What Rick Pitino said about UConn men’s basketball, Big East

Sure enough, the Huskies wound up … doing it.

“Because,” Pitino told Hearst Connecticut Media in a phone conversation on Tuesday, “(Hurley’s) second five was every bit as strong as his first five. That means you get by foul trouble, you get by fatigue. The grind of the NCAA Tournament won’t affect you as much, because you have such a deep bench. And, they were excellent defensively.”

Pitino might as well have also been telling Hurley, “See you next season,” during that handshake. Just a few days later, long before Hurley ultimately made good on Pitino’s “advice” and won it all, Pitino was named head coach at St. John’s. After getting back on the map over three successful seasons at Iona, the two-time national champion makes the 20-minute trip to Queens, across the Throgs Neck Bridge, past the numerous billboards touting his arrival and back into the Big East for a third and, presumably, final time.

“It’s funny, I was very, very happy at Iona,” Pitino insisted. “I was five minutes to work each day. Iona was a great place, we were winning big. I’m just excited to be part of a league that has multiple bids to it. I loved Iona but did not like a one-bid league, because you could win 25, 26 games and easily get upset in the tournament, and then your season’s over. So, I like being part of a multi-bid league. But I did enjoy Iona tremendously. We had it rolling, we had it working on all cylinders.”

“But, this is a new challenge, and new challenges keep you young,” added Pitino, 70. “So, I’m excited about it.”

This will be Pitino’s third go-round in the Big East as a head coach. He took Providence to a Final Four in his second year at the helm in 1987 before bolting for the Knicks head coaching job. He returned to the league in 2005 when Louisville, where he had taken over four years earlier, moved to the Big East from Conference USA.

In 2013, Pitino led the Cardinals to a national championship (his second), though it was later vacated due to NCAA violations. His return to the Big East bolsters an already powerful league.

“I was around when there were (11 Big East) teams that got in the (2011) NCAA Tournament, and I see it happening all over again,” Pitino said. “Right now you have three teams ranked in the top 10, six teams ranked in the top 20. Then you have Georgetown and St. John’s on the ‘improved’ (list) at least we hope so. So, I see a dynamic conference with top-10 teams, top-20 teams and loads of potential with some of the other teams.”

Although the initial AP Top 25 won’t be out for another four…