NEW YORK (AP) — Lou Carnesecca, the excitable St. John’s coach whose outlandish sweaters became an emblem of his team’s dazzling Final Four run in 1985, has died at 99, just a few weeks shy of what would have been his 100th birthday.
The university said it was notified by a family member that Carnesecca died in a hospital on Saturday surrounded by his family. St. John's said Carnesecca “endeared himself to generations of New Yorkers with his wit and warmth.”
Carnesecca was a treasured figure in New York sports in his day, affection for “Looie” never wavering in a city with little patience for its players, coaches, executives and owners.
He coached St. John’s for 24 seasons over two stretches -- making a postseason tournament each year -- and became the face of a university whose campus arena in Queens would eventually carry his name. A statue of him was unveiled before the 2021-22 season. When asked once in a question-and-answer sit-down with the school to describe St. John’s, Carnesecca said: “home.”
It was home where he coached St. John’s to 18 20-win seasons and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. It was home where he finished with a 526-300 record and had 30-win seasons in 1985 and 1986. And it was home where St. John’s became part of the foundation of the Big East Conference.
He was the coach of the year three times in a league that began in 1979 and quickly asserted itself as one of the nation’s best. Among his players during those early Big East years were Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson and Walter Berry.
Carnesecca coached St. John’s to the 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, forgoing a sweater for a crisp suit. “The players did everything. Without players, you can’t have a game.”
___
Fred Lief, a retired Associated Press sports writer, was the principal writer of this obituary. Former AP Sports Writer Paul Montella contributed to this report.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press
