Legendary St. John’s coach Carnesecca dies at 99
Corridor of Fame school basketball coach Lou Carnesecca, who received greater than 500 video games and led St. John’s to 3 Massive East titles and a 1985 Last 4 look, died Saturday on the age of 99.
The varsity introduced the information with a press release Saturday evening, saying Carnesecca was surrounded by household when he died.
Changing one other Corridor of Famer, longtime St. John’s coach Joe Lapchick, Carnesecca took over this system in 1965 and introduced the college to nationwide prominence over two stints.
He initially coached this system from 1965 to 1970, going 104-35 earlier than departing to turn out to be head coach of the ABA’s New York Nets. However after three largely profitable seasons within the execs (114-38, together with a visit to the 1972 ABA finals), Carnesecca returned to St. John’s, the place he would keep for 19 extra seasons.
Stalking the sidelines in his trademark colourful sweaters, Carnesecca introduced his St. John’s groups to the postseason each season, together with 18 appearances within the NCAA tourney and an NIT championship in 1989.
“Victories, defeats, they’re going to quickly be forgotten, however the relationships which you’ve got constructed with the folks you are available contact with, good or dangerous, will final a lifetime,” Carnesecca mentioned in 2021. “The sport is vital nevertheless it’s solely a small a part of your life.”
His 1985 crew, led by future NBA stars Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, Invoice Wennington and Mark Jackson, went 31-4 however misplaced to Georgetown and star Patrick Ewing within the nationwide semifinals.
Carnesecca started his teaching profession at his highschool alma mater, St. Ann’s, earlier than becoming a member of St. John’s as an assistant underneath Lapchick in 1958.
Carnesecca was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame in 1992, in the identical class with three different legendary coaches — Jack Ramsay, Al McGuire and Phil Woolpert.
He averaged 20 wins a season at St. John’s, ending with a .725 win share (526-200).
In 2004, St. John’s honored the person lovingly often called “Looie” by renaming its basketball facility Carnesecca Area. In 2021, the college added a statue of Carnesecca within the area’s foyer.
Carnesecca is survived by his spouse of 73 years, Mary, in addition to his daughter and granddaughter. Memorial companies can be introduced at a later date, based on the college.
