Rick Pitino and No. 2 St. John’s lost a stunner Saturday to No. 10 Arkansas, but even more surprising was the fact Pitino benched Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. the final five minutes of the game.
Yet Pitino’s responses to questions about why he sat Luis prompted more confusion after the game.
The junior guard struggled, hitting only 3-of-17 shots and scoring nine points. Yet no one expected to see him sitting at the end of a tournament game.
Naturally, the media had questions about that decision. Roger Rubin of Newsday Sports asked Pitino, “You had RJ on the bench for a pretty long stretch at the end. Was that just because he just wasn’t making them, or was there something more to it?”
“[Luis] played 30 minutes. That’s a long time,” Pitino said.
“So he was tired?” Rubin said.
“No. Played 30 minutes, and I went with other people,” a visibly irritated Pitino responded. “You already know the answers, Roger. You’re asking leading questions. You already know why he didn’t play.”
Rick Pitino: “[RJ Luis] played 30 minutes. That’s a long time.”
Roger Rubin: “So he was tired.”
Pitino: “No. Played 30 minutes, & I went with other people. You already know the answers, Roger. You’re asking leading questions. You already know it…”pic.twitter.com/uqgclWIN5b
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2025
Another reporter tried a different angle.
“Was there one play with RJ that made you sit him the last five minutes?” he asked.
“You know he was 3-for-17, you know he was 0-for-3 (three-point attempts),” Pitino said. “So, you’re answering your own … I’m not gonna knock one of my players.”
It’s understandable Pitino was upset after the loss, ending St. John’s’ best season in decades. But surely there had to be a better, more cordial way to answer questions many fans were wondering.
