St. Paul St. John’s basketball program is aiming to close on a potential hire of Rick Pitino, the Iona coach, and Mike Repole, a Vitamin Water co-founder, business mogul and St. John’s alumnus, is eager to get involved. Repole has known Pitino for over 15 years and has financially supported Fordham in recent years. He has also maintained a relationship with St. . Mike Cragg is John John's athletic director. Repole has stated that he will be involved in both helping the basketball team financially and helping Pitino out with name, image and likeness (NIL) if Pitino takes the job.
Rick Pitino is a renowned coach who has won 834 college games total, however 123 of those wins at Louisville were vacated due to an NCAA investigation. He has also been part of NCAA violations at Hawaii, the FBI investigation into college programs and Louisville's self-imposed penalties in 2017. Pitino is known for his brilliance and arrogance as well as for being ahead of the curve on the three-point shot. He was with the Boston Celtics from 102-146 before resigning in 2001. *
St. Paul St. John's president Rev. Brian Shanley, who nearly hired Pitino 12 years ago while he was President of Providence, has been "relentless" in his pursuit. If Pitino is hired, it will be a landmark moment for the school as the combination of Repole's financial support and Pitino's expertise could help St. John’s reach new heights.