Rick Pitino puts onus on Kentucky basketball as hopes of home-and-home series dwindle

Rick Pitino got his homecoming with the Kentucky basketball program this weekend at its Big Blue Madness and the Hall of Famer truly cherished the moment because he might not be returning soon.

Hopes of a home-and-home series between St. John's and Kentucky are fading quickly after the idea became prevalent following the hiring of Mark Pope, Pitino's captain on the 1996 National Championship team, to be the head coach of the Wildcats.

However, despite much social media buzz about the potential series, talks have hit a massive roadblock.

"I don't think it's working out right now because [Kentucky] can't return the following year. They want us to skip a year, and we can't do that," Pitino said at St. John's media day on Tuesday afternoon.

The plan would be for the Johnnies to play inside Rupp Arena during the 2025-26 season and Kentucky to meet the Red Storm inside Madison Square Garden in 2026-27. Instead, the Wildcats want to play in New York City during the 2027-28 year.

"I want to play [Kentucky], but we can't skip a year. That doesn't [work]."

Rick Pitino told Kentucky Sports Radio during his time in Lexington that he would be open to playing the Wildcats at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but assumes that Mark Pope and the rest of his players would prefer to play at The Garden.

The idea of opening the regular season against the Duke Blue Devils at the home of the U.S. Open was floated by Pitino during last season but plans never formulated.

Pitino's return to Lexington was his first time inside Rupp Arena since he was the head coach of Louisville on December 26, 2015 and got a roaring ovation from the sold out crowd that nearly moved the St. John's coach to tears.

Now, another return to the place Rick Pitino once called home is on life support unless the two programs can find a way to make its schedules sync.