The Kentucky Wildcats extended their winning streak to three games with a timely victory over Rick Pitino’s St. John’s. In a classic mentor-versus-mentee showdown, Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats secured a crucial victory over St. John’s, but it was Rick Pitino’s post-game message that stole the headlines, as he turned his attention from the court to the press box.

Pope’s squad suffered several injuries to star players, which has deeply affected the team’s results. The Wildcats’ struggles have drawn heavy criticism from fans and the media. So now, when Pope guided his team back to winning ways, Rick Pitino was the first to call out the media to be more patient and develop an understanding of the circumstances before concluding.

“I think you all need to learn a little bit of a lesson as writers because you’re expecting Kentucky to be this great basketball team with all those injuries,” Pitino called out the journalists following the defeat.

This win over St. John’s is probably the first win over a ranked team in over five tries, and it comes right after they defeated Indiana last week. Understandably, Pitino is a little protective of Pope given their previous association, but truly, Kentucky was without the likes of Jaland Lowe and Mo Dioubate, whereas Jayden Quaintance made his debut after getting sidelined for an ACL tear.

“So you all need to learn a lesson because you can’t be a great basketball team without two of your best players, with no point guard, no big men.”

So, the impact of their return was evident as Lowe and Quaintance starred in Kentucky’s second-half comeback.

Rick Pitino gives a ‘lot of credit’ to Mark Pope for transforming Kentucky basketball

Mark Pope‘s criticism has not been restricted to only results, as he was also questioned by the media about roster construction. He opted for a more defensive squad building rather than opting for a more shooting team, something that has given him success in college basketball. Kentucky struggled to hit the three consistently, and therefore Pope retooled the roster to play from the inside out with more focus on defence.

Pitino tips his hat to Pope for trying such a risky strategy, especially moving away from something that has given him success in the past.

“I think they’ll be a very good basketball team,” Pitino added about Kentucky. “They’re going to have to keep playing smash mouth basketball and play like that physical team, and I give Mark all the credit in the world because he’s a big believer in finesse, big believer in shooting the three, and he says, ‘Look, hey, it’s not working, let’s change, man.’ So, I give him an awful lot of credit.”

The Wildcats came up with a similarly built team and showed their prowess in defense, with Quaintance and Lowe both making big plays. Especially Quaintance, who was fantastic on debut, recording 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He is only expected to get better from here. Meanwhile, Otega Oweh finished with the game-high 20 points.

All in all, even in defeat, it was a moment of pride for Pitino as he lost to his former student. This is only his fifth defeat to a former player in 23 matchups across his illustrious career.