Legendary St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca died at 99 on Saturday, just a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday.
St. John’s said the school was notified by a family member that Carnesecca died in a hospital, surrounded by loved ones. The university said the Hall of Fame coach “endeared himself to generations of New Yorkers with his wit and warmth.”
Carnesecca coached St. John’s for 24 seasons over two stints — making the postseason tournament each year — and became the face of the school located in Queens. The campus arena was named after him and the university unveiled a statue of him before the 2021-22 season. When asked once in a question-and-answer session with the school to describe St. John’s, Carnesecca said: “home.”
It was home where he coached St. John’s to 18 seasons of at least 20 wins, and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. It was home where he finished with a 526-200 record and had 30-win seasons in 1985 and 1986. And it was home where St. John’s became a charter member of the Big East Conference and a pillar of its success.
He was the coach of the year three times in a league that began play in 1979 and quickly asserted itself as one of the nation’s best. Among his star players during those early Big East years were Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson and Walter Berry.
Carnesecca coached St. John’s to its fifth NIT title in 1989, although by then the tournament had long been a poor cousin to the NCAAs. He entered the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992, the year he retired.
“I never scored a basket,” he said at his induction. “The players did everything. Without players, you can’t have a game.”
Under Carnesecca, St. John’s won Big East Tournament titles in 1983 and 1986. His teams reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 1979 and 1991. And his squad spent more than 70 weeks ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25. A banner denoting his 526 wins at St. John’s hangs from the rafters at Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous arena.
He coached more than 40 NBA draft picks, including 11 hoopers who were selected as first-rounders.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody else in coaching like him,” longtime UConn coach Jim Calhoun once told the Hartford Courant. “Even if people hate the Big East nobody hates Looie. If you like basketball, you like Looie. If you like kids, you like Looie.”
St. John’s said Carnesecca leaves behind his wife of 73 years, Mary, as well as daughter Enes and son-in-law Gerard, a granddaughter, and a niece and nephew in addition to extended family.
With News Wire Service
