St. John's coach Rick Pitino on Monday stood by his controversial comments over the weekend in which he deemed his team "unathletic," singled out players by name for their flaws and declared after a 68-62 loss to Seton Hall that this season has been "the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime."
In an interview Monday with Newsday, Pitino was given a chance to clarify his comments and instead made it clear that he was being intentional in publicly criticizing his team and that he was "not ripping anybody."
"I was pointing out exactly -- in a monotone voice -- why we lost," Pitino told Newsday. "I am not always calm and certainly not when I rip someone ... I was not ripping anybody.
"I sometimes want my players to hear my words and read my words," he added. "That was my intention [Sunday]."
Pitino said of his team after a disappointing six point loss at home to Seton Hall that his Johnnies are "so unathletic that we can't guard anybody without fouling." He also called Joel Soriano, Chris Ledlum, Sean Conway and Drissa Traore out for being "slow laterally" and said freshman guard Brady Dunlap is "physically weak."
"I was asked the question, 'Why do you blow second-half leads?' And I can tell you sometimes it's missed free throws at the end of the game and [opponents] make free throws," Pitino said Monday reflecting on his comments. "Sometimes, it's a turnover. Sometimes, it's bad shot selection that leads to run-outs. It's not the same reason every time.
"But it's the same reason every time of why you foul: You foul because you take a bad shot, you get caught in a bad situation defensively, and you are not overly quick laterally. So, when you go to [defend] the basket, rather than beat them to the spot, you foul. That's what I was trying to point out."
St. John's began the season 12-4 overall and 4-1 in Big East play before Sunday's loss to the Pirates moved it to 14-12 on the season and 6-9 in league play. Once a potential bubble team, the Johnnies are not currently on the bubble of Jerry Palm's latest bracket, and they are likely to miss the NCAA Tournament barring a miraculous late-season turnaround.
