St. John’s Men’s Basketball coaching legend Lou Carnesecca, who coached the program that has existed for more than twenty years has died, the school announced on Sunday evening. He was just a few weeks away from his 100th birthday.
Carnesecca coached St. John’s for 24 seasons, split between two stints. He led the team to 18 seasons in which the team won at least 20 games and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. His teams produced star players like Chris Mullin, Bill Wennington, Mark Jackson and Walter Berry.
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St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca is carried by his team after Redman defeated Boston College in the Big East Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York, March 12, 1983. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnett, file)
St. John’s won the NIT Championship in 1989 and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 – the year he retired from the sport.
Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca ’50C, ’60GEd, ’00HON, who led the St. John’s men’s basketball team for 24 seasons and endeared himself to generations of New Yorkers with his humor and warmth, died Saturday surrounded by family. the team said.
“The legendary head coach is survived by his beloved wife of 73 years, Mary, as well as his cherished family – daughter Enes, son-in-law Gerard (Jerry), granddaughter Ieva and her fiancé Frank, his precious niece and nephew Susan Chiesa, John Chiesa and his wife Nancy , as well as his extended family and closest friends, join them in their loss.”
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Former St. John’s men’s basketball coach Lou Carnesecca smiles during a press conference to announce the hiring of his former player and retired NBA basketball All-Star Chris Mullin on April 1, 2015 in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Carnesecca took over for Joe Lapchick before the start of the 1965-66 season. He became head coach of the New York Nets from the American Basketball Association in 1970 and later returned to the team, then known as the Redmen, replacing Frank Mulzoff.
His best team was the 1984-85 squad led by Mullin, Berry, Jackson and Wennington. They posted 31 wins and were 15-1 in the Big East, reaching the Final Four before losing to the Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas.
The team also won 31 games the following season, but was stunned by Auburn in the second round of the tournament.
Lou Carnesecca coaches his St. John’s team against Niagara in New York, on November 23, 1991. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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Carnesecca was 526-200 in his coaching career. He was a three-time Big East Coach of the Year and a two-time US Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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