St. John’s coach Pitino has ‘deep affection’ for opponent Iona

A three-year stint at Iona will never headline Rick Pitino’s resume, but coaching that small program in New Rochelle remains an important part of his story nonetheless.

When Iona hired him as head basketball coach in March 2020, Pitino was nearly three years away from being fired at Louisville amid a federal investigation into fraud and corruption in sports.

Pitino was coaching Greek team Panathinaikos when Iona president Seamus Carey and sporting director Matthew Glovaski visited Madrid to discuss the position with him.

“We met at an Irish pub at midnight with my son, niece and nephew to talk about going to Iona,” Pitino recalled this week. “We were down 12 to 1 and then they came back and offered me the job. I literally had 48 hours to leave Greece and get to London or I would never be able to come back because of COVID.”

Pitino led Iona to two NCAA appearances from 2020-22 before leaving in March 2023 to become head coach at St. John’s.

Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, Pitino’s Red Storm will face Iona for the first time since leaving.

“THE [Iona] The president called me and asked if we could come into the Garden,” Pitino said. “It’s been a while since they played in the Garden. I obviously have immense affection for Iona, for many reasons.

Iona brought Pitino back to the NCAA at a time when other programs were unwilling to do so. During his time in Westchester County, Pitino suggested he would be happy to stay there.

In November 2022 – about four months before he got the St. John’s job – the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) cleared Pitino in the Louisville scandal, which included an allegation that Adidas representatives paid $100,000 to a recruit’s family.

“I have a deep affection for Iona and I said, ‘I would love to play with you.’ I hope the crowd is amazing so we can make it a holiday game every year,” Pitino said this week. “We hope to attract 15 to 16,000 fans.”

Iona (8-3) is one of the few small schools on a busy non-conference schedule for No. 22 St. John’s (5-3), which has faced Iowa State, Baylor, Auburn and Ole Miss in its previous four games.

The Gaels are in their first season under head coach Dan Geriot after firing Tobin Anderson, and they haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since Pitino left.

But Pitino doesn’t take Iona lightly.

Senior guard CJ Anthony is averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 assists per game, while the Gaels are shooting 37.4 percent on 3-pointers as a team.

“We’re playing an Iona team that could come here and take 35 or 40 [3-pointers] and make it 14 or 15,” Pitino said.

“They’re a very good offensive team with a great point guard, great wings. They’re an explosive offensive basketball team. They can beat anyone any night if they’re on the 3-point line.”

CHANGE OF RANGE

Ian Jackson is expected to start at point guard on Saturday, marking a change in the Red Storm’s opening lineup.

Dylan Darling had started at point guard in each of the previous six games but will come off the bench against Iona, Pitino said.

Jackson, a sophomore combo guard from the Bronx, hasn’t started since the season-opening win over Quinnipiac.

“Ian has improved, like Joson [Sanon]a lot,” Pitino said. “He plays hard every day. He’s getting better and everyone from Dillon Mitchell to Dylan Darling has started. Everyone except Ian Jackson. I think he deserves a chance to start as well.

Jackson, a five-star recruit from Our Savior Lutheran School, spent his freshman year at North Carolina before transferring to St. John’s.

A gifted scorer, Jackson is averaging 11.4 points in 18.3 minutes per game this season.

“It means a lot [to start]”, Jackson said. “I feel like I work a lot, from practice to games, just trying to be better every day and improve every day, so that’s just advice.”

The biggest questions are Jackson’s defense and his ability to take care of the ball, but Pitino believes the sophomore has improved in both areas since the summer — even under outside scrutiny.

“It’s very difficult for a New Yorker to play in New York,” Pitino said. “Very difficult, because if he were in North Carolina right now, you wouldn’t be asking these questions. I’ve seen a lot of New Yorkers from the Jets, Giants, Mets and Yankees ruined because of too much scrutiny. … Ian Jackson has improved tremendously since he’s been here.”