Iona head coach Rick Pitino says the COVID-19 pandemic actually helped his program with recruiting.
Pitino, who is rebuilding the Iona roster, is bringing in eight new players this season.
In the same interview, Pitino compared Iona to Providence College, which he claims were his favorite two years in college basketball.
Here is an excerpt:
“We had to bring in eight players, this is a reconstruction project because we had to bring in 70 percent of the team,” he said. “If it wasn’t for COVID, we couldn’t have brought in the largest recruiting class in my history as a basketball coach…because if everybody was allowed to visit different places, we couldn’t get eight guys, one from Germany , one from Sweden, one from Rwanda, Nigeria, New York, North Carolina, Florida.