"I fell off that s**t twice on purpose": When Donovan Mitchell spoke about Rick Pitino's intense punishments for making mistakes on court

Donovan Mitchell, a Cleveland Cavaliers star, played for legendary coach Rick Pitino during his two-year college career at Louisville. During an appearance on the "Run Your Race" podcast in December 2023, Mitchell opened up about Pitino's intensely demanding style of coaching.

Speaking with co-hosts Theo Pinson and AJ Richardson, the NBA All-Star spoke at length about the level of pressure Pitino put on his players and the punishments he imposed for making mistakes during practice.

"I had played for crazy coaches, but this was, like, another level of crazy," Mitchell said (34:12 onwards). "But [Pitino] was so detail-oriented — some of it was a little extra. Like, we run on the treadmill, if we committed a turnover."

"I think it was like 10 miles an hour for 30 seconds. But the worst one I had? I had to run it at like 13.5 or 14 for five minutes."

Mitchell then revealed a story he had never told anyone before.

"I fell off that s**t twice on purpose," he said. "Unplugged the safety thing and just dropped, 'cause I was, like, 'Bro, I can't do this.' And then, on top of that, you finish and get your a** right back out there — we gotta press again."

Mitchell also described how Rick Pitino would be on the mic, watching over practice from a balcony, and critiquing players even in situations where he couldn't directly see what was happening on the court.

The six-time NBA All-Star also revealed that he played under Pitino in "fear," not wanting to incur the wrath of the coach.

Rick Pitino guides St. John's to its first regular season championship in 40 years

Since arriving at St. John's University in 2023, Rick Pitino has transformed the struggling basketball program, guiding the Red Storm to their first conference regular season championship in over three decades.

The last time they won the outright title was in 1985 when the team was under the leadership of legendary coach Lou Carnesecca.

But under the tutelage of Pitino, St. John's has returned to the top of the Big East, clinching the regular season crown this season with a record of 28-4 (18-2 in conference play).

The Red Storm completed a sweep against the defending national champion UConn Huskies, depriving Dan Hurley's team of a repeat title.

Rick Pitino, on his part, earned his first Big East Coach of the Year award. St. John's, on the other hand, marches into the Big East Tournament with momentum—with the hope of winning the program's first tournament title since 2000.

Having already turned back Butler 78-57 in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, the Red Storm advanced to the semifinals, where they will meet Marquette on Friday.