Rick Pitino has never needed much prompting to speak his mind, and after watching his St. John’s team fall to Kentucky in Atlanta, the Hall of Fame coach had plenty to say about the Wildcats — and their fanbase.
Pitino began by crediting the player who changed the entire feel of the game once he stepped on the floor.
“I congratulate UK for the great second half. I think a big difference is the play when Jaland Lowe comes in the game — they’re a different basketball team,” Pitino said. “He makes people better. He is very tough to guard in pick-and-rolls.”
From there, Pitino shifted his focus to Mark Pope, and what he described as a complete transformation of Kentucky’s identity midseason.
“I think Mark did a brilliant thing,” Pitino explained. “He came into the season thinking he had this great shooting team, and it’s obvious it’s probably just an average shooting team. So he said, ‘I’ll change the whole mindset.’ We’re going to be a physical team. We’re going to be a tough team.”
According to Pitino, that adjustment is exactly what has allowed Kentucky to stabilize after an uneven start.
“They totally changed the personality of who they are,” he said. “That’s all he talks about — physicality and toughness. I think he made a change, and now the injured guys have come back. That makes them a much better basketball team.”
Then came the quote that is sure to circulate around Big Blue Nation for weeks.
Pitino didn’t just defend Kentucky — he openly challenged the criticism surrounding the Wildcats during their injury-plagued stretch.
“I think you all need to learn a little bit of a lesson as writers,” Pitino said. “You’re expecting Kentucky to be this great basketball team with all those injuries. You can’t be a great basketball team without two of your best players, with no point guard, no big men.”
He made it clear that many of Kentucky’s worst losses came without what he called “two gigantic pieces,” and he strongly suggested the narrative around the team had been unfair.
“So I think they’ll be a very good basketball team,” Pitino concluded. “They’re going to have to keep playing smashmouth basketball and play like that physical team, and I give Mark all the credit in the world.”
For a fanbase that has been living on edge since November, hearing Rick Pitino — of all people — tell everyone to relax and trust Mark Pope probably wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card.
But here we are.
Kentucky is healthier than it has been all season, its identity is clear, and momentum may finally be building. And according to Pitino, the message is simple: stop panicking — and trust the direction Pope has chosen.
