Not Magic Johnson or John Stockton: This is who St. John’s coach Rick Pitino says is the best passer of all-time
Rick Pitino’s St. John’s University tip off the Big Dance Thursday afternoon, but before his time as the Cowboys coach, he spent time coaching in Greece.
The Madness is finally here, and it’s the most exciting time of the year as 64 teams begin their quest for championship glory. One of those teams that is favorite to be the last standing in the Big Dance is St. John’s thanks to a revival led by their coach Rick Pitino.
St. John’s back on the national scene
Pitino is in his second year as the head coach of the Red Storm and has his guys entering the tournament as a No. 2 seed. He is a living legend that has won two national titles, been to seven Final Fours and has a long and rich history of basketball at every level.
He got his first head coaching job at Boston University just four years after graduating from the University of Massachusetts. Since then he has coached in the NBA with the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics but did his best work in the college game during his time at Kentucky and then Louisville.
He spent some time in Europe coaching legendary team Panathinaikos of the Greek and Euroleague. It was during his time in Athens when he said he coached the greatest passer he has ever seen.
Calathes the king of the assist
“I’ve coached against Magic Johnson, (Larry) Bird, some of the great guards.. Maurice Cheeks, Isiah Thomas. Nick Calathes is the best passer I’ve seen in my life time,” said Pitino.
Calathes played college ball at the Florida Gators from 2007-2009 and made the Big Dance with Billy Donovan’s team. He was considered one of the greatest play makers in college basketball players at the time, and took that play making ability abroad. He won a Euroleague title with Panathinaikos in 2011, was named to two Euroleague First Teams in 2018 and 2019 when Pitino was coaching him, and is the all-time assist leader in Euroleague with 2,092.
We are New York’s Team. We are St. John’s.
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) March 20, 2025
And we’re taking the nation by storm. 🔴⛈️#RedStorm #NewReign #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/YBXRUa6nms
Two seed St John’s takes on Omaha University in the first round on Thursday night. If they get through that game, they could have a massive second round match up with Kansas in the second round. It’s not going to be an easy path to the title for the Red Storm, who could see the Jay Hawks, two-time defending champions UCONN, and one seed Florida in the West Bracket.
Complete your personal details to comment
Your opinion will be published with first and last names