St. John’s coach Rick Pitino led the No. 13 Red Storm to a bounce-back 93-60 win over the William & Mary Tribe on Saturday evening. The Red Storm improved to 2-1, recovering spectacularly from the loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide at Madison Square Garden last weekend.
Pitino recruited heavily via the transfer portal in an effort to repeat last season’s heroics, during which the Red Storm won their first outright Big East title since 1985.
Rick Pitino Reveals the Only Flaw in His Current Roster
During an interview on “TNT Sports” after the win against William & Mary, Pitino revealed that there was no difference in coaching his current roster and past players. He also praised the temperament of his current roster, while pointing out their only weakness.
“One thing I can tell you is, there’s no difference,” Pitino said. “I told the team this the other day, when I coached, there were one or two guys on the team that could be knuckleheads on every team. This is like 15 sweethearts and really great guys. But, I told them, ‘You’re the most unfocused generation I’ve ever seen,'” he continued.
“I said, ‘I guarantee you guys cannot read through three chapters in a book without looking at your phone.’ And they all shook their heads and said, ‘Yes.’ Scouting is about being meticulous with detail, whether it’s pro or college and you gotta focus on scouting. This is a great group to coach. Really excited about them, I can’t tell you who the best player is on the team,” Pitino added.
The talented 2025-2026 Red Storm roster is headlined by stars Ian Jackson, Zuby Ejiofor, Bruce Hopkins, Dylan Darling, and Oziyah Sellers.
Pitino Praises Team’s Reaction to Hard Game
Before the game against William & Mary, Pitino revealed that he was troubled by the Tribe’s offensive capabilities from beyond the arc. During the first half, the Tribe went 5-of-8 from deep and only trailed 39-34 at halftime, which justified the Red Storm coach’s assertion. The St. John’s players reacted magnificently and went on a 27-2 run to start the second half to put the tricky game to bed.
During his postgame news conference, Pitino credited his team’s reaction to William & Mary’s 3-point shooting.
“We didn’t guard the three very well. We weren’t very active with our hands,” Pitino said. “That second half, we got much more active…We just got to get a little tougher with the scouting reports.”
The Tribe pushed the Red Storm in a competitive performance that will prepare Pitino’s team for the challenge of the Players’ Era Festival starting on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas, where they will face Iowa State and Baylor.