A three-year stint at Iona will never be the headliner on Rick Pitino’s résumé, but coaching that small program in New Rochelle remains an important part of his story nonetheless.
When Iona hired him as head basketball coach in March 2020, Pitino was nearly three years removed from being fired at Louisville amid a federal investigation into fraud and corruption in the sport.
Pitino was coaching the Greek team Panathinaikos when Iona president Seamus Carey and athletic director Matthew Glovaski flew to Madrid to speak with him about the job.
“We met at an Irish pub at midnight with my son, my niece and my nephew to talk about going to Iona,” Pitino recalled this week. “We stayed from like 12 to 1, and then they went back and offered me the job. I had literally 48 hours to get out of Greece and get to London, or I would never be able to get back because of COVID.”
Pitino led Iona to two NCAA appearances from 2020-22 before leaving in March 2023 to become the head coach at St. John’s.
On Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, Pitino’s Red Storm will face Iona for the first time since his departure.
“The [Iona] president called me and asked me if we could get into the Garden,” Pitino said. “It’s been a while since they’ve played in the Garden. I have tremendous affection for Iona, obviously, for a lot of reasons.”
Iona brought Pitino back to the NCAA at a time when other programs weren’t willing to. During his time in Westchester County, Pitino suggested he would be happy to remain there.
In November 2022 — about four months before he landed the St. John’s job — the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) cleared Pitino in the Louisville scandal, which included an allegation that Adidas representatives funneled $100,000 to the family of a recruit.
“I have deep affection for Iona, and I said, ‘I’d love to play you.’ I’m hoping that the crowd is amazing so we can make it like a holiday game every year,” Pitino said this week. “We’re hoping to get 15-16,000 fans.”
Iona (8-3) is one of the few small schools on a loaded non-conference schedule for No. 22 St. John’s (5-3), which faced Iowa State, Baylor, Auburn and Ole Miss in its previous four games.
The Gaels are in their first season under head coach Dan Geriot after firing Tobin Anderson, and they have not made the NCAA Tournament since Pitino left.
But Pitino isn’t taking Iona lightly.
Senior guard C.J. Anthony is averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 assists per game, while the Gaels shoot 37.4% on 3-pointers as a team.
“We’re playing against an Iona team that could come here and take 35 or 40 [3-pointers] and make 14 or 15,” Pitino said.
“They’re a really good offensive team with a terrific point guard, some great wing players. They’re an explosive offensive basketball team. They can beat anybody on any given night if they’re on from the 3-point line.”
LINEUP SHAKEUP
Ian Jackson is set to start at point guard on Saturday, marking a change to the Red Storm’s opening lineup.
Dylan Darling had started at point guard in each of the previous six games but will come off of the bench against Iona, Pitino said.
Jackson, a sophomore combo guard from the Bronx, has not started since the season-opening win over Quinnipiac.
“Ian has improved, like Joson [Sanon], a great deal,” Pitino said. “He plays hard every single day. He’s improving, and everybody has started from Dillon Mitchell to Dylan Darling. Everybody but Ian Jackson. I think he deserves a chance to start as well.”
Jackson, a five-star recruit from Our Saviour Lutheran School, spent his freshman year at North Carolina before transferring to St. John’s.
A gifted scorer, Jackson is averaging 11.4 points in 18.3 minutes per game this season.
“It means a lot [to start],” Jackson said. “I feel like I put in a lot of work, from practice to games, just trying to be better every day and grind every day, so this is just a tip to that.”
The bigger questions are Jackson’s defense and ability to take care of the ball, but Pitino believes the sophomore has gotten better in both areas since the summer — even amid outside scrutiny.
“It’s very difficult for a New Yorker to play in New York,” Pitino said. “Very difficult, because if he was in North Carolina right now, you would not be asking these questions. I’ve seen many New Yorkers from the Jets, the Giants, the Mets and the Yankees ruined from being over-scrutinized. … Ian Jackson has improved immensely since he’s been here.”
