Rick Pitino was full of jokes as he stood on the field at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night prior to throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of Yankees and Cleveland Guardians matchup.
The Hall of Famer was asked about New York superstar Aaron Judge and how his 6-foot-7 frame would translate to the basketball court.
“He’s not quick enough laterally,” Pitino joked of Judge. The comment stems from his viral press conference on February 18, 2024, after the Red Storm blew a second half lead against Seton Hall.
Pitino was expressing how disappointing his first season with the Red Storm had been and capped it by saying that his players were “slow laterally”. The blunt remarks made national headlines but sparked St. John’s to a 6-1 finish that season and narrowly missing a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Since those comments, St. John’s has a 37-6 record including winning the Big East regular season and tournament championships as well as winning an NCAA Tournament game this season.
Pitino, a diehard Yankee fan, expanded on what Aaron Judge has meant to the franchise as a player.
"I'm not sure that Aaron Judge is not going have the type of legacy [Babe] Ruth and [Lou] Gehrig have had. He's quite special. I don't buy into anything about the postseason. He'll have great postseasons as well, and I hope it's this year.”
Judge is on track to win his third, and second consecutive, American League Most Valuable Player as he currently ranks inside the Top 5 of batting average, home runs, RBI, and OPS.
Pitino won his first ever Big East Coach of the Year Award in addition to being named as the National Coach of the Year.
St. John’s is expected to be a preseason Top 10 team in the country this fall.