With a late basket from Dylan Darling, zero points up to that point, the legendary coach brings the Johnnies back to the Sweet 16 after 27 years
He didn’t bat an eyelid. Elegant in a designer suit, jacket and tie. The slicked hair, probably dyed to look younger. Impeccable. Rick Pitino remained Rick Pitino in the best moment, the kind that only March Madness can offer. He was not upset when the revenge on the many who had turned their backs on him in the recent past took place. Because the coach of St John’s, the University of New York, campus in Queens, who often plays at Madison Square Garden, wants more, thinks big. Even at 73 years old. He didn’t even quicken his pace while his boys hugged each other, unleashed after the last-second basket that kicked the glorious Kansas out of the tournament, the one scored by a nobody, “his creation”, Dylan Darling, against all logic. Pitino has probably already thought about the next match against Duke. Here’s to another revenge to take, ancient one. The Johnnies hadn’t qualified for the Sweet 16 since 1999. Yet he reacted like someone who’s been there before, because after all, he’d already been there at the helm of three other colleges. He never goes out of fashion because he always looks to the future, more modern than colleagues 30 years younger. He wants it all with this version of the Red Storm: the Final Four in Indianapolis and the college title.
