Forced Out: Why Pitino Got Away With What Sanders Couldn’t
St. John’s University introduced Hall-of-Famer Rick Pitino as the head coach of its men’s basketball program Tuesday, and the two-time NCAA champion confidently stated that many current players would have to transfer to another school.
“A lot of these players probably won’t be back on this team because they’re probably not a good fit for me,” Pitino told reporters at his introductory press conference in Madison Square Garden, as reported by SNY. “It takes a certain type of basketball player to want to play for me. You’ve got to be total, over the top, in-love with the game of basketball, and if you’re not it’s just a bad fit with me.”
The statement, which Pitino self-described as “honest,” echoed a similar one made by University of Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders. When the former NFL cornerback first spoke to the Colorado football team after his hiring, his initial message ruffled feathers.
“I’m comin’ and when I get here it’s gonna be changed,” Sanders told his team, as reported by SB Nation. “So I want y’all to get ready, to go ahead and jump in that [transfer] portal, and do whatever you’re gonna get, because the more of you jump in, the more room we make, because we’re bringing in kids who are smart, say that, tough.”
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Sanders’ comments were met with criticism from fans and media members alike. The original video of his speech, posted to Twitter by the account College Football Transfer Portal, had nearly 10,000 quote tweets and comments in response.
Konata Edwards, a college sports reporter and producer for CBS, wrote in a tweet that Sanders’ comments will be used against him and they “shouldn’t have been put on camera.”
Even those who didn’t find a personal issue with Sanders’ speech conceded that it was bound to cause a stir. Keagan Stiefel, the head of digital content at New England Sports Network, tweeted that he didn’t hate Sanders comments, but found them “pretty aggressive.”
But in the days since Pitino condemned most of the current St. John’s roster, the reaction has been different. Fans and media members were mostly wonderstruck at the Hall of Famer’s plan, not filled with horror.
This can be seen just from the headlines of articles covering Pitino’s hiring, including one from New York Post sports reporter and St. John’s basketball beat writer Zach Braziller. “Rick Pitino isn’t wasting any time with St. John’s makeover,” Braziller wrote, adding that “he is expecting to add six to eight new players to the roster, which means several Johnnies won’t be returning.”
It all comes down to resume.
The reactions to Sanders and Pitino’s similar comments were vastly different because of a few different reasons, but the buzz around the St. John’s program and the Big East Conference it belongs to is the first one. The league sent a record number of teams to the NCAA tournament Elite Eight round this year, and adding a proven winner to its coaching ranks may have allowed some to overlook possible missteps.
More importantly, the distinction comes down to resume. While Sanders is a proven player and has an impressive NFL ledger, he is 55 and has been coaching for just 10 years. By comparison, Pitino is 70 and has been coaching college basketball since 1974.
Beyond volume, Pitino has checked all the boxes on his way to his induction in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. Pitino has led two different teams to an NCAA title, three different teams to the Final Four and coached two NBA teams.
Despite his shortcomings, Pitino has been granted leeway due to his unprecedented career accomplishments. Though Sanders may reach Pitino’s level in the future, right now his coaching career is in its infancy. Both made aggressive comments after taking control of their current program, but Pitino has the credibility to back them up.
