Is Pitino's wandering eye wandering to St. John's?

Some people in Kentucky may label me a liar but I promise you that I will bring an NBA championship back to Boston.

I was getting ready to call it a night. I checked Facebook one last time and saw the statuses of a few Cardinal fans that were openly discussing the rumors of Rick Pitino leaving Louisville for St. John's. I had heard the speculation but I didn't think that there was much merit to it. Then I started researching and came across an article that makes it sound like St. John's is getting ready to throw some serious money at a seriously big hire.

This is an exact quote from the article from the University's athletic director when he was asked about the ideal hire: "as many of the variables as possible: integrity, a track record of winning, a successful recruiting track record, experience in New York, is good with the media (and) someone who will work well in our community."

Pitino fits some of these variables, including a winning track record, successful recruiting and New York experience. He has been a winner everywhere he has been, although some may argue that he has not won enough at Louisville in his ten year tenure there. As far as his integrity and relationship with the media we all know that this is suspect.

He has a trial beginning soon. He is not facing any jail time but he may be facing some embarrassing accusations and revelations. St. John's may be taking a PR risk in hiring Pitino but a change of scenery may just be what the coach needs.

As you may read in the article Pitino is not the only coach mentioned. Billy Donovan was also mentioned as well as a few others. We have been here before. Last year there were rumors that Pitino was going to coach in Arizona. Then came the rumors about the NBA and the Sacramento Kings. Most recently he has been linked to the New Jersey Nets. Kentucky fans may be having an attack of Deja Vu.

Will Pitino leave? He is a native New Yorker and grew up down the block from Madison Square Garden. I previously mentioned that a change of scenery may be the best thing for his personal life. It seems that his career has stalled and has become a bit stagnant with the Cards. I know about the back to back Elite Eights, it's not like they were Final Fours. Pitino wants to win and wants to be relevant. A new team may be the ticket to rejuvenate his passion and his career. St. John's would be a step down from where Louisville is at this point in time but not by much. The Cards had an off season and were bounced out the first weekend of the NCAA's. If you want to learn more then please read this.

I doubt he will leave but there is always that chance. Head coaches do it all the time. We will follow any news that may or may not develop.