Lou Carnesecca

Luigi P. Carnesecca (January 5, 1925 – November 30, 2024) was an American men's college basketball coach at St. John's University. Carnesecca also coached at the professional level, leading the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for three seasons. Carnesecca was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

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 was 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

The son of Italian immigrants, Carnesecca was born in New York City on January 5, 1925. He attended high school at St. Ann's Academy in Manhattan (now Archbishop Molloy High School). Upon graduation, he served for three years in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, where he served on a troop transport in the Pacific theater.

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.

Carnesecca became an assistant basketball coach under Joe Lapchick in 1957. Eight years later, he was promoted to head coach when Lapchick retired. He coached there until 1970, when he received an enticing monetary offer to become head coach and general manager of the ABA's New York Nets. The team qualified for the postseason in each of the three season 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 in six games. Despite the loss of Rick Barry and a 30–53 record, the Nets edged out the Memphis Tams for fourth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Division in 1972–73. With two years remaining on his contract, he resigned after the year ended. He reflected upon the experience years later: “Coaching is coaching. But the lifestyle in the pros – the travel, the number of games, working with players who want to be told they’re the best thing money could buy – that wasn’t for me. I always loved teaching the game. I loved watching players get better. College was a better fit for me.”

Wanting to go back to St. John's, Carnesecca announced his return on March 27, 1973. He replaced Frank Mulzoff, his successor from three years earlier who had resigned after a 19–7 campaign. His first team back won 12 of their last thirteen games to finish with 20 wins but were only invited to the NIT. They lost to Connecticut in the first round. His next two teams entered and lost the ECAC Metro tournament to Rutgers, but the 1975-76 squad made the NCAA tournament, losing in the first round. In the next three years in the " New Jersey-New York 7 Conference", the team finished near the top of play, and they won the 1978 ECAC Metro tournament. The 1978-79 squad lost in the Metro tournament but got invited to the NCAA tournament as a #10 seed and made a run all the way to the Elite Eight (most notably upsetting #2 Duke), marking the first appearance for the school in that round since 1952. They lost to Penn (who as a #9 seed had upset #1 North Carolina on their own surprise run). in a 64-62 nailbiter. In 1979, the team joined the Big East Conference, where Carnesecca would coach for the rest of his career. They won a share of the regular season title in his first season there.

The 1982-83 squad won the Big East tournament for their first formal conference tournament championship in school history. In the first five years of Big East play, St. John's advanced to the Sweet Sixteen just once. But the 1984-85 squad would change that quickly. Composed of six future NBA players (most notably Chris Mullin) and a squad where all but one player was from the New York Area, St. John's was ranked #3 to start the season and advanced all the way to #2 before playing Georgetown, then ranked #1 on January 26. They beat them in a 66–65 nailbiter to become ranked #1 in the AP Poll. They would stay that way for multiple weeks before suffering a loss to #2 Georgetown in February, but they finished the regular season 25–2. They advanced all the way to the Big East tournament championship but lost to Georgetown 80–92. They were given a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament and made the most of it, defeating four straight opponents, which included a victory over NC State by a score of 69–60 to achieve their first Final Four since 1952. They faced Georgetown in the Final Four matchup and lost 77–59. The subsequent squad would win 31 games and win a share of the regular season title before winning the Big East tournament. However, they were shocked by Auburn in the second round. The next two teams lost 21 games combined but made the NCAA tournament each time.

The 1988-89 squad had a 12-4 start but cratered to 15-13 and a crash-out at the Big East tournament. Their reward was being invited to the NIT. With the first two games at Alumni Hall in Queens, they won each game before managing to defeat Ohio State in overtime to get to the NIT Semifinal and defeat UAB 76-65. They faced Saint Louis in the NIT Championship and won 73-65. It was their first NIT Championship since 1965, and it was Carnesecca's only postseason championship. St. John's won 24 games the next year and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The 1990-91 squad fell one game short of the Final Four with a loss to Duke in the NCAA Regional Final. Carnesecca closed out his career with one last season that saw St. John's go 19-11 but win a share of the Big East regular season championship. On April 12, he announced he would retire at the end of the season, stating "It's going to be very difficult to put the ball down, but the time has come. Why? Two really simple reasons. I still have half my marbles and I still have a wonderful taste in my mouth about basketball. It has not been an easy decision but it's something I wanted to do." Reportedly, he had wanted to retire two years earlier but had been convinced to stay by university president Rev. Donald J. Harrington.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1992/04/14/carnesecca-of-st-johns-announces-retirement/e2d5b9d2-6c22-4a23-b851-463ee2cfe615/ A 61–57 loss to Tulane in the First Round of the NCAA tournament was the last game coached by Carnesecca. Overall, he coached the team to 526 wins and 200 losses over 24 seasons (1965–70, 1973–92).

Personal life and death

Carnesecca married Mary Chiesa in 1951, and they had one daughter. Carnesecca died on November 30, 2024, at the age of 99.

Head coaching record

High school

College

ABA

, -
, align="left" , NYN
, align="left" ,
, 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" ,
, 84, , 44, , 40, , .524, , align="center" , 3rd in Eastern, , 19, , 10, , 9, , .526
, align="center" , Lost in ABA Finals
, -
, align="left" , NYN
, align="left" ,
, 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

See also

* List of NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four appearances by coach

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnesecca, Lou
1925 births
2024 deaths
American people of Italian descent
Basketball coaches from New York (state)
High school basketball coaches in New York (state)
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
NBA broadcasters
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
New York Nets head coaches
Basketball players 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