laugh, the more something like an easy commute to work really starts to appeal to you.

So yes: When Rev. Brian Shanley, St. Johns president, came last spring to pitch Pitino on expanding his commute, going back to the Big East grind, on swapping Ionas mid-major royalty status for the St. Johns blow-it-up-and-start-from-the-dust rebuild, Joanne had a simple question for Rick.

All these months later, Joanne is enjoying the ride every bit as much as Rick is, every bit as much as a wholly revitalized St. Johns fan base is. The Johnnies are nearing the end of a weeklong break in the schedule, fresh off a blowout win against Villanova, and on Wednesday theyll travel to Cincinnati to face Xavier, knowing that top-ranked Connecticut will be waiting for them at the Garden on Saturday.

That promises to be the most anticipated St. Johns game at the Garden in years, precisely the kind of day Shanley had in mind when he poached Pitino away from the Gaels, exactly the kind of moment that coaxed Pitino to quadruple (on good days) his commute.

Were still playing catch-up, Pitino says. When I took the job I knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done but I didnt know exactly how deep the rebuild had to be, on the court, off the court, infrastructure. We have a lot to do. But this has been a nice start to the process.

The Johnnies have already established themselves as a legit NCAA contender, sitting at 13-7 and 5-4 in the league. Their metrics are solid; as of Monday they sat at 35 in the NET (fourth in the Big East) and were 7-6 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams. More to the point, theyre playing their best basketball now, save for a hiccup two weeks ago at Seton Hall.

Rick_Pitino_s_extended_commute_has_St_John_s_on_road_back_to_NCAA_Tournament 3Rick Pitino speaks with St. John’s Red Storm forward Brady Dunlap #44 the sideline. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostOur message now, every game, is a simple one, Pitino says. Play this game as if you want to go to the NCAA Tournament.

Pitino, of course, has been there plenty; if he takes the Johnnies, that will be a sixth different school hes taken, which would move him alone past Lon Kruger and Tubby Smith, the only other ones to do it with five. The bulk of his players, though, are still chasing that elusive goal. Daniss Jenkins and Cruz Davis went with Pitino at Iona. Nahiem Alleyne with with UConn, Zuby Ejiofore at Kansas. Thats it.

That, as much as anything, fuels Pitino right now.

Rick_Pitino_s_extended_commute_has_St_John_s_on_road_back_to_NCAA_Tournament 3Pitino took the Gaels to the tournament last year — a feat he hopes to repeat with the Johnnies. USA TODAY SportsTheyre all hungry to do what they can to leave here a winner, Pitino says. Theyre hungry to prove it to themselves that they can get to the tournament because most of them know how difficult it is. Weve seen glimpses where weve been a really good road team. And were hopeful it will continue.

Theres this, too: Pitino is one of thousands of kids in and around the city who grew up at a time when St. Johns was the gold standard for them, a time before you could see any college team you wanted on TV. Pitino saw plenty of games at Alumni Hall growing up, idolized Sonny Dove. He never played there, preferring to go away to school.

But hes there now. Back in the Big East. Back in the city. Preaching the city game.

Theres so much we need to get done here, he says. So far, so good.

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