Lou Carnesecca Speaker & Booking Information

During those 24 years, Lou Carnesecca never failed to qualify for a post-season tournament (18 NCAA's, six NIT's). Lou Carnesecca compiled a record of 526 wins and 200 losses and directed the team to 18 twenty victory seasons.

In May of 1992, Lou Carnesecca received one of the highest honors any coach can get as he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

On February 2, 1991, coach Lou Carnesecca became only the 30th NCAA Division I coach and 11 among active coaches to reach the 500 career victory mark when the Redmen defeated Seton Hall, 81-65 at Madison Square Garden.

In March of 1991, after a highly successful regular season when the team ranked fifth in the wire service polls, Looie guided the Redmen to a march through the NCAA Playoffs that almost ended in a trip to the Final Four. St. John's defeated Northern Illinois, Texas, and Ohio State before bowing to eventual National Champion Duke.

In the 1988-89 season he directed the Redmen to a record fifth National Invitation Tournament title be defeating St. Louis University, 73-65.

In NCAA play, Carnesecca's teams have advanced to the regional semifinals in 1967, 1969, 1983, and 1991 the Eastern regional finals in 1979, and the Final Four in 1985. Overall, he has brought the Redmen to 17 NCAA Tournaments and six NIT's.

His in-season tournament victories are equally impressive. He won 17 Lapchick Memorial Tournament Championships and eight ECAC Holiday Festival crowns.
Lou Carnesecca's teams enjoyed great success in 13 tough years of BIG EAST Conference competition. With an in-season record of 112-65, plus an 13-11 record in post-season, St. John's has an overall conference record of 139-79.

In previous years of BIG EAST competition, St. John's has tied for the regular season title three times, took the overall regular season title once and won the tournament championship in 1983 and 1986. These outstanding accomplishments have earned Carnesecca conference Coach of the Year honors three times.

Aside from his long list of honors, it was most gratifying for him to see Chris Mullin and Walter Berry (in 1985 and 1986, repectively) named recipients of the John R. Wooden Award, and to see Mark Jackson named NBA rookie of the year for 1987-88.

Coach Carnesecca has earned numerous humanitarian awards for his contributions to civic, youth and religious organizations. Voted 1985 Kodak NIT Man of
the Year, he has been honored several times by the New York State Legislature and Governor Mario Cuomo for his outstanding contributions to youth and athletics in New York State. He has been chosen Metropolitan Area Coach of the Year six times by the New York Basketball Writers Association, and Coach of the Year in New York State by the New York Basketball Coaches Association in 1985 and 1989.

Lou Carnesecca was honored by the Italian government as it bestowed upon him the title of "Cavaliere." This is given to a prominent Italian-American who distinguishes themselves in any field by the President of Italy through the Consul General in this country and is the highest honor given by the Italian government.

The Supreme Lodge of the Order of the Sons of Italy twice honored Looie by presenting him with its annual Sports Award. Following his acceptance speech, Carnesecca autographed ten basketballs, OSIA auctioned for a combined total of over $10,000, the proceeds benefitting the newly named "Lou Carnesecca Scholarship."

Born January 5, 1925, Lou Carnesecca was raised on Manhattan's east side where for many years his father owned and operated Carnesecca's Italian Delicatessen. He attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help grammar school and graduated from St. Ann's Academy (now Archbishop Molloy High School) in 1943. From 1943-46 he served in the U.S. Coast Guard, Pacific Theatre of Operations, in World War II.

He enrolled in St. John's in 1946 and played in three games on the 1946-47 JV team. Carnesecca's athletic talents were better realized on the baseball diamond where for four years he hit over .300 as a utility infielder. He was a member of St. John's first College World Series team in 1949 under coach Frank McGuire.

In the fall of 1950, Lou Carnesecca returned to St. Ann's Academy to begin his coaching career. There he taught health, hygiene and civics and continued at St. John's for a Master's Degree in educational guidance. During his tenure St. Ann's won three National Catholic High School championships in basketball and one in baseball. Lou Carnesecca returned to St. John's in 1957 and served as an assistant to coach Joe Lapchick. In 1965, when Lapchick retired, he took over the position of head coach.

In 1970 Lou left St. John's for three years to coach the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association. In his short tenure in the professional coaching ranks, he posted a 114-138 record and took the Nets to the playoffs each year, reaching the finals of the league championship in 1972.

Lou Carnesecca returned once again to St. John's in 1973, where he continued to keep the St. John's name quite prominent in the ranks of collegiate basketball until he retired.

His endeavors in international basketball have earned him the respect of coaches and players worldwide and he is thought by many to be "Basketball's Ambassador to the World." In 1989 he directed the East all-stars that participated in the Japan's Aloha Classic to the tournament title. He traveled to Yugoslavia in 1989 to scout the European Championships with George Raveling of U.S.C.

In 1982, Lou Carnesecca coached the BIG EAST team that toured Spain and Yugoslavia. That same year he coached a team made up of BIG EAST all-stars that toured Angola. The 1985 Redmen team competed during the summer in Spain and Italy faring well against numerous European national teams. Able to communicate in many languages, Lou Carnesecca has conducted clinics in schools in Spain, Italy, France, Yugoslavia, Portugal, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Japan, and Monserrat. He is chairman of the International Basketball Committee of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and is a member of the NABC Executive Board. It is not uncommon to have his practice sessions attended by visiting foreign coaches and at times his office rivals the United Nations General Assembly.