As Rick Pitino unfastened his sport coat and revealed the iconic blue, red and tan striped sweater St. John’s fans know all too well, the sold-out arena named in Lou Carnesecca’s name erupted in cheers. 

For “Looie,” the man who put St. John’s on the national map all those years ago, it seemed only right to don a replicated version of the iconic Carnesecca sweater at the basketball team’s Big East-Big 12 showdown against the Kansas State Wildcats on Dec. 7. Even Jerome Tang, the Wildcats head coach, similarly honored Carnesecca with his own purple and black sweater suited up on the sidelines. 

Carnesecca’s impact on St. John’s and its basketball program might never be measured or summed up in so many words. But, before the Dec.8 game, fans tearfully, joyfully and endlessly spoke about his life and legacy. 

Lifelong fan Bob Hamilton, a 1984 graduate of St. John’s, grew up in Flushing, Queens. As a kid, he played full-court basketball every Tuesday and Thursday across from the Sly Fox Inn in Fresh Meadows. One day, one of the St. John’s athletic directors at the time came in to see Hamilton while working at the Inn and told him that Carnesecca said he had one of the best outside jump shots he had ever seen. 

“That’s going on my tombstone when I die,” Hamilton recalled as his fondest memory of the Hall of Famer.  

“Back in the 80’s he was so accessible,” Hamilton continued. “He would walk around campus. He would say hello to everyone. He was just a true gentleman.” 

“He put St. John’s on the national map,” Hamilton continued. 

And that he certainly did. After 24 years and 526 wins, Carnesecca amassed more than anyone could have dreamed of as a St. John’s fan. His impact on the court extended far beyond wins and losses, a fact that became overwhelmingly evident by the way he moved so many people with just the simple recall of his life. 

Anthony Giardina, a 1985 graduate of St. John’s, was the last mascot to represent the former “Redmen” suit before its eventual change to the Red Storm in 1994. The last memory he has of Carnesecca is sitting in the Il Bacco Restaurant in Queens next to Carnesecca, his daughter Enes and his son-in-law Gerard (Jerry).

With a fond smile, Giardina stood in Carnesecca Arena and told The Torch of their long conversation about “the old days” and “all the old stories.” 

The pair used to sit next to each other on every bus and plane ride in the season that took the 1984-85 St. John’s team to Lexington, Kentucky for the Final Four game that year. 

“[Carnesecca’s] life needs to be celebrated and emulated,” Giardina said. “He was such a nice man.”  

Every person had a unique memory of Carnesecca, but the overall feeling stayed the same. He wasn’t just a figure in St. John’s history, he was and continues to be the entire makeup of St. John’s’ history. 

“Without Lou, there would be no St. John’s,” Giardina continued. 

Tom Ward, a fan of St. John’s basketball for 50 years, said that his favorite memory of Carnesecca was when the team won the 1983 Big East Championship in his 15th year of coaching. 

He also spoke on how his father, a former criminal justice professor at St. John’s, used to sit in the faculty lounge and speak to Carnesecca during their breaks. 

“The message was always that he was so humble [and] he was so approachable,” Ward said of his father’s memory of the late coach. “He was somebody that had so much class and cared for the students and student-athletes.” 

“He’s a legend,” Ward continued. “He represented St. John’s and he represented this city in a first-class way.” 

A native New Yorker, Carnesecca entered his role as head coach in 1973 and embodied the city’s true spirit with him. 

“He captured the work ethic of New York, the grittiness of New York,” Ward said. 

With each passing conversation, the emotions continued to flood for so many of Carnesecca’s old friends and even colleagues. 

Kathy Lally, a senior secretary for varsity coaches in the St. John’s Athletics Department has been working at the University for 30 years. With tears brimming in her eyes, she recalled what made “Looie” so special.

“There was not a moment spent with Lou that wasn’t memorable and special,” Lally recalled. “He was really a great man, a great human being.” 

Ed Franke Sr., Ed Franke Jr., Phil Guerrieri and Gary Lambdin attended the game as a group together on Dec. 7. With immense joy, and smiles as wide as their faces could allow, they remembered moments from their time as fans and students that made Carnesecca so special to them. 

“He spent 15 minutes just talking to my daughter,” Guerrieri recalled from the 2014 “Dribble for Victory” event he attended. “It was a very special memory.” 

Carnesecca was well known for the accolades he acquired on the court — Naismith Hall-of-Famer, Big East Championships, Final Four appearances, NIT Championships and being the winningest coach in the school’s history. But, his compassion and kindness towards everyone he met off the court is what spoke to people all these years later.

“What I really loved about Looie is that when I met him with my father he was always really nice to my dad, and gave him a lot of time,” Franke recalled. “He was always a great guy.” 

Carnesecca’s impact on the surrounding community of St. John’s and the local high schools in Queens during his coaching tenure at the school impacted the game of basketball for years to come. 

“When he was coaching, all the kids around here wanted to play for him,” Lambdin said. “That was the kind of pull and influence he had on the game.” 

Season ticket holder Robert Smalley spoke to The Torch about the players that Carnesecca took from nothing and made into fine-tuned basketball players and men. 

“Nobody had a lot of money. Everybody struggled,” Smalley said. “[Carnesecca] helped Chris Mullin [and] Walter Berry. Back in the day, he helped a lot of people.” 

“He was just a wonderful human being. He had a lot of heart and helped every kid,” Smalley continued. 

Current Head Coach Rick Pitino has spoken about “playing for the name on the front,” and “letting the name on the back prosper,” many times throughout his two seasons at St. John’s. It’s an integral part of his coaching philosophy that has quickly transformed the culture of St. John’s back to the old days of Coach Carnesecca –– who selflessly devoted years to the University and basketball program.  

With a newly sown “Lou” patch on every player’s jersey this season, Pitino’s recurring mantra has a whole new meaning. 

If the conversations that The Torch had with lifelong fans and friends of Lou Carnesecca showed anything on Dec. 7, it’s that the life and legacy of “Looie” can never be replaced. 

Carnesecca pioneered the Big East Conference and captured the hearts of many with his wit, warmth and contagious energy. He embodied the true spirit of New York City and St. John’s University, and he will undoubtedly be missed for years to come.