SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rick Pitino and Bill Self have racked up a combined 1,769 victories with consistent excellence at every stop in their long college basketball coaching careers. They're also two of only three active coaches to win multiple national titles.
Yet during their decades on benches from Providence to Tulsa and far beyond, Pitino and Self had somehow coached against each other only once.
“And he sent us home crying,” Pitino said with a grin Saturday, recalling Kansas’ 96-83 win over his Iona team at a tournament in Florida in November 2021.
These icons of their profession finally meet again Sunday — and for the first time on the NCAA Tournament stage — when Pitino's revitalized St. John’s (29-6) takes on Self's perennially powerful Jayhawks (24-10) for a spot in the East Region's Sweet 16.
At 73 years old, Pitino said this week that he’s coaching every game at St. John’s as if it's his last. Self is a mere 63, but he also realizes the importance of focusing on the present after his health concerns in recent years.
Both took time out from their preparations at Viejas Arena to praise each other.
“There’s so many great coaches out there, but they have a tough time standing the test of time,” Pitino said. “Bill has stood the test of time every single year. ... He’s great at everything he does.”
“The coaches that are so impressive to me are the coaches that coached without a 3-point line and then became efficient with the 3-point line,” Self said. “(Who coached) without a shot clock, then became one of the best with the shot clock. Always evolving with the game. And I think (Pitino) has done that as well as anybody maybe ever has.”
Pitino entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, and Self joined him in 2017. Pitino is third in college hoops history with 914 career victories, and Self is 12th with 855.
The only other active coach with multiple national titles is UConn’s Dan Hurley — whose Huskies are in the other half of this East bracket, facing UCLA in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Pitino and Self have already won everything, yet they’re both driven to create chances for their current players to experience it — and St. John's against Kansas would be a compelling matchup even without this coaching collision.
Self agrees with the notion that St. John's should have received a higher seed than No. 5 after its spectacular 19-1 finish to claim the Big East regular-season and tournament titles. The Johnnies then routed Northern Iowa in their opener Friday.
“Certainly they're as hot as any team in the field,” Self said.
While its regular season wasn't amazing, Kansas is loaded with talent as usual — and Pitino thinks the Jayhawks could be one of the few teams capable of besting the Johnnies' power and strength in the post.
“They’re certainly extremely talented, and it’ll be interesting to see how we combat their size,” Pitino said.