Lou Carnesecca, Legendary St. John's Basketball Coach, Dead At 99

Carnesecca, whose sweaters became an emblem of his team’s rousing Final Four run, coached St. John's for 24 seasons over two stints.

NEW YORK (AP) — Lou Carnesecca, the excitable St. John’s coach whose outlandish sweaters became an emblem of his team’s rousing Final Four run in 1985, has died at 99, just a few weeks shy of what would have been his 100th birthday.

The university said it was notified by a family member that Carnesecca died in a hospital on Saturday surrounded by his family. St. John’s said the Hall of Fame coach “endeared himself to generations of New Yorkers with his wit and warmth.”

Carnesecca was a treasured figure in New York sports in his day, affection for “Little Looie” never wavering in a city with scant patience for its players, coaches, executives and owners.

He coached St. John’s for 24 seasons over two stints — making a postseason tournament each year — and became the face of a university whose campus arena in Queens would eventually carry his name. A statue of him was unveiled before the 2021-22 season. When asked once in a question-and-answer session with the school to describe St. John’s, Carnesecca said: “home.”

It was home where he coached St. John’s to 18 seasons of at least 20 wins, and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. It was home where he finished with a 526-200 record and had 30-win seasons in 1985 and 1986. And it was home where St. John’s became a charter member of the Big East Conference and a pillar of its success.