The three words getting Rick Pitino through roller coaster St. Johns offseason

There is a story Rick Pitino likes to tell about his start coaching overseas in the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos. It was the week leading into Christmas 2018 and an opportunity arose.He had been at home in semi-retirement.

On Christmas Eve, he was suddenly coaching in Greece.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Zach Braziller about the inside buzz on St.John’s.

“From that point on, I’ve always believed: adjust and adapt,” the St.John’s coach recalled Thursday as the Big East held its annual media day at the Marriott Marquis in Midtown. There’s been a lot of that since the Johnnies last took the court in March following a second straight 30-win season. On April 14, St.

John’s began to reshape its roster with the addition of EuroLeague point guard Quinn Ellis.They weren’t done until the end of August, with the commitment of Auburn transfer Keyshawn Hall.

Hall is one of hundreds of seniors from a year ago who are seeking a fifth year of eligibility after the NCAA passed a new eligibility rule that grants five years of eligibility for players, but declined to grandfather it in for the high school class of 2022. In between, prized Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, Montenegrin wing Djordije Jovanovic never made it to Queens due to problems acquiring a student visa and high school recruit Gildas Gimenez was ruled an academic non-qualifier. “Now that we’re all together, it’s quite a group,” Pitino said. Even now, less than two weeks before the first exhibition game against Drexel, the uber-talented roster isn’t completely set.There is optimism Pitino & Co.

will have everyone cleared in time for the regular season opener against Monmouth on Nov.2. Highly touted Senegalese wing Babacar Sane has an injunction hearing in Queens Supreme Court on Monday after initially receiving a temporary restraining order in his fight against the ...