Hall of Fame college basketball coach Lou Carnicica, who won and led more than 500 games; St. John’s Two Big East Tournament titles and an appearance in the 1985 Final Four, died Saturday at age 99.
The university said it had been informed by a family member that Carnesica died in a hospital surrounded by his family, just weeks after his 100th birthday. It said Carnesica “endeared himself to generations of New Yorkers with his wit and warmth.”
Carnesica was a treasured figure in New York sports in his day, the affection for “Louie” never wavering in a city with little patience for its players, coaches, executives and owners.
He coached St. John’s for 24 seasons in two divisions — making the postseason tournament each year — and became the face of a university whose campus arena in Queens would eventually bear his name. His statue was unveiled ahead of the 2021–22 season. When asked once in a question-and-answer session with the school to describe St. John’s, Cornecica said: “Home.”
It was the home where he coached St. John’s to 18 20-win seasons and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. It was here that he amassed a 526-300 record and had 30-win seasons in 1985 and 1986. And it was the home where St. John’s became part of the bedrock of the Big East, winning at least four regular-season titles and two conference tournaments under Cornesica.
He was a three-time coach of the year in the league starting in 1979 and quickly established himself as one of the best players in the country. His players during those early Big East years included Chris Mullen, Mark Jackson and Walter Berry.
Jackson called it a “game changer” as part of a social media post Saturday night.
My coach!
Praying for your family! What a life! What a game changer! Thank you for everything!
I love you! I am thankful 4 times over!# Well done #Saint JohnOf #MadeMeBetter pic.twitter.com/8fwWPdlBHG— Mark Jackson (@MarkJackson13) December 1, 2024
Cornecica coached St. John’s to the NIT title in 1989, though the tournament had been a poor cousin to the NCAAs until then. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992, the year he retired.
“I’ve never made a basket,” he said on his induction, ditching the sweater for a crisp suit. “The players did everything. Without the players, you can’t have the game.”
He was an old-school coach, on fundamentals. And through it all, Cornecica was a roving, animated presence on the sideline, arms flailing, legs kicking, shirt tails flying, all 5-foot-6 of him bent over in anger at a missed shot or agonizing call. were But his antics never crossed the line into chair-throwing rage.
Carnesica was simply fed up by his players, with a love of the game in his core, a lifetime spent in schoolyards, beat-up gyms and big arenas. He loved the “smell of sweat” and “the feeling of burning rubber” when the shoes met the colored floor.
He remained the consummate gentleman in a game characterized by big egos, fierce recruiting wars and the constant search for the next contract. Former Big East commissioner Mike Trangis once called him “our soul and our conscience” and “one of the giants of the game.”
Carnesika never made himself very popular. He always believed that harm of some kind should never get in the way of a glass of Chianti and fettuccine with Bolognese sauce. He held clinics all over the world, made friends and offered toasts wherever he went. He was there with a kind word as well as wisdom in his breathy, raspy voice. His family tree may have gone back to Tuscany, but he can keep up with the best Borscht Belt comics.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone else in coaching like him,” for a long time UConn Coach Jim Calhoun once told the Hartford Courant. “Even if people hate the Big East, nobody hates Louie. If you like basketball, you like Louie. If you like the Cubs. So you like Louie.”
Luigi P. Carnesecca was born on January 5, 1925, the son of Italian immigrants. He grew up in Manhattan, in East Harlem, living above the grocery store and deli his father owned. He took his heritage seriously, holding on to such roots. New York Yankees As Tony Lazzeri and Joe DiMaggio.
After a stint in the Coast Guard during World War II, he became the coach at his high school — now basketball power Archbishop Molloy. In 1958, he took an assistant job at his alma mater, St. John’s, where he had played baseball but not varsity basketball.
He worked under another Hall of Famer in Joe Lipchuck for eight seasons, lessons about humility and hard work lasting a lifetime from the legendary coach. Carnesica would later pass on some advice to Mullen that he had received from Lipchuck: “Today a peacock, tomorrow a feathered bush.”
“I learned more when Coach Lipchuck cleared my throat than I ever could in any clinic,” Corniceca said.
He replaced Lapchuk in 1965, quickly piling up 20-win seasons. But after five years, Carnesika is no longer immune to the siren song of the profession. He coached the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association for three years, with Rick Berry among his players.
Years later, during the 1982-83 season in which his St. John’s team would finish 28-5, Cornecica reflected on the pressures of college coaching and his time in the ABA.
“I coached 50 games professionally; it was stressful,” he said. “I didn’t feel like getting out of bed. My mom could coach this team.”
Carnesika is survived by his wife of 73 years, Mary; Memorial services will be announced at a later date, according to the school.
This report used information from The Associated Press.