His career has not, however, come without controversy. Pitino’steam was investigated for hiring escorts to perform for recruits, and he was charged with failure to monitor the program in June 2017 and suspended for five games. Three months later, the program was implicated in the FBI investigation of college basketball. He was ultimately fired in October 2017. The NCAA did not rule on the case for five years, during which Pitino coached a pro team in Greece and was hired by Iona in 2020.
The NCAA’s Independent Accountability Resolution Process finally ruled on the case in November 2022. Pitino was not sanctioned. He takes over a St. John’s team that has struggled for nearly four decades to recapture the magic from the Lou Carnesecca era. The have run through seven coaches since Carnesecca’s 1992 retirement, making just eight NCAA Tournament appearances since. A 1989 regional final appearance under Mike Jarvis ranks as the high-water mark.The school is looking to the 70-year-old Pitino, long considered one of the best X and O minds in the game, to use his New York roots and coaching reputation to cull recruits and rebuild the program. Pitino has a history of rebuilds.
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DanaONeilWriter The article says 1989 for the St. John’s Elite Eight appearance under Jarvis but it was in 1999.
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