Rick Pitino misses St. John's game vs. Seton Hall with COVID-19
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino during an NCAA basketball game against Creighton on Saturday in Omaha, Neb. Credit: St. John’s Athletics
NEWARK — Rick Pitino was not available to coach St. John’s in Tuesday night’s Big East matchup against Seton Hall at Prudential Center after testing positive for COVID-19.
Steve Masiello, the associate head coach, handled Pitino’s responsibilities in his absence.
According to school officials, Pitino first began to feel poorly on Saturday morning before the team’s one-point loss to now-No. 18 Creighton in Omaha, which has been experiencing sub-zero temperatures.
He felt worse afterward during the team’s ride to the airport on a bus with no functioning heating system because of the weather conditions.
Pitino didn’t feel well enough to run practice on Sunday but felt well enough to run Monday’s workout. He felt poorly again at the team hotel on Tuesday. He then was tested and came up positive.
It’s unclear whether this will prevent Pitino from coaching the Red Storm on Saturday when they host No. 17 Marquette at Madison Square Garden.
According to current CDC guidance, “If you test positive for COVID-19, stay home for at least 5 days and isolate from others in your home,” according to its website.
St. John’s officials said Pitino is “expected to return later this week if he is feeling better.”
Just about all of St. John’s players were available for the game against the Pirates Tuesday night except Jordan Dingle, who is unavailable due to illness.
Masiello spent 11 seasons as head coach at Manhattan College and guided the Jaspers to two NCAA Tournament appearances. He joined Pitino’s staff at Iona for the 2022-23 season and joined the St. John’s staff when Pitino was hired last March.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
