Evan Washburn boxes out Rick Pitino, refuses to let St. John’s coach vanish mid-interview

Rick Pitino wasn’t quite following Scott Drew’s lead when it came to handling in-game interviews.

Baylor’s Drew famously wrapped up his chat earlier this week with Tracy Wolfson by saying, “That’s all I got,” cutting the conversation short.

Simple, direct and done.

Pitino, though, decided to pull a Houdini act after giving one quick answer during a break in the action, hoping to vanish into the abyss. But Evan Washburn wasn’t having it. He’s a pro and wasn’t about to let Pitino off that easily.

.@EvanWashburn with a talk (and a bit of a walk) with Rick Pitino at the break. pic.twitter.com/k6EO71JM3o

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2025

Washburn didn’t even throw in any “leading” questions, unlike Pitino’s later complaints about Roger Rubin at the postgame presser after St. John’s 75-66 loss to Arkansas.

No, Washburn was sticking around for more.

And he made sure Pitino was too, sticking out his arm to ensure he was going to ask another question.

“Does the philosophy change at all with Kadary [Richmond] with two fouls?”

“I told him, I said ‘The first foul was the one that hurt us because you just reached in. It’s gotta be body to body,'” Pitino said.

For what it’s worth, the philosophy did change. Richmond played just 16 minutes, fouling out in the process. He has just five points on 28% shooting with four rebounds and two assists. In St. John’s 83-53 win over Omaha, in which dropped a trash can like a WWE pro, the senior guard had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Just like Richmond was done at five fouls, Pitino was done at two questions.

He stormed off before Washburn could reach out his arm again.

“Good box out by Evan,” Andrew Catalon quipped.

“Yeah, it was good,” Steve Lappas replied.

“No foul called,” Catalon added.

Pitino might have tried to pull a vanishing act, but Washburn made sure his exit was anything but seamless — two questions and a quick exit, but no escape.