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Rick Pitino's road to St. John's paved with forgiveness

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AFTER SAYING A Sunday morning mass on Long Island, the Rev. Brian J. Shanley drove to Winged Foot Golf Club in Westchester County, New York, to meet with Rick Pitino. It was March, and Shanley, president of St. John's University, needed to find a men's basketball coach. He could almost predict the reactions he'd get if word of the meeting got out.

Yes, the days of pearl-clutching over college basketball ethics largely were over, but Pitino's history transcended the reality of the new world of NIL money. Shanley had asked his staff at St.