It almost was a certainty that Lou Carnesecca, the beloved former St. John’s University men’s basketball coach, would reach the age of 100 on Jan. 5, 2025. Sadly though, he fell a few weeks short.

Carnesecca died peacefully surrounded by family members on Nov. 30. The 1992 Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer was 99-years-old. We could dedicate this entire issue of The Tablet to listing out Carnesecca’s accomplishments on the basketball court during his 24 seasons leading the Johnnies – all of which were winning seasons.

“As great a coach as Lou Carnesecca was, he was even more so a holy man. He lived his faith powerfully and was devoted to his family. In a fatherly way he also followed his players, showing interest in their careers and their lives. I join so many in expressing sorrow at the news of his passing, but with tremendous hope that he shares in the fullness of the Lord’s resurrection. God bless his Mary, wife of 73 years, and his family,” said Bishop Robert Brennan.

Carnesecca guided his team to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, the 1985 Final Four, six National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances, the 1989 NIT championship, two Big East Conference championships in 1983 and 1986, and a career total of 526 wins – the most in program history and nearly 200 more than the next closest Joe Lapchick.

When we remember Looie though, it will be more so about his impact on people, rather than his on-court accolades. Born Luigi P. Carnesecca in East Harlem, he’s a product of Catholic school,
having attended St. Ann’s Academy in Manhattan (now Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood).

After three years in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, Carnesecca played baseball as an undergraduate at St. John’s, and his team reached the 1949 College World Series. Upon graduation, he returned to St. Ann’s as the baseball coach.

Carnesecca once told me a story of how he eventually started coaching basketball, and there wasn’t much to it: The basketball coach got sick, so Carnesecca was asked to step in to coach hoops. As he said, “I happened to be in the right place at the right time.” The rest is history.

He led St. Ann’s to two CHSAA titles before joining Lapchick’s coaching staff at St. John’s as an assistant. When Lapchick retired in 1965, Carnesecca took over the program, and throughout his tenure, he had rosters chock full of talented student-athletes.

“I was very fortunate to have such wonderful players,” he said. “I soon found out … get good players and good people. That’s important. Good players make you smart,” the coach told The Tablet following his statue unveiling at Carnesecca Arena in 2021.

In one of our early conversations, Carnesecca called his lifelong friend, the late former St. John’s athletic director Jack Kaiser, “good pasta.” The only child of Italian immigrants, Alfred and Adele, who ran a grocery store on Manhattan’s East Side, Carnesecca associated “good pasta” with “good people.” “If you got good pasta, you can make something with it,” he said.

Some of his notable players included local CHSAA stars Chris Mullin, a graduate of Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge; Mark Jackson, a stand-out at Bishop Loughlin High School in Fort Greene; and Jayson Williams, a product of Christ the King High School in Middle Village.

“(Carnesecca’s) a great person who you wanted to run through a wall for,” Jackson said. “(Carnesecca’s) had the biggest impact on my life on and off the court,” said Mullin, a fellow Naismith Hall of Famer. Carnesecca is survived by his wife, Mary, of 73 years and their daughter, Enes, and her family. The tributes have poured in all week, since his vivacious personality is truly unforgettable.

His legacy will live on at Carnesecca Arena on the St. John’s campus where a statue of proudly fist-pumping has stood in the lobby since 2021. His spirit and influence will forever be linked to St. John’s basketball. Imagine if Looie had followed in his father’s footsteps and taken over the family grocery store business. We likely wouldn’t have been blessed with this larger-than-life basketball giant – despite his small stature.

Though Nov. 30 marked the end of his physical time here, legends never die. His name will continue to be synonymous with Red Storm hoops for all of eternity. In summing up his storied career in just one thought, Carnesecca kept it simple: “It was better than cutting salami at my father’s butcher shop!”

RIP Coach.