Rick Pitino breaks tradition, adopts NBA-style protocol to avoid postgame handshake controversies against St. John's
Rick Pitino, head coach of St. John's men's basketball program, made a major decision to buck a long-running tradition in college sports. From now on, his Red Storm side will refrain from engaging with their opponents in the postgame handshake.
In a post on X earlier today, Pitino showed respect towards his peers before admitting he was taking a cue from the NBA with this gesture, opting to do so after "witnessing multiple controversies" with the practice.
"I certainly have great respect for the coaches and teams we play but after witnessing multiple problems with the postgame handshake line, we will take a page out of the NBA playbook and refrain," Pitino wrote.
On Jan. 20, 2021, the NBA enforced a protocol that eliminated postgame handshakes in the wake of the global pandemic. A year later, John Calipari, one of Pitino's fiercest rivals over the years, refused to let his Kentucky side engage in the postgame handshake line while at the Wildcats, insisting it was for COVID-19 concerns and nothing more.
"I'm looking around the country, and many coaches are just doing what they do in the NBA, which I did," said Calipari.
An infamous incident involving the postgame handshake line occurred in a game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Wisconsin Badgers on Feb. 20, 2022. Following the 63-77 defeat, Michigan's former head coach, Juwan Howard, struck Wisconsin's associate head coach, Joe Krabbenhoft, for which he was suspended for the remainder of the season and was fined $40,000.
Following the Cleveland Cavaliers' loss to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals of the 2009 NBA season, LeBron James spoke against the postgame handshake, believing it was something that would never be done in the NBA.
Rick Pitino and St. John's make a strong start to the 2024-25 season
Rick Pitino seems to have settled in nicely at St. John's, leading it to a strong start on his second season at the helm. They have won their last three games, which included their first win over a conference team in the DePaul Blue Demons on Tuesday.
Besides nine victories in 11 games so far, the Red Storm's defeats have also been close games. It took a buzzer-beater from Jeremy Roach for No. 13 Baylor to score a 99-98 win over Pitino's side in overtime, while the Red Storm suffered a narrow 63-66 defeat to Georgia on Nov. 19.
St. John's will travel to Rhode Island to face Providence in their next game, which will take place on Friday at 8:00 pm ET.