Lou Carnesecca

Lou Carnesecca

Carnesecca in 2008
Biographical details
Born	(1925-01-05)January 5, 1925 New York City, U.S.
Died	November 30, 2024(2024-11-30) (aged 99)
Alma mater	St. John's
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1950–1958	St. Ann's Academy HS
1958–1965	St. John's (assistant)
1965–1970	St. John's
1970–1973	New York Nets
1973–1992	St. John's
Head coaching record
Overall	205–34 (high school) 526–200 (college) 114–138 (ABA)
Tournaments	17–20 (NCAA Division I) 10–6 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Division I Regional – Final Four (1985) NIT (1989) 5 Big East regular season (1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1992) 2 Big East tournament (1983, 1986) 2 CHSAA (1952, 1958)
Awards
2× Henry Iba Award (1983, 1985) NABC Coach of the Year (1983) UPI Coach of the Year (1985) 3× Big East Coach of the Year (1983, 1985, 1986) New York City Basketball Hall of Fame (1993)
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1992 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006

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.

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 ABA's New York Nets 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 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.

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

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

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
St. Ann's Academy / Archbishop Molloy High School (Catholic High School Athletic Association) (1950–1958)
1950–51	St. Ann's	13–11
1951–52	St. Ann's	24–6			CHSAA Champion
1952–53	St. Ann's	26–5
1953–54	St. Ann's	29–1			CHSAA Final
1954–55	St. Ann's	26–4
1955–56	St. Ann's	26–4			CHSAA Final
1956–57	St. Ann's	29–3
1957–58	Archbishop Molloy	32–0			CHSAA Champion
St. Ann's / Archbishop Molloy:		205–34 (.858)
Total:		205–34 (.858)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

College

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
St. John's Redmen (NCAA University Division independent) (1965–1970)
1965–66	St. John's	18–8			NIT first round
1966–67	St. John's	23–5			NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place
1967–68	St. John's	19–8			NCAA University Division first round
1968–69	St. John's	23–6			NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place
1969–70	St. John's	21–8			NIT Runner-up
St. John's Redmen (NCAA Division I independent) (1973–1976)
1973–74	St. John's	20–7			NIT first round
1974–75	St. John's	21–10			NIT semifinal
1975–76	St. John's	23–6			NCAA Division I first round
St. John's Redmen (New Jersey-New York 7 Conference) (1976–1979)
1976–77	St. John's	22–9	3–2	T–3rd	NCAA Division I first round
1977–78	St. John's	21–7	5–1	T–1st	NCAA Division I first round
1978–79	St. John's	21–11	3–3	T–3rd	NCAA Division I Elite Eight
St. John's Redmen (Big East Conference) (1979–1992)
1979–80	St. John's	24–5	5–1	T–1st	NCAA Division I second round
1980–81	St. John's	17–11	8–6	T–3rd	NIT first round
1981–82	St. John's	21–9	9–5	3rd	NCAA Division I second round
1982–83	St. John's	28–5	12–4	T–1st	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1983–84	St. John's	18–12	8–8	T–4th	NCAA Division I first round
1984–85	St. John's	31–4	15–1	1st	NCAA Division I Final Four
1985–86	St. John's	31–5	14–2	T–1st	NCAA Division I second round
1986–87	St. John's	21–9	10–6	T–5th	NCAA Division I second round
1987–88	St. John's	17–12	8–8	T–5th	NCAA Division I first round
1988–89	St. John's	20–13	6–10	T–7th	NIT champion
1989–90	St. John's	24–10	10–6	4th	NCAA Division I second round
1990–91	St. John's	23–9	10–6	2nd	NCAA Division I Elite Eight
1991–92	St. John's	19–11	12–6	T–1st	NCAA Division I first round
St. John's:		526–200 (.725)	138–75 (.648)
Total:		526–200 (.725)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

ABA

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
NYN	1971	84	40	44	.476	3rd in Eastern	6	2	4	.333	Lost in ABA Division semifinals
NYN	1972	84	44	40	.524	3rd in Eastern	19	10	9	.526	Lost in ABA Finals
NYN	1973	84	30	54	.357	4th in Eastern	5	1	4	.200	Lost in ABA Division semifinals
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

External links

• Lou Carnesecca at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• Lou Carnesecca at IMDb