Rick Pitino is ready to embark on 1,000 win goal

The St. John’s Red Storm’s current win streak hit six games following their 88-83 win against Xavier on Saturday. With the win, the Red Storm improved to 15-5 and 8-1 in the Big East Conference. Not only that, but St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino reached a major milestone with 900 career coaching wins. And he’s ready for the next major career mark.

Following St. John’s win against Xavier, Rick Pitino exclaimed that he’s ready to go for 1,000 career wins as a coach, as per college basketball reporter Andy Katz.

“Players get coaches wins, and there’s nothing sweeter than getting 900 with these guys,” Pitino said following the win. “I’ve got a great family, great wife. They’ve kept me young, they’ve allowed me to work with these guys, 12-13 hours a day and I’m just enjoying it more than ever. Great group to coach.”

This is Pitino’s third season at the helm as head coach at St. John’s. During that time, he’s compiled an overall record of 66-23, and 37-12 in Big East play. Last season, the Red Storm finished 31-5 overall and 18-2 in the Big East. However, they were eliminated in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to coming to St. John’s, Pitino was the head coach at Iona, making his return to college basketball after a a three-year hiatus during which he coached professionally in Greece. Before that, he was the head coach at Louisville for 16 years, overseeing the program’s move Conference USA, to the Big East, then briefly with the American Athletic Conferene and then finally to the ACC.

Pitino led the Cardinals to the 2013 NCAA title, but that championship was eventually stripped due to NCAA infractions.

One of the most highly decorated coaches in NCAA history, Pitino won his first national championship in 1996 with Kentucky. His first head coaching stint was at Boston University in 1978. He has also had stints in the NBA with the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics.

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