Lou Carnesecca, the raspy-voiced, sweater-wearing St. John’s basketball coach and godfather of the Big East whose high-powered teams helped propel the league to prominence, died on Saturday at age 99, the university announced.
Over two tours at the helm, from 1965-70 and 1973-92, Carnesecca guided St. John’s to a record of 526-200, including 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, the 1985 Final Four and the Elite Eight in 1979 and 1991. His Johnnies captured Big East titles in 1983 and 1986 and the NIT crown in 1989. In his 24 campaigns with the Redmen, as they were then known, he never had a losing record.
Among the superstars who emerged from Carnesecca’s program were national players of the year Chris Mullin and Walter Berry, New York Knicks point guard Mark Jackson the late All-American Malik Sealy. He helped put the Big East on the map not just with a team that could light up the scoreboard, but Big Apple-style charisma as a senior statesmen among a cast of legendary characters that included founding commissioner Dave Gavitt, Georgetown’s John Thompson, Villanova’s Rollie Massimino, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, UConn’s Jim Calhoun, Seton Hall’s P.J. Carlesimo and Providence’s Rick Pitino, whose return to the Big East as St. John’s current coach received Looie’s fill blessing.
A two-time recipient of National Coach of the Year honors, Carnesecca was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1992. Right up until last season, he continued to be a courtside regular at the arena named after him. He was a St. John’s man through and through having played baseball there on the 1949 squad that reached the College World Series.
“Coach Carnesecca’s impact extended far beyond the basketball court,” Big East commissioner Val Ackerman said in a statement. “He was tough, fiery and resilient, qualities he shared with the conference he helped launch, build and define. His successes propelled the Big East in its early years to the top of the college sports world, and his belief in the power of basketball to define universities remains at the heart of our DNA. A tactical genius on the sidelines, Coach was equal parts teacher, mentor, master motivator, father figure, storyteller, ambassador, icon, champion and friend. He was truly beloved, and his mark on St. John’s, the Big East and college basketball will be indelible.”
