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It wasn’t the answer so much as the tone. Thanks to the ever-present Vice TV cameras, we’ve seen Rick Pitino lose his cool plenty this year — sometimes in halftime talks, sometimes in huddles. The edginess is part of the Pitino platform. You don’t hire him and expect to get John Wooden, sitting quietly in a chair, crafting clever aphorisms.

You hire the fire.

So when the question of RJ Luis Jr.’s late-game benching quickly arose following St. John’s season-ending and heart-rending 75-66 loss to Arkansas, we saw the Pitino his players see. With rare exception this year, we didn’t get Pitino unfiltered after games. He was angry after some shaky clock shenanigans helped cost the Johnnies a game to Baylor in November. That was about it. Also: When you win 31 of your first 35 games, there’s not a lot to complain about.

REPORTER: “Was [Luis benched] just because he wasn’t making them or was there something more to it?”