Head Coach Rick Pitino Stands on St. John's Players Criticism

The St. John's University Basketball team has been the talk of the town throughout, however, for all the wrong reasons.

Head coach Rick Pitino held some heavy criticism of his roster following their 19-point loss to Seton Hall at UBS Arena.

However, the legendary St. John's coach told Newsday that he is standing on what he said and that the team is simply not performing.

"I was pointing out exactly - in a monotone voice - why we lost ... I am not always calm and certainly not when I rip someone ... I was not ripping anybody. I sometimes want my players to hear my words and read my words. That was my intention [Sunday]."

It's been an ugly season for the Johnnies, who at one point had a lot of fanfare coming into the season thanks to the hiring of Rick Pitino.

St. John's recent skid hit a low on Sunday. The Red Storm, at one point led by 19 points against Seton Hall. The game ultimately ended in a 68-62 win for Seton Hall.

The Johines started the year 4-1 and at the top of the Big East for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Since then it's been down hill for St. John's, who have lost their last eight of 10. Now they stand at 14-12 and 6-9 in the Big East.

Pitino told the New York Post that he takes responsibility for St. John's season and the losses they have endured so far.

"I think I'm maximizing everything we can maximize, but that hasn't been enough, so we're still losing. That's on me," Pitino said. "I take losing very personally, I take losing to heart, I take losing to bed. It eats at me."

"I think we all can get better. I can get better. Everything can get better. But there's no question about it: we could've won games we lost. We've been competitive. I don't give myself high grades because we're losing," Pitino added.