In case it wasn’t clear how necessary Lou Carnesecca was to St. John’s basketball and the New York basketball scene as a complete, all you needed to do was take a look at the tribute that adorned the marquee at Madison Sq. Backyard on Sunday night time.
Nonetheless, for longtime St. John’s assistant coach Brian Mahoney, who succeeded Carnesecca as the top coach, the lasting reminiscence he’ll carry of Carnesecca, who died on the age of 99 on Saturday, will probably be his affect on the folks round him. In a dialog with The Publish, Mahoney recalled the occasions that Carnesecca could be approached on the road and make time to speak with anybody keen.
“We always said, ‘You could run for mayor,’ ” Mahoney mentioned.
However what actually left an enduring affect on the previous St. John’s coach was the additional mile that Carnesecca would go for gamers, even those who by no means wore a St. John’s uniform.
St. John’s had lots of success recruiting a few of the prime expertise in New York and landed loads of these gamers — together with the likes of Chris Mullin and Mark Jackson. However even those who wound up going to a different faculty nonetheless knew they’d an ally in Carnesecca in the event that they wanted one.
“I can remember kids that would go away and then after their four years at another school would come back to Lou and say, ‘Hey, coach, can you help me?’ ” Mahoney, Carnesecca’s assistant from 1973-78 and 1981-92, mentioned. “ ‘I’m attempting to get to Europe, I’d like to play in Spain or Italy. And I do know you’ve gotten nice contacts.’ Lou actually was so gracious, and he would make these calls to attempt to assist these gamers that by no means even performed for us.
“That’s the type of person that he was. He always had time for everybody.”
Carnesecca coached at St. John’s for twenty-four seasons, ending with profitable campaigns in every of these years, from 1965-70 and 1973-92 when he returned to this system after a stint within the ABA with the Nets. He led the Johnnies to 18 NCAA Match appearances and the 1985 Ultimate 4.
St. John’s gained an NIT title in 1989 below his route, however his lasting affect stems from the individual he was.
“We lost an iconic St. John’s man. His coaching expertise was as good as anyone in basketball, but the man he was surpassed that. Rest in peace, Looie. We will miss you so much,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino mentioned in an announcement launched by the group.
“From the time I first met him more than 20 years ago, he had this incredible ability to make everyone feel important and made everyone feel like a someone,” athletic director Edward Kull mentioned in an announcement. “He at all times made time, whether or not you had been a former All-American or a fan on the road who wished to introduce your son or daughter to ‘Looie.’ He embodied the whole lot that’s nice about this College, this metropolis and the game of basketball.
“There will never be another like him and we are all better for having known him.”
Carnesecca got here from humble beginnings, having grown up in East Harlem and later graduating from St. John’s in 1950.
Other than Mullin and Jackson, the checklist of gamers who went by means of his program and went on to play within the NBA or ABA consists of Jayson Williams, Invoice Wennington, Billy Paultz, George Johnson and Walter Berry.
And when it got here to attracting prime expertise from the world, Mahoney credited the individual Carnesecca was for that.
“He always believed in the kids from the city because he was a city kid himself,” Mahoney mentioned. “St. John’s being the city school and had that tradition and he wanted to carry it on from [Joe] Lapchick and, of course, the great success he had. And Lou just wanted to follow up and continue along those lines.”
