Rick Pitino still has ‘tremendous affection’ for Iona two years after leaving for St. John’s

It will be reunion season for Rick Pitino.

First, it’s Iona on Saturday, then Kentucky a week later in Atlanta. 

Iona, of course, gave him another shot after he was fired by Louisville and was coaching in Greece.

He led the MAAC school to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths before leaving for St. John’s in 2023. 

“The president [Seamus Carey] and [athletic director Matthew Glovaski] flew to Madrid, Spain, to see me coach against Real Madrid,” Pitino recalled this week. “We met at an Irish pub at midnight with my son, my niece and my nephew to talk about going to Iona, and we stayed from like 12 to one o’clock. Then, they went back and offered me the job. 

“I had literally 48 hours to get out of Greece and get to London, or I would never be able to get back [here] because of COVID; it hit that quick.”

St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino reacts on the baseline during the first half when the St. John’s Red Storm played the Ole Miss Rebels, Saturday, December 6, 2025, at Madison Square Garden. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Iona is on its second coach since Pitino’s departure. Under Dan Geriot, who had spent the last seven years as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Cavaliers and Pelicans, the new-look Gaels are off to an 8-3 start.

The two teams have one common opponent, Quinnipiac, which St. John’s crushed in its opener but recently blasted Iona in New Rochelle. 

“The president called me [in the offseason] and asked me if Iona could get into the Garden. It’s been a while since they played in the Garden,” Pitino said. “I have tremendous affection for Iona, obviously, for a lot of reasons. … I said I would love to play you.

“I’m hoping the crowd is amazing so we can make it a holiday game every year.”

This will mark the first St. John’s-Iona game since 2017, a 10-point Red Storm victory at the Garden. A crowd of at least 15,000 is expected.