After St. John's won the Big East Tournament for the first time in 25 years Saturday, Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino implied the school didn't buy its conference championship. "First of all, I think there's a lot of misrepresentation about NIL [name, image and likeness]," Pitino said after the Red Storm dismantled Creighton, 82-66, via the New York Post's Zach Braziller. "NIL didn't get us this team because Zuby [Ejiofor] and RJ [Luis Jr.] are very low-paid players. That's nonsense about NIL." Ejiofor and Luis aren't as well compensated as other athletes. On3's NIL valuation ranks Luis at No. 53 in its top 100. Ejiofor, meanwhile, isn't listed. However, billionaire St. John's alum Mike Repole — the co-founder of sports drink company Bodyarmor — has reportedly pumped boatloads of money into NIL deals. In a story published March 7, Braziller reported St. John's NIL payroll is around $4M, the biggest in the Big East. In February, the Flat Top Fund — one of St. John's two NIL collectives — announced that Repole would match up to the first $1M in NIL donations for St. John's men's basketball team. "Mike is, for us, a godsend for our program because he gives and asks for nothing back," Pitino said of Repole's impact, via Braziller. "He doesn't ask for any favors, doesn't ask for any things. Just flies in, roots hard for the team, and leaves and takes off. Without him, I don't know where the hell we would be." The Red Storm (30-4) may not have established themselves as a national-title contender without Repole's financial contributions, but Pitino and Co. still deserve credit for an excellent coaching job. Before Pitino's arrival, St. John's hadn't won 20 or more games since the 2018-19 season. The program has hit that mark twice in two seasons under the two-time national champion. But it's safe to assume Pitino doesn't mind when Repole writes another big check for St. John's.