Walter Clayton spent two seasons at Iona with Rick Pitino before leaving in 2023 for Florida. But his former coach still has fond memories of him.

Taking a different path has turned Clayton into one of the best players to wear a Gators uniform, and also led him down a road every college basketball player hopes to travel — the one that ends at the Final Four. He and the Gators are two wins away from the program's first championship in 18 years.

Both Pitino and Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl tied in first-place votes, marking the first time it has been a co-Coach of the Year. Pitino finished his second season as the head coach at St. John's and had the Red Storm as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament before a tough loss to John Calipari's No. 10 Arkansas squad.

Following Luis' declaration, his legendary head coach in Rick Pitino posted a sweet message for the 22-year-old on social media: "I've said it all season, RJ will make a terrific

SAN ANTONIO -- After saying he couldn’t envision a return to Louisville -- the school that fired him in 2017 -- Rick Pitino says he’s now working on a home-and-home series that would take St. John’s back to his old school.

It comes on the heels of St. John’s winning its first outright Big East regular season crown since 1985 and first Big East Tournament title since 2000.

The St. John's men's basketball team earned the Big East Tournament title this past season, thriving under the leadership of head coach Rick Pitino. St. John's entered the NCAA Tournament with high hopes, ranked as the No. 2 team in the West region.

Auburn's Bruce Pearl and Rick Pitino of St. John's named AP college basketball coaches of the year, award's first tie.

For the first time ever, two men's college basketball coaches will share the AP Coach of the Year Award. St. John's Rick Pitino and Auburn's Bruce Pearl will share the 2025 award, marking the first time in the award's 58-year history that it is awarded to multiple people.