College sports have turned into free agency, bemoaned St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, who says the current state of the NCAA leaves him “worried.”
Following his Red Storm’s 77-64 loss Saturday to No. 1 UConn, Pitino spoke about the challenges of establishing a culture during an era in which players can get paid through the NCAA’s NIL policy and transfer without sitting out a year.
“It’s a tough time in college basketball right now, and for us, we can’t really build programs and a culture because everybody leaves,” Pitino said during his postgame press conference at Madison Square Garden. “We did it with six fifth-year guys [this season]. They’re all gonna leave, and then we’ve got to replace [them] with new free agents.”
Currently in his first season at St. John’s, the 71-year-old Pitino overhauled the Red Storm roster after taking the job, bringing back only two players from the 2022-23 team. Among the key players who transferred to join Pitino in Queens are starting point guard Daniss Jenkins, who played under the coach at his previous stop in Iona, and fellow double-digit scorers Jordan Dingle and RJ Luis Jr.
In 2021, the NCAA introduced its updated rules allowing players to benefit from their names, images and likenesses and to change schools through a one-time transfer without still having to miss the subsequent season.
“It’s free agency, and now I think what’s going to happen is they’re going to say everybody can transfer, and then if they don’t like it, they’re going to take them to court,” Pitino said. “I think the NCAA enforcement staffs should be disbanded. Not because I dislike them, but they’re of no value at all.”
During his address, Pitino referenced a recent segment on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in which anchor Scott Van Pelt described the NCAA landscape as “unlimited, unregulated free agency”
“They are professional athletes getting professionally paid. It’s not going away,” Pitino said. “Can’t try to get loopholes because they take you to court. I’m not knocking the enforcement staff. They’re going to get taken to court every time they try to make a rule.”
