Luigi P. Carnesecca (born January 5, 1925) is an American retired

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach at St. John's University. Carnesecca also coached at the professional level, leading the

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of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

for three seasons. Carnesecca was elected to the

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in 1992. He coached the St. John's basketball program to 526 wins and 200 losses over 24 seasons (1965–70, 1973–92). The colorful "Looie" (as he was popularly known by fans and by the media) reached the post-season in every season he coached the team, including a Final Four appearance in 1985. He was selected as the National Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1985 by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Carnesecca is widely known for his sense of humor and his signature sweaters. In November 2004, St. John's University officially dedicated and renamed the historic Alumni Hall to Carnesecca Arena.

Early life and education

Carnesecca attended high school at St. Ann's Academy in Manhattan (now academic and athletic powerhouse

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the Roman Cat ...

). Upon graduation, he served for three years in the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, where he served on a troop transport in the Pacific theater.Porter, David L. (edito
"Carnesecca, Luigi 'Lou' 'Louie'"
''Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary'',

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...

, Westport, Connecticut, 2005, page 70.

Basketball career

Upon discharge from the Coast Guard, he then enrolled at St. John's and graduated in 1950. He also coached his high school alma mater, St. Ann's, where he was succeeded by

Jack Curran John Joseph Curran (September 6, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American baseball and basketball coach. Curran was the head coach at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York. Curran won more basketball and baseball games than any ...

. After beginning his coaching career at St. John's in 1965, Carnesecca jumped to the pro level. He was head coach and general manager of the

for three seasons from 1970 to 1973. The ballclub qualified for the postseason in each of the three campaigns with Carnesecca at the helm. The 1971–72 Nets finished third in the regular season but reached the ABA Finals where they were defeated by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

in six games. Despite the loss of Rick Barry and a 30–53 record, the Nets edged out the

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for fourth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Division in 1972–73.Goldaper, Sam. "Carnesecca Rounds Out Cycle, Returns to Redmen," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, March 28, 1973.
Retrieved November 30, 2020 Carnesecca announced his return to St. John's on March 27, 1973. He replaced Frank Mulzoff, his successor from three years earlier who had resigned after a 19–7 campaign. He had two years out of a total of five remaining on his Nets contract in which he was to have received about $200,000 spread over seven years. His $22,000 salary at St. John's meant that he took a financial loss in the transition. He explained, "I've had my whack at pro ball and I'm very happy with it. But when the opportunity arose to return to St. John's, I wanted to go back." Carnesecca was also a longtime announcer for the

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's coverage of the yearly NBA drafts of the 1980s.

Head coaching record

High school

College

ABA

, - , align="left" , NYN , align="left" ,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

, 84, , 40, , 44, , .476, , align="center" , 3rd in Eastern, , 6, , 2, , 4, , .333 , align="center" , Lost in ABA Division semifinals , - , align="left" , NYN , align="left" , 1972 , 84, , 44, , 40, , .524, , align="center" , 3rd in Eastern, , 19, , 10, , 9, , .526 , align="center" , Lost in ABA Finals , - , align="left" , NYN , align="left" , 1973 , 84, , 30, , 54, , .357, , align="center" , 4th in Eastern, , 5, , 1, , 4, , .200 , align="center" , Lost in ABA Division semifinals , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , , , 252, , 114, , 138, , .452, , , , 30, , 13, , 17, , .433

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carnesecca, Lou 1925 births Living people American sportspeople of Italian descent Basketball coaches from New York (state) High school basketball coaches in New York (state) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association broadcasters National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Nets head coaches Sportspeople from New York City St. Ann's Academy (Manhattan) alumni St. John's Red Storm baseball coaches St. John's Red Storm baseball players St. John's Red Storm men's basketball coaches United States Coast Guard enlisted United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II