“An iconic figure,” “His legacy will forever be remembered”: College hoops fans mourn the loss of St John coaching legend Lou Carnesecca
The sports world was thrown into mourning as St. John's basketball coaching legend Lou Carnesecca died on Saturday. He was a month shy of his 100th birthday.
Fans mourned his death on various social media platforms.
"Deepest condolences. He was a legend. His legacy will forever be remembered nothing controversial about him and nothing negative could be said. Queens mourns, God bless. His soul went straight to heaven," a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
"An iconic figure during my childhood when my passion for college basketball took off," another fan wrote.
"End of an era for basketball legends," a fan commented.
"Condolences. I have few role models who I’ve never met, but he was one. This is a sad day for humanity because they don’t make them like Looie anymore," another fan commented.
Lou Carnesecca: A brief look at St. John's Hall of Famer's career
In the world of college basketball, no one was quite like coach Lou Carnesecca. Born on Jan. 5, 1925, in New York, he began his coaching career at St. Ann's Academy, now known as Archbishop Molloy, where he served as the head coach for eight years.
Then, he joined St. John's as an assistant under former New York Knicks boss Joe Lapchick in 1958. In 1965, Carnesecca became the head coach and subsequently amassed a 160-62 record in five seasons. Then, he left to join the American Basketball Association's New York Jets where he served as head coach and general manager from 1970-73. During this period, the Nets made the postseason in each of his seasons there.
Shortly after, Carnesecca returned to St. John's, where he led the Redmen (now the Red Storm) as an independent for three years before competing in the New York-New Jersey conference for three seasons and made four NCAA tournaments.
In 1979, St. John's joined the Big East, where Carnesecca won five regular-season conference titles and two conference tournament championships. He was also named Big East Coach of the Year three times.
Carnesecca was notable for his signature sweaters on the sidelines, and under his leadership, St. John's competed in the NCAA Tournament 11 times and advanced to the Final Four in 1985. He retired from coaching after the 1991-92 season, but he maintained an office on campus for over 30 years, serving as an assistant to the university president.
Alumni Hall was named Carnesecca Arena, and a statue was built there in his honor. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. To this day, a banner with his name and wins total hangs in Madison Square Garden, where St. John's has played many home games.