Ah, that dream run in March 1987. There are a few PC basketball teams that bring back the fondest memories. Joe Mullaney’s teams of the early 1960s brought the Friars national fame. In 1973, a strong team led by local stars Ernie DiGregorio and Marvin Barnes danced to the Final Four. And then there was the surprising rocket that took the college basketball world by storm in 1987.

It was the baby-faced coach from Queens’ second season in the city and he was straight from the central cast list. Brash, aggressive and courageous, a proud Italian in a city that has preserved its Italian heritage. Taking advantage of a new rule in the sport – the 3-point shot – Pitino took the Big East by storm, posting a 16-3 start and a top-25 finish. The filming of Billy Donovan, Delray Brooks and Pop Lewis as well as the toughness of Dave Kipfer fascinated role players like Darryl Wright and Jacek Duda.

It all came together like magic and before you knew it, the Friars were pulling off an upset, shocking hated Georgetown and celebrating in New Orleans at the Final Four.

“It all just happened,” Kipfer said. “We were loved by everyone in town, coach Pitino had this great charisma and we were such performers. It was a magical time.”

The fact that this all happened 37 years ago is both cruel and unforgettable. Cruel because the passage of time is unbeatable. Such are the memories.

“Any place you work, you always bring something you’ve learned with you,” Pitino said. “During my time in Providence, I learned to never stop dreaming, because this was a dream. Today I always think that anything is possible thanks to this basketball team. I wouldn’t say that about the other places I’ve worked. With Providence I learned that anything is possible.”

Each time Pitino returns to Providence in different colors, first at Louisville and now with the Red Storm, he has received a warm welcome. The same will be true Friday night when St. John’s arrives at Amica Mutual Pavilion. He’ll look around and see the ghosts of Billy The Kid and Pop, wave to some familiar faces, and then work the sidelines like he’s 35 years old again.

“He really loves the place and loves what the school is about,” said Bob Walsh, a St. John’s assistant coach who also worked at PC for more than a dozen years. “Combine that feeling with the lightning success he had there, and it’s a 40-year romance he’s had with Providence. It’s a special place for him.”

It is also a place full of sadness. In March 1987, as the brothers were driving home from the Big East tournament, the team bus was stopped by two state police cruisers as it crossed the state line in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. They had terrible news for Pitino and his wife Joanne. Her six-month-old son Daniel had died of congenital heart failure. To this day, the coach visits his son’s grave in Rhode Island.

“The state trooper started talking to Coach and his wife outside the bus and Joanne just broke down. “Not a word was said the rest of the way home,” Kipfer remembers. “We will all remember this forever.”

Kipfer said the program was paralyzed with grief over the next few days. Pitino finally addressed the team, thanked everyone and asked to refocus on a special season. Two weeks later, the Friars were in the Final Four.

When Pitino terminated his contract with PC weeks later and moved to the New York Knicks, many Friar fans felt betrayed. These feelings have diminished over time. When he attended national championships in Kentucky and Louisville, Pitino always greeted some friends from Rhode Island along the way. Many of these friends stood by him even in difficult times.

Outside court, he watched two brothers-in-law die young, one from a New York taxi and another in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Basketball also had its share of ups and downs.

Pitino’s second foray into the NBA with the Boston Celtics (1998-2001) was a disaster, four seasons of upheaval without making the playoffs. A move back to college coaching at Louisville opened the door to great success, but ultimately ended horribly. A 2013 national title was vacated after the NCAA found that one of Pitino’s former employees had arranged stripteases and sexual acts in a dormitory for players and recruits. In 2017, Pitino became embroiled in an FBI investigation over allegations of bribery in recruiting college basketball players and was dismissed from school.

Over the next few seasons, Pitino was a basketball vagabond. He tried to retire and play golf with friends, but that didn’t last. He landed in Greece to coach a pro team, and then his New York roots brought him back to college basketball when Iona College hired him in 2020. In late 2022, an outside NCAA law enforcement agency finally cleared Pitino of any role in the FBI investigation.

That helped give the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, a longtime PC president who moved to St. John’s in 2021, the opportunity to bring Pitino back to the Big East. Shanley met Pitino near his home, which is right next door to Winged Foot Golf Club in Westchester County, and the two quickly struck a deal.

What does the Red Storm see in a coach whose players are far too young to remember most of Pitino’s greatest victories? Someone with the same qualities that Friars fans remember so fondly.

“He’s the most relentless person I’ve ever been with,” Walsh said. “It’s who he is. Work ethic, player development, scouting. He loves working out and watching basketball.”

Pitino says players today are the same as they were 30 years ago, but “the only differences are the technology and the parents.” Parents are much more involved, and that’s because they get paid. I say when I go home at night I don’t need Nyquil to fall asleep. After a whole day with these guys, I just close my eyes.”

Coaching 20-year-olds keeps everyone young. As does following the exploits of his five children and 14 grandchildren. But life is hard for any 72-year-old. On Nov. 30, Pitino said, he lost two of his closest friends: Miami-based recording industry legend Steve Alaimo and Fr. Ed Bradley, his team chaplain in Kentucky and Louisville. Late that night, St. John’s coaching legend Lou Carnesecca passed away at the age of 99.

For someone whose life has seen so many twists and turns and ups and downs, Pitino knows how to roll with the punches.

“As Catholics we celebrate death. We definitely cry and miss them, but we celebrate the lives of the people we love,” he said. “All of these people touched my life so positively and will be sorely missed. We share great memories and I am lucky to share special ones with so many people.”

Kevin McNamara is a Rhode Island-based sportswriter who has covered Providence College basketball, the Celtics, the Patriots, the Red Sox and more for more than 30 years. He writes to Kevin McSports.com and host KevinMcSports Hour on WPRO and 790TheScore.