The milestones have come fast and furious for Rick Pitino in the last two weeks after achieving on-court victories No. 900 and No. 904 against Xavier, the latter which moved him into third place on the NCAA Division I men’s basketball all-time list, but he’s not thinking too far ahead into the future.
The Hall of Famer, 73, is in the third year of a six-year contract with the Red Storm and did not receive an extension after leading the program to its first Big East championship since 1985 a year ago.
His original deal is worth approximately $20 million, which annually puts him in the middle among Big East coaches.
This year, he has the Johnnies back in contention for another conference title as the two parties try and work out a new contract.
“I haven’t had any conversations; my agent deals with that type of stuff,” Pitino said on Thursday. “I’m not making plans to move anywhere or do anything, if happens it happens, if it doesn’t it’s not a big deal.”
Pitino added that his agent, Evan Daniels, had a conversation with the university on Wednesday about his current deal and future negotiations.
St. John’s University president Rev. Brian Shanley and athletic director Ed Kull have said they will do whatever it takes to keep Rick Pitino at the school until he decides to retire.
After getting his 900th career win, Pitino mentioned on multiple occasions that 1,000 wins is his next goal. The Red Storm’s biggest booster, Mike Repole, also echoes that sentiment.
“First of all, Rick’s not going to retire until he gets 1,000,” Repole said during an appearance on the Eye on the Storm podcast. “And that I keep reminding him that 1,000 is way bigger than 900.”
Repole is also in favor of getting Rick Pitino a new deal with the school as soon as possible.
“The right thing to do is, let’s rip up the contract. Let’s get him a new three-year agreement. Let’s keep him here as long as he wants because we want him here as long as he wants and let him continue to work his magic,” he explained.
“He’s the highest paid coach over 70 years old in college basketball. He’s the highest paid coach in the Big East over 70. But the reality is, embarrassingly…he’s at the lower half of the Big East. What was a decent contract maybe three years ago is an embarrassing contract today.”
Amid the pending contract extension talks, Rick Pitino will look to lead St. John’s to a win over Providence in Rhode Island on Saturday as well as another Big East Championship and a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament this season.