Rick Pitino has Iona in prime position for Cinderella run
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (BVM) — Rick Pitino has done it again.
As Iona enters its fourth NCAA tournament in five years, the Gaels head coach is preparing for much more than an opening round upset after completing one of the most difficult seasons in program history.
“When we first started this journey going through the MAAC Tournament, [Coach Pitino] said he was packing 11 suits or eight suits, because we were going to the Final Four,” senior Asante Gist shared. “So that just had our mindset on something totally different. We went into the [MAAC] tournament thinking we’re going to get there. If the head of the snake has that mindset it trickles down to the rest of us.”
Pitino became just the third coach this past week to lead five different programs to the NCAA tournament, battling one of his toughest challenges throughout this season. After missing half of their first 16 games because of Covid-19 cancellations and postponements, Pitino was tasked with getting the Gaels back on track.
“You know we’re still not in great shape,” Pitino said of his team after the long lay off. “The strength of our team is our backcourt and my one player Isaiah Ross, actually scored 31 points and had Covid. He went home and looked at his computer and he tested positive and he had 31 points and played the best game of his season. So we’re getting there, we rely a lot on our backcourt. Asante Gist and Isaiah Ross are two very experienced, terrific, backcourt players.”
The backcourt of Ross and Gist have helped propel the Gaels throughout the season and during the team’s stellar second half run. After entering the MAAC tournament as the No. 9 seed, the senior guard duo would end up leading Iona to four consecutive wins on the way to its fifth conference tournament championship in the past six seasons.
The conference tournament run helped set up the legendary head coach with an NCAA tournament appearance in his first year with the program.
“We’re excited to be in Indianapolis and part of the NCAA tournament,” Pitino said. “It’s something I’ve missed the last few years and my players are elated. It was a tough grind this year going through four Covid pauses and missing about 55-60 days of practice, but our players handled the adversity with class and they were very resourceful and played four tough games and came away with the victory. I’m proud of them.”
Pitino is living up to his Hall of Fame status after taking over for former Iona head coach Tim Cluess who battled health concerns in his final season. Without much time to practice throughout the season, Pitino hasn’t had the chance to see a lot of growth in his team. However, he is happy with the way his team has handled the adversity they’ve been presented with.
“I haven’t seen them grow too much basketball-wise because we missed almost 60 days of practice,” Pitino said. “So we haven’t really improved that much, because we haven’t practiced that much. But I’ve seen a huge growth in them off the court as people, in terms of their resilience, in terms of handling adversity, in terms of their mental toughness and I’m very appreciative of that.”
Pitino and the Gaels will have their work cut out for them with an opening matchup against the No. 2-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide.
“The one thing that makes them so great… is they are equally as good on the defensive end as they are on the offensive end,” Pitino said of the Crimson Tide. “That’s what really is the formula for a great basketball team. It’s not just offense, it’s defense.
“They are a top two adjusted defensive team in the nation and they’re also an explosive offensive basketball team. So they have a great system [and] they are fun to watch. I’m not sure they will be fun to play against but they are fun to watch on film.”
Along with Pitino, Gist is making sure to share his NCAA tournament knowledge with the younger players after experiencing his first taste of March Madness back in 2019 against North Carolina.
“I’ve just been telling my guys, take it in because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Gist explained. “But also, we have great confidence in ourselves. We understand how big this game is and [we’re] just locked in. That’s all I really want to tell them is just have fun but also be locked in at the same time and understand that this is something that’s serious and we’re going to look back at years later. If we’re able to do something special we’ll be remembered for a long time.”
The Gaels will look to start their Cinderella run in the Round of 64 on March 20.
