Sword, bullhorn stolen from Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino’s St. John’s University office

NEW YORK (AP) — Two thieves swiped a ceremonial sword and a bullhorn from the workplace of St. John’s College Coach Rick Pitino, a spokesperson for the Catholic establishment within the New York Metropolis borough of Queens mentioned Thursday.

Brian Browne mentioned the theft occurred Tuesday night time shortly earlier than 8 p.m. on the athletics division places of work, that are positioned within the flooring above the hardwood at Carnesecca Enviornment, the place Pitino’s Purple Storm play.

He mentioned the police investigation is ongoing, and it’s not instantly clear if different objects have been stolen from the Corridor of Fame coach’s workplace or different elements of the constructing.

Police mentioned in an announcement that the 2 males by some means gained entry “with out authorization” and eliminated quite a few objects earlier than fleeing on a moped heading westbound on Union Turnpike.

The division declined to elaborate. However it additionally launched surveillance footage Thursday displaying the 2 strolling down a hallway within the constructing, with one carrying the stolen sword and the opposite holding the bullhorn.

Born in New York Metropolis and raised on Lengthy Island, Pitino was employed by St. John’s final 12 months with the hopes of restoring a as soon as storied Massive East program that had its heyday within the Eighties however has been mired in mediocrity for greater than 20 years.

The Corridor of Fame coach received NCAA championships at Kentucky in 1996 and Louisville in 2013, however the title at Louisville was vacated for NCAA violations,

One other NCAA case associated to the FBI’s investigation into corruption in faculty basketball recruiting led to Pitino being fired by Louisville in 2017, although the NCAA ultimately exonerated Pitino.

Earlier than arriving at St. John’s, the 71-year-old coached three seasons at Iona, a small Catholic faculty in New Rochelle, simply north of New York Metropolis.

Pitino was additionally head coach for the NBA’s New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, Boston College in Massachusetts, Windfall School in Rhode Island and Panathinaikos, an expert staff in Athens, Greece.