Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca, renowned for leading St. John’s University to national basketball prominence and for his quick wit and colorful presence on the sidelines, passed away on Saturday at the age of 99.

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Carnesecca, who transformed St. John’s University into a national basketball powerhouse, leaves behind his beloved wife of 73 years, Mary, and a cherished family that includes daughter Enes, son-in-law Gerard (Jerry), granddaughter Ieva and her fiancé Frank, as well as his dear niece and nephew, Susan Chiesa, John Chiesa and his wife Nancy.

Born on January 5, 1925, in Manhattan, Luigi Carnesecca was the only child of Alfredo and Adele Carnesecca, Italian immigrants who ran an East Harlem delicatessen. He attended St. Ann’s Academy in Manhattan (now Archbishop Molloy High School) where, as a bench player, he experienced a thrilling moment at the old Madison Square Garden. After serving in the Pacific during World War II with the Coast Guard, Carnesecca attended St. John’s University, playing junior varsity basketball and baseball.

Carnesecca’s coaching career at St. John’s spanned over two decades. He led the team to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, and six NIT tournaments, and won the Big East Tournament in 1983 and 1986. His teams also captured the 1989 NIT championship. Over his tenure, Carnesecca compiled a record of 526 wins and 200 losses.

His first stint as head coach at St. John’s ran from 1965 to 1970 before he spent three years coaching the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets in the old ABA. He returned to St. John’s in 1973, where he would remain until his retirement in 1992.

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Before becoming St. John’s head coach, Carnesecca coached basketball and baseball at St. Ann’s Academy. He returned to St. John’s as an assistant to Joe Lapchick in 1957, eventually succeeding Lapchick as head coach.

Carnesecca’s tenure with the Nets was marked by success, as he led the team to the ABA playoffs each season, with a league finals appearance in 1972, though they lost to the Indiana Pacers. He retired with a 114-138 record with the Nets.

Carnesecca was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992, leaving behind an enduring legacy as a coach, mentor, and beloved figure in the world of college basketball.

“I was a terrible player,” he once told The New York Times. “But I always wanted to be a coach.”

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