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Allegations prove St. John’s basketball made right decision on Rick Pitino

By Kevin Connelly

LOUISVILLE, KY - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Rick Pitino of the Louisville Cardinals looks on against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels during the game at KFC YUM! Center on December 17, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Eastern Kentucky 87-56. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Rick Pitino of the Louisville Cardinals looks on against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels during the game at KFC YUM! Center on December 17, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Eastern Kentucky 87-56. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The University of Louisville and former head coach Rick Pitino received its Notice of Allegations on Monday afternoon and it proves that the St. John’s basketball program made the right decision not purring the Hall of Fame coach.

Just about a year ago St. John’s was in a very peculiar sport.

The school and legend Chris Mullin had parted ways after four seasons in which the final year resulted in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015.

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Novice Athletic Director Mike Cragg was then thrusted into a coaching search, one that he has since claimed was way too public for his liking.

There were cries from many sections in the fanbase for a host of coaches, one of that included former Louisville head coach and Hall of Famer, Rick Pitino.

Because of the allegations made against Pitino at Louisville, the on going FBI trial and investigation, and the Catholic principles of the school, St. John’s did not go anywhere near Pitino in its coaching search.

Cragg and the administration at St. John’s ultimately landed on former Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson, who has never suffered a losing season as a Division I head coach and that streak continued with a 17-15 record in his first year at the helm of the Red Storm.

However, before Anderson’s squad was able to get on the court, many scrutinized the program for hiring the Alabama native with no New York ties and taking over a program who just let go of arguably the best, and most iconic, figure in school history.

ALSO READ: Mike Anderson knows last season was productive

Fast-forward to the abrupt beginning of the 2020 offseason on March 14 and St. John’s fans were voicing their concern after the Iona Gaels, a local NYC rival of the Johnnies, hired Rick Pitino to take over for Tim Cluess, a popular name in the St. John’s coaching search, who had to step down at the end of the year due to health issues.

Pitino quickly put together an eight man recruiting class as fans around the country wondered how soon the Hall of Fame coach could build a small-school in New Rochelle, New York into a team that could compete on the recruiting trail with power conference schools.

ALSO READ: St. John’s ranked too low in way-too-early Big East rankings

That brings us to today, May 4, and Rick Pitino is back in the headlines after he, and the University of Louisville, received its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA stemming from the accusations made against Pitino during his years at the school, first reported by Danielle Lerner of The Athletic.

The NCAA placed a Level One allegation against the school and a Level Two allegation on Pitino, which could result in a half-a-year suspension for the new Iona head coach.

Pitino has yet to make a comment on the situation but is expected to do so in the near future via his lawyer.

With all this being said, St. John’s made the absolute right choice by hiring Mike Anderson and not going anywhere near Rick Pitino during its coaching search.

ALSO READ: Recruiting race heats up for key St. John’s prospect

Everyone knows how the NCAA works and this is not a coincidence that within two months of Iona hiring Pitino that the Notice of Allegations is released for an event that happened years ago.

If St. John’s hired the Hall of Famer, it’s very likely that the allegations would have come down last offseason and who knows what the state of the Red Storm program would be if punishments and suspensions were to be handed down.

Nonetheless, St. John’s is skyrocketing in the right direction under Mike Anderson who has the coaching experience and track record to bring the Johnnies back to the glory it once had under legendary coach Lou Carnesecca.