St. John’s basketball: Rick Pitino writes letter to Red Storm fanbase

St. John’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino wrote a letter to the Red Storm fanbase. 

The long awaited debut of Rick Pitino as the St. John’s basketball head coach has come and gone and now fans have turned their attention to the first game at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

Following a 90-74 victory over Stony Brook, the Johnnies will get the Michigan Wolverines in the final edition of the Gavitt Games and Pitino knows how important creating a home court atmosphere at The Garden is.

The Hall of Famer wrote a letter to St. John’s fans prior to the season opener that was given to those in attendance at Carnesecca Arena and published today online and in Newsday and the New York Post.

“It feels good to be home!” Pitino started his note.

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“Like many of you, my story began here.”

Rick Pitino mentioned throughout his first seven months on the job that he wants to play more games inside The World’s Most Famous Arena as the Red Storm will get eight games inside the building, compared to just four last season under Mike Anderson.

St. John’s basketball continues to embrace New York

Rick Pitino highlighted his career highlights in the letter and how his upbringing in New York fueled his desire to be great.

“But this is different. Now, I represent the the St. John’s Red Storm…This is personal.”

“The Red Storm embodies the pride of New York,” Pitino added.

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“We play for those born and bred from the five boroughs. We play for those who came here to chase bigger dreams. We play for all the service workers that keep this city running.”

“We play for New York.”

St. John’s sold out its opener against Stony Brook with 5,602 filling the on-campus gym and is expecting somewhere close to 15,000 fans in attendance when the ball is tipped against Michigan.

Tipoff is slated for 6:30p.m. ET (FoxSports1) in Manhattan.