Lou Carnesecca was the longtime basketball coach for St. John’s University in New York City, reaching the postseason in all of his 24 seasons and racking up 526 career wins.
- Died: November 30, 2024 (Who else died on November 30?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 99.
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Lou Carnesecca’s legacy
For the 24 seasons that Carnesecca coached the basketball team at St. John’s University in New York City, the squad never failed to make the post-season playoffs, with the Hall of Fame coach leading them to 526 wins during that period.
Carnesecca was the son of Italian immigrants who first crossed paths with St. John’s when he attended the Queens university in the 1940s after serving three years with the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. After graduating college in 1950, he coached at his former high school until returning to St. John’s as an assistant basketball coach in 1958. Aside from a stretch between 1970 and 1973, when he coached the New York Nets, Carnesecca was head coach at St. John’s from 1965 to 1992.
Highlights of his career include the Red Storm’s Big East Tournament titles in 1983 and 1986, Elite Eight appearances in 1979 and 1991, and pushing the team to the Final Four in the 1984-85 season. More than 40 of his players ended up becoming NBA draft picks.
All told, Carnesecca racked up 526 career wins, though he credited his players with doing all the work. He also became known for the colorful, often unusual sweaters he wore on the court, and for his nickname, “Little Looie.”
Carnesecca was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. He is also in the College Basketball Hall of Fame and New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. He won Big East Coach of the Year in 1983, 1985, and 1986, UPI Coach of the Year in 1985, NABC Coach of the Year in 1983, and twice won the Henry Iba Award, in 1983 and 1985.
On the art of winning:
“You have to have players. The coach is just the director. You not only have to have players that are good, but you have to have players who appreciate the art of winning and appreciate playing together. There are many, many things, but those are the basic things. You have to play together, work hard and believe in each other.” — interview with Bleacher Report, 2011
Tributes to Lou Carnesecca
Full obituary: Associated Press
