Rick Pitino Gives Blunt Take on Kim English's Future After Providence Loss

With the Big East Tournament underway in New York City, teams are attempting to achieve shocking upsets and potentially make a run to steal an automatic bid for the NCAA‘s Big Dance.

Unfortunately for Kim English and the Providence Friars, that won’t be the base. On Thursday, they were dealt a tough loss at the hands of Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm, 85-72, with uncertainty hanging over English’s future.

The two teams met in a rematch after a wild brawl broke out between the squads weeks ago. Several players were assessed technical fouls or ejected from the game, with Providence’s Duncan Powell drawing an additional suspension for his role in the fight.

There weren’t any of those on-court scuffles, and St. John’s handled business once again. After the game, Pitino was asked his thoughts about the Providence job opening up since he previously coached the Friars.

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“Is it opened up? I haven’t seen anything that says it’s opened up,” Pitino replied, adding, “So I can’t comment. If Kim still has a job, I can’t comment on it.”

Another reporter started to ask Pitino a different question, but the St. John's head coach interrupted to add more to his response about Providence and English.

“By the way, Kim's a young coach. He's a very good coach. He communicates well with his team…What happened to them is they lost so many close games in the beginning that it went the other way for them, and unfortunately, that happens," Pitino said.

"He's gonna have a long career. He's a very good basketball coach. Everyone in this league is a very good coach, but he's a very good basketball coach. He gets his team to play hard, they like him a lot. So I wish nothing but the best regardless of how it turns out," he said.

Over a week ago, ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel reported (via sources) that Providence informed English he would be fired after the season, which was his third as the Friars head coach.

After the Friars’ exit from the Big East Tournament, English expressed that he didn’t want “anyone’s sympathy” or “pity” over his situation with Providence.

“Kick me while I’m down. I’ll get up. I’ve never been more proud in that locker room than I was after this season,” he told reporters.

Prior to taking over the head coaching position at Providence, English coached George Mason. In addition, he was an assistant coach with Tennessee, Colorado, and Tulsa.

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This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 5:19 PM.