For the first time in his decades-long career, Rick Pitino is the Naismith Coach of the Year. The St. John’s coach won the illustrious national award during a ceremony Sunday at the Final Four in San Antonio. He was chosen over fellow finalists Bruce Pearl of Auburn, Kelvin Sampson of Houston, and Jon Scheyer of Duke. “It’s very prestigious,” Pitino said during an acceptance speech at the Tobin Center, “and I’m deeply honored.” The award recognized a resurgent season in which Pitino, in his second year at St. John’s, led the Red Storm to a 31-5 record, their first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985 and their first Big East Tournament title since 2000. With a roster largely composed of transfers and that had four new starters, St. John’s boasted Division I’s second-most-efficient defense, according to KenPom, and the country’s fourth-best rebounding unit. “Coaches are just bridge builders. We don’t score points. We don’t grab rebounds. We don’t make passes,” Pitino, 72, said. “We’re bridge builders to try and help young people cross over to success. I’m in it 50 years and I’m just getting started in the business. I feel a new, new feeling inside with building St. John’s.” The Johnnies made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 — as a No. 2 seed, no less. Their first-round win over Omaha was the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years. The storybook season came to a sudden end, however, when 10th-seeded Arkansas upset St. John’s in the second round. This is the first time a St. John’s coach has won the Naismith award. It’s the second year in a row that the honor went to a Big East coach, as UConn’s Dan Hurley won it last year. “This would have been the 100th birthday of Lou Carnesecca this year,” Pitino said. “He passed away [in November]. Lou, this is your award. We share it with you, because you are St. John’s.” Earlier in Sunday’s ceremony, Duke’s Cooper Flagg was named the Naismith Player of the Year after leading the Blue Devils with 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as a freshman. Shot-blocking Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. On the women’s side, USC’s JuJu Watkins was named the Naismith Player of the Year and UCLA’s Cori Close won the Naismith Coach of the Year last week. Pitino, a two-time national champion, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, but he had never won Naismith Coach of the Year, which debuted in 1987. Pitino received different national honors in 1987, including NABC Coach of the Year and John Wooden National Coach of the Year. He led Providence to the Final Four that year. But the Naismith Trophy that year went to Indiana’s Bob Knight. Pitino received numerous accolades this season for his St. John’s turnaround, including Big East Coach of the Year for the first time. Earlier this month, Pitino was named the co-recipient of the AP Coach of the Year with Auburn’s Bruce Pearl. In March, Pitino received the United States Basketball Writers Association’s Henry Iba Award, which also recognizes the year’s best college coach. Sunday capped a busy awards season for St. John’s. RJ Luis Jr. won Big East Player of the Year, while Zuby Ejiofor was the conference’s Most Improved Player. Both made the All-Big East First Team, while Kadary Richmond made the second team. ...read more read less