Friday night’s matchup against St. John’s will invite a familiar foe in head coach Rick Pitino back to the Coliseum, a game that one Mountaineer in particular has had his sights set on.
“This is a game that I’ve had circled for a long time on my calendar,” said forward Quinn Slazinski, due to his complicated history with Pitino, his former head coach, and St. Johns.
Slazinski told the media Thursday evening that Pitino used to say that “pressure is one of the greatest gifts an athlete can receive,” that it is just "when life calls upon you to step up in the moment.” It’s safe to say that Slazinski sees his reunion with Pitino as his moment.
“What I’ve told him is keep that passion and intensity within your teammates,” said current head coach Josh Eilert. “This is going to be an emotional game for him. I get it. We just need to channel it in the right direction and we’ve had several conversations already and I believe he’ll do that.”
Slazinski spent his junior and senior years under Pitino at Iona, after transferring out of Louisville following his sophomore season. In his first year with the Gaels, he averaged just over eight points. He averaged eleven points to begin his senior season, though it quickly came to a close due to a broken foot that kept him out for the remainder of the year.
“I remember sitting in my room, thinking my life was over because I couldn’t play,” said Slazinski.
Following his senior year, Slazinski still had one season of eligibility left, and when Pitino accepted a new job with St. Johns, Slazinski decided to follow his coach.
“I was gonna play for him my fifth year if that meant having a huge opportunity, because that was going to be the way that mentally I would be able to play for him,” said Slazinski, referring to Pitino’s harsh coaching style.
However, after an influx of transfers, including a late transfer from Harvard's Chris Ledlum with whom Slazinski shared the same position, he was left in a tough position of having to split minutes, ultimately resulting in his decision to leave for West Virginia.
With this move, the narrative that Pitino and St. Johns had pushed Slazinski out of the program following the addition of Ledlum began circling around.
“All I can do is sit back and laugh. It's completely wrong what people think about it, it was completely my decision to be able to come here,” said Slazinski.
Despite his laughing off the rumors, they still lit a fire under the fifth year senior, who is looking to continue proving his worth in a season where he has averaged career marks, currently leading the Mountaineers with nearly 17 points per game.
“The main objective is to win. I’m not here to play one on one against Rick Pitino, I’m here to beat St. Johns,” said Slazinski.
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