I don't think kids worry about baggage. At their age, they're picking up baggage of their own. On top of that, kids think 40 is old and not much different than 70.
I'm not comparing my spergy teen self to high profile athletes, but to the extent that I recall being a teen, I recall caring about pussy. (I got almost none, no doubt you're all surprised.) High profile athletes don't want for pussy, so after they probably care about money and then fame and then professional elevation and then somewhere way down the list, a degree. The question then becomes: does playing at SJU translate into cash via NIL. The answer is maybe, but certainly not as much as they can make at Louisville or Kentucky or wherever else cash is delivered by nubile strippers in paper bags. So then fame, which on the one hand if you can make it here you can make it anywhere, but on the other the internets have kind of leveled the playing field relative to publicity. On the third hand a degree from SJU is essentailly worthless compared to academically superlative schools like Dook and Virginia and Nova and Georgetown. On the fourth hand Pitino has had mediocre success creating NBA player from players who weren't NBA players to begin with - e.g. Antoine Walker and Jamal Mashburn - except Billy Donovan, who ironically is better than Pitino at making NBA players. What I mean here is in that regard Pitno is neither a Jim Boeheim or Calhoun, who did that routinely.
I have no doubt Pitino is the best coach SJU has had since
Louie Lapchick. On the sixth hand this program has been swirling down the toilet for 50 years. That's a long time.