The final time Pitino introduced a crew to Gampel Pavilion with this a lot anticipation surrounding the matchup was Jan. 29, 2011, for an old-school Large East showdown between No. 23 Louisville, the place he coached for 16 seasons, and fifth-ranked UConn. A day matinee earlier than a sold-out crowd of 10,167 swiftly accelerated right into a double-overtime traditional as Cardinals level guard Peyton Siva contorted his physique mid-air for a dangling leaner that pressured the primary additional session and later knifed into the lane for a right-handed jam that necessitated the second. Two extra layups from Siva, whose seven subject objectives all got here from contained in the arc, secured a 79-78 win for the guests.
So irritated was Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun together with his crew’s incapacity to impede the diminutive Siva, generously listed at 6 toes tall and 185 kilos, that he kneecapped the Huskies’ defensive effort in a memorable postgame retort: “I’ve no rationalization for it — none,” Calhoun stated. “If I did, I’d have tried to unravel it. I attempted to make use of completely different facilities, however they each bought out of the best way to ensure [Siva] had a clearer view of the rim.”
So elated was Pitino that his group persevered regardless of trailing by 9 halfway by means of the second half and surrendering 21 offensive rebounds — “We had been completely, bodily outmanned on the glass,” he stated — that the eventual Corridor of Famer spent a portion of his information convention waxing poetic about simply how a lot he adored Louisville’s roster: “This is without doubt one of the gutsiest groups I’ve ever coached,” Pitino stated. “I am actually fortunate to teach this crew.”
In spirit and diction alike, the sentiment that January day matched what Pitino stated about his present crew following a pugilistic win over Marquette on Tuesday night time, kickstarting every week that can launch the Purple Storm towards their highest rating of the twenty first century when new polls are launched early subsequent week. St. John’s overcame ghastly performances from the free-throw line (17-for-31, 54.8%) and the 3-point line (3-for-16, 18.8%) by bludgeoning the Golden Eagles for 36 factors within the paint and a plus-22 rebounding benefit. Afterward, Pitino gushed about simply how a lot enjoyable his gamers are to teach, how he finds their demeanor “refreshing with the best way they play, how exhausting they play,” and suggesting that his satisfaction on this yr’s crew is on par with every other from an illustrious profession that features seven Remaining 4 appearances and two nationwide championships.
The sheer brutality of that recreation appeared to stun Marquette head coach Shaka Sensible, who opened his postgame information convention after a 70-64 loss by praising the “unimaginable violence” and “power” with which the Purple Storm had performed. Such unfiltered poignancy from considered one of Hurley’s closest and most-respected colleagues struck the UConn head coach throughout his preparation for St. John’s. Lengthy thought to be a snarling proponent of legalized aggression, Hurley inspired his gamers to observe the film “Gladiator” in preparation for the extent of physicality they might encounter on Friday night time. “It’s gonna be a battle,” Hurley advised them.
And the Huskies roared into battle. Buoyed and bolstered by the emotional return of McNeeley, a five-star recruit who missed 9 video games with a excessive ankle sprain, and a raucous crowd that wound snake-like traces by means of the concourse in pursuit of extremely discounted grownup drinks, Hurley’s crew exploded for twenty-four factors within the opening seven minutes by splashing 5 3-pointers that constructed a double-digit lead. The house crowd of 10,299 throbbed and thrummed over the opportunity of a season-defining week of its personal, with the Huskies having notched an sudden win over Marquette final Saturday.
However neither Pitino’s forehead nor his immaculately tailor-made swimsuit ever appeared to wrinkle, with the 72-year-old coach pacing miles alongside Gampel Pavilion’s sideline in his trademark stance: each arms behind his again, the fingers from one hand engulfed by the palm of the opposite, leaning ahead on the waist to bark directions and peck at officers. The coolness radiated from Pitino to a group of gamers that appeared equally unflappable, even because the Purple Storm ditched their authentic defensive recreation plan in favor of an unrelenting full-court press. When Pitino requested his crew to harry and harass an undermanned UConn backcourt — with level guard Hassan Diarra restricted by an ailing knee and the absence of a secondary ball handler — St. John’s responded by forcing 22 turnovers and remodeling them into 18 factors the opposite means.
“What the press has executed for me for 40 years is it has worn folks out legs-wise the place they don’t shoot the ball as properly,” Pitino stated. “It’s all the time been the present that my groups have had. If we are able to put on out their legs, they received’t shoot it as properly. However they had been coming at us they usually had been getting too many simple photographs. So I felt the full-court press would take somewhat starch out of their photographs, take some time within the backcourt, make us ultra-aggressive. We pressed extra tonight than we usually have, however that’s due to what they had been doing to us offensively early on.”
Level by level, possession by possession, the Purple Storm seized management of the sport. They climbed out of the 14-point first-half gap with a barrage of mid-range jumpers from Luis, who made 10 of 21 makes an attempt from the sphere for a game-high 21 factors with a shot chart that successfully condemned what is taken into account analytically sound. They eroded a six-point second-half deficit when Richmond started wriggling his means by means of site visitors for one brutish layup after one other, scoring all 12 of his factors within the remaining stanza. There was a six-minute stretch within the latter levels of the second half when Luis and Richmond mixed to attain 16 of the crew’s 18 factors. Even Hurley admitted that the Purple Storm had been bodily stronger than UConn at seemingly each place on the ground.
“I feel we take a look at the ball as meals,” Luis stated. “And we’re making an attempt to only take it. I really feel like we’re a bunch of canines who play exhausting, and I really feel like we simply wished it greater than them.”
A missed layup from McNeeley with three seconds remaining in the end sealed the Huskies’ destiny, at which level reserve St. John’s heart Ruben Prey started waving the rest of the coed part goodbye. Within the handshake line, the place Luis absorbed one playful shove after one other from his adoring teammates, the trade between Hurley and Pitino was uneventfully curt. They briefly embraced after which went their separate methods with each males understanding precisely why this recreation unfolded the best way it did.
After which the celebration kicked into excessive gear as St. John’s assistant coach Taliek Brown started thumping chests with seemingly each participant who walked off the court docket, every trade extra highly effective than the final. It was a painful scene for the handful of UConn greats seated only a few toes away, behind the Huskies’ bench, as their former teammate reveled in one other college’s victory. Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor and Rashad Anderson appeared on as the place to begin guard from their 2004 nationwide championship crew relished the Large East torch altering fingers for not less than one season.
“We’ve bought it going proper now,” Pitino stated, “and we’re not gonna let it slide one bit.”
Need nice tales delivered proper to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and observe leagues, groups and gamers to obtain a personalised publication each day!
Michael Cohen covers faculty soccer and basketball for FOX Sports activities with an emphasis on the Large Ten. Observe him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
Get extra from School Basketball Observe your favorites to get details about video games, information and extra
