"The epitome of 'I understand it now'": College hoops fans react to Rick Pitino's impact as a coach on Kentucky, Louisville, St. John's & more

Following an abysmal 2023-24 season, Rick Pitino's St. John's men's basketball has taken this season by storm, sitting 12th in the Associated Press rankings and topping the Big East. However, this is not the first time Pitino has made a remarkable turnaround in his second season coaching a team.

Pitino has coached five different college teams and earned a reputation for having a great second season after a difficult first season with each. To celebrate his remarkable career, Bleacher Reports Hoops posted several photos of the controversial coach, alongside his records for each team during his first and second seasons.

"Rick Pitino’s teams have historically taken a major leap in year two and this year’s St. John’s team is no different. The Johnnies are ranked 12th and sit atop the Big East with huge matchups against Marquette and UConn this week 🔥," the post was captioned Monday.

In the comments section, fans hyped Pitino, with some dubbing him the "I understand it now" coach.

"The epitome of 'i understand it now,'" a fan wrote.

"If the saying I understand it now was a coach," another wrote.

"Because he understands why it went bad in year one and learns from his mistakes going into year 2. Believe it it not, many coaches do not understand this concept," a fan commented.

Fans hail coach St. John's coach Rick Pitino on IG. Image via @br_hoops

Other fans dropped comments to hail the coach.

A fan commented: "Love Him or Hate Him, He Can Flat Out Coach The Game Of Basketball. Gets It Done!!!!"

Another fan commented: "Dude just wins and it’s amazing to watch."

"Best in the business simple as that," a fan wrote.

Fans hail coach Rick Pitino on IG. Image via @br_hoops

Rick Pitino unhappy with St. John's narrow win vs Providence

St. John's extended its winning streak to eight games with a 68-66 victory over visiting Providence on Saturday. However, the Johnnies squandered a 19-point lead, allowing the Friars to close the gap by making 10 of 13 shots, including six 3-pointers.

Kadary Richmond saved the day for St. John's with a free-throw line jumper with 3.0 seconds remaining and finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals. After the game, St. John's coach Rick Pitino expressed his disappointment in his team's defense.

“I don’t think my guys understand me," he said. "I’m really unhappy with them. We just kept breaking our defensive routine of what we were supposed to do.

"Because we’re concerned about missing free throws, it affected our defense down the stretch, and that’s why I’m very disappointed. They think I’m going to jump up and down and congratulate (them saying) what a great win. It’s just the opposite."

St. John’s (19-3, 10-1 Big East) will face a couple of its toughest tests yet as the Johnnies host No. 11 Marquette (18-4, 9-2) on Tuesday and travel to No. 19 UConn (16-6, 8-3 Big East) on Friday.