Rick Pitino SLAMS St. Johns players – and their ‘s****y’ team facilities – in astonishing rant after they blew 12-point lead in loss to Seton Hall: ‘We are so nonathletic that we can’t guard anybody without fouling’

The honeymoon is over for Rick Pitino in St. John’s.

The Hall of Fame coach trashed the Red Storm following Sunday’s 68-62 loss to rival Seton Hall.

“We’re so unathletic that we can’t defend anyone without fouling,” Pitino, 71, told reporters at UBS Arena on Long Island. ‘And, really, it’s not about losing. Even winning, when I watch the film, I see unathletic plays, I see people who don’t handle the ball, who are only interested in making quick shots. “It’s been a disappointing year.”

St. John’s led by 12 at halftime — the school’s largest lead in Big East play this season.

The Johnnies are 14-12 in Pitino’s first season since arriving from nearby Iona. Pitino previously won national championships at Kentucky and Louisville before being fired at the latter amid pay-for-play allegations uncovered in a wide-ranging federal investigation.

Expectations weren’t high when Pitino signed with St. John’s before the season, but the team hasn’t lived up to even the most modest expectations after going just 2-8 in its last 10.

And Pitino was quick to dismiss the suggestion that the St. John’s facility is somehow to blame for the team’s state.

‘Do we have shit facilities? Yes, we want it,” said the coach, famous for his defensive mentality. “Having shit facilities has nothing to do with not being vigilant.”

As always, the problems are related to recruiting, according to Pitino, who ranked among the best in the country in Lexington and Louisville.

“We recruited the antithesis of the way I train, with speed, quickness, fundamentals, strength and toughness,” Pitino said.

“It’s a good group, they try hard, but they’re not very tough.”

Pitino, who previously coached the NBA’s New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, admitted his first season in Queens hasn’t been fun.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. ‘This is the experience I have enjoyed the least in my life. “This has been very disappointing.”

Rick Pitino, 71, is in his first season at St. John’s, where he coaches players he didn’t recruit.

Pitino’s exchange with reporters was reminiscent of his infamous ‘Larry Bird ain’t walking through that door’ press conference in Boston, where he blamed the team’s failures on his staff, ignoring the fact that, as team president, he was responsible. Of the template. .

He also had another similar exchange with reporters earlier this month, saying he wants to commit suicide when he loses.

“I don’t feel good,” Pitino said. ‘When we lose, I hate the world. So you understand that, no, I don’t feel well. I never felt good when we lost. Sorry for my language.

‘I don’t believe in those brave efforts along the way. I feel like I want to commit suicide. He jumps into the cold and freezes to death.

The Red Storm returns to action Wednesday at Georgetown.