Lou Carnesecca

Luigi P. Carnesecca (born January 5, 1925) is an American retired 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 for three seasons. Carnesecca was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.[1]

Lou Carnesecca
Biographical details
Born (1925-01-05) January 5, 1925
New York City, New York
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1950–1958St. Ann's
1958–1965St. John's (assistant)
1965–1970St. John's
1970–1973New York Nets
1973–1992St. John's
Head coaching record
Overall205–34 (high school)
526–200 (college)
114–138 (ABA)
Tournaments17–20 (NCAA Division I)
10–6 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 CHSAA (1952, 1958)
NIT (1989)
5 Big East regular season (1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1992)
2 Big East Tournament (1983, 1986)
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)
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1992 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

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 is 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

Carnesecca attended high school at St. Ann's Academy in Manhattan (now academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School). Upon graduation, he served for three years in the US Coast Guard during World War II, where he served on a troop transport in the Pacific theater.[2][3]

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 American Basketball Association'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.[4]

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."[4]

Carnesecca was also a longtime announcer for the USA Network's coverage of the yearly NBA drafts of the 1980s.

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 24–6CHSAA Champion
1952–53 St. Ann's 26–5
1953–54 St. Ann's 29–1CHSAA Final
1954–55 St. Ann's 26–4
1955–56 St. Ann's 26–4CHSAA Final
1956–57 St. Ann's 29–3
1957–58 Archbishop Molloy 32–0CHSAA 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 18–8NIT First Round
1966–67 St. John's 23–5NCAA Regional University Division Fourth Place
1967–68 St. John's 19–8NCAA University Division First Round
1968–69 St. John's 23–6NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place
1969–70 St. John's 21–8NIT Runner-up
St. John's Redmen (NCAA Division I independent) (1973–1976)
1973–74 St. John's 20–7NIT First Round
1974–75 St. John's 21–10NIT Semifinal
1975–76 St. John's 23–6NCAA Division I First Round
St. John's Redmen (New Jersey-New York 7 Conference) (1976–1979)
1976–77 St. John's 22–93–2T–3rdNCAA Division I First Round
1977–78 St. John's 21–75–1T–1stNCAA Division I First Round
1978–79 St. John's 21–113–3T–3rdNCAA Division I Elite Eight
St. John's Redmen (Big East Conference) (1979–1992)
1979–80 St. John's 24–55–1T–1stNCAA Division I Second Round
1980–81 St. John's 17–118–6T–3rdNIT First Round
1981–82 St. John's 21–99–53rdNCAA Division I Second Round
1982–83 St. John's 28–512–4T–1stNCAA Division I Sweet 16
1983–84 St. John's 18–128–8T–4thNCAA Division I First Round
1984–85 St. John's 31–415–11stNCAA Division I Final Four
1985–86 St. John's 31–514–2T–1stNCAA Division I Second Round
1986–87 St. John's 21–910–6T–5thNCAA Division I Second Round
1987–88 St. John's 17–128–8T–5thNCAA Division I First Round
1988–89 St. John's 20–136–10T–7thNIT Champion
1989–90 St. John's 24–1010–64thNCAA Division I Second Round
1990–91 St. John's 23–910–62ndNCAA Division I Elite Eight
1991–92 St. John's 19–1112–6T–1stNCAA 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 844044.4763rd in Eastern624.333 Lost in ABA Division Semifinals
NYN 1972 844440.5243rd in Eastern19109.526 Lost in ABA Finals
NYN 1973 843054.3574th in Eastern514.200 Lost in ABA Division Semifinals
Career 252114138.452301317.433

See also

References
  1. http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers-index/
  2. "At St. John's, Carnesecca has been part of the neighborhood for nearly 45 years". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  3. Porter, David L. (editor)"Carnesecca, Luigi 'Lou' 'Louie'", Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 2005, page 70. ISBN 0-313-30952-3
  4. Goldaper, Sam. "Carnesecca Rounds Out Cycle, Returns to Redmen," The New York Times, Wednesday, March 28, 1973. Retrieved November 30, 2020
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