Happy Birthday to Louie!

[sju88grad]

Lou Carnesecca turns 96 years young today. One of the nicest people you could meet and one of the legends of the Big East. A few interesting tidbits:

— he served for 3 years in the Coast Guard during WWII

— after 5 years as head coach of SJU, he coached the Nets in the ABA for 3 years before returning to SJU. His salary at the Nets was $200K per year and when he returned to SJU, he made only $22K!

— named Nat’l Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1985.

— Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 1992.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUIE!!!

[DanofXav76]

Good Stuff 88!
Seems like I've seen him at several games on TV until this bizarre year. I believe he was a faithful supporter of CM? Those salary numbers are just crazy. Had absolutely no idea he was a two time National Coach of the Year.
Guessing/Thinking Louie is a a native New Yorker?

[sju88grad]

Good Stuff 88!
Seems like I've seen him at several games on TV until this bizarre year. I believe he was a faithful supporter of CM? Those salary numbers are just crazy. Had absolutely no idea he was a two time National Coach of the Year.
Guessing/Thinking Louie is a a native New Yorker?

Thanks Dan! Yes, Louie is a native NYer and was a big supporter of CM. Pre-Covid, he was a regular at most home games. I really hope he is able to continue once things return to normal.

[billyjack]

Louie is a legend, and is on the Big East Mount Rushmore. Had some fun teams.

A couple of his last teams, which may be overlooked, were in the 90 91 92 era... had a Sweet 16 and an Elite-8... Smart high-I-Q basketball with Boo Harvey, Jason Buchanan, Malik Sealy, Billy Singleton, and Robert Werdann... destroyed 1-seed Ohio State, plus Texas, etc... refs cheated for Duke, called a tech on Singleton...

So cool to see him still active recently.

[sju88grad]

Louie is a legend, and is on the Big East Mount Rushmore. Had some fun teams.

A couple of his last teams, which may be overlooked, were in the 90 91 92 era... had a Sweet 16 and an Elite-8... Smart high-I-Q basketball with Boo Harvey, Jason Buchanan, Malik Sealy, Billy Singleton, and Robert Werdann... destroyed 1-seed Ohio State, plus Texas, etc... refs cheated for Duke, called a tech on Singleton...

So cool to see him still active recently.

Great memory Billyjack! Malik Sealy was one of my all-time favorites. So sad he left us way too soon....