There were hundreds of former players that came to pay their respects to Lou Carnesecca at St. Thomas More Church on Friday.
And they weren’t just players that Carnesecca coached during his legendary coaching career at St. John’s.
It was also the players that arrived well after he retired in 1992 and were still impacted by his presence on campus.
And they all spoke about the impact he had not only on them on the court, but off it, as well.
“The things he instilled in me as a man, forget about basketball,’’ Walter Berry said of Carnesecca, who passed away Saturday at 99, just more than a month shy of his 100th birthday.
“He did a lot for a lot of people,’’ an emotional Berry said. “He was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known… This is a hard day for everybody. Coach was my guy. He helped me in ways that nobody else could.”
That was the message shared throughout the day about Carnesecca, who was honored Friday for his 526 career wins at St. John’s, but more for his generosity and spirit.
“Coach spent his whole life here,’’ Chris Mullin said. “The longevity alone was a lot, but it was more his infectious personality, his warmth, his care, his love, his protection. I always felt he protected us. He gave his players the wins and he took the losses.”
Over 400 people packed the church on the Queens campus on a frigid morning and one player who was recruited by Carnesecca, Billy Schaeffer, gave the eulogy and spoke of Carnesecca’s insistence on the importance of not having a big ego, staying humble and caring for others.
Schaeffer repeated one of Carnesecca’s oft-repeated lines about humility: “Peacock today, feather duster tomorrow.”
And Schaeffer also noted the fact that while Carnesecca recruited the Queens native to play at St. John’s, he never coached him, since Carnesecca left to coach the Nets in the ABA for three years in the early 1970s- only to come back to his alma mater in 1973 and stay as the head coach for two more decades.
“The pro game was just not for him and we are all glad he returned,’’ said Schaeffer, who works at St. John’s as the director of development for the business school. “Can you imagine the Big East Conference without Lou Carnesecca?”
Former Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo, who played against Carnesecca at Fordham and coached against him as an assistant and head coach, also praised Carnesecca for his role in the early days of the Big East, when Carnesecca became a star, not only on campus, but wherever he went in New York.
“The Big East would never be the Big East without Louie,’’ said Carlesimo, who added he wore a red tie in honor of Carnesecca and St. John’s. “He was the best.”
Carnesecca remained a fixture at St. John’s long after his coaching career ended and continued to play a key role in players attending the school.
Metta Sandiford-Artest, who starred at St. John’s from 1997-99 — when he was known as Ron Artest — said Carnesseca’s impact at the school didn’t end when he retired.
“Lou Carnesecca symbolizes New York City and St. John’s,’’ Artest said. “I just wanted to meet him. As a 17-year-old kid, straight out of the projects, you want to shake his hand.”
Even when playing for Fran Fraschilla and Mike Jarvis, Artest said he would look for Carnesecca at practice.
“Back then, it was huge,’’ Artest said.
And it remained true until the end, as even current player Zuby Ejiofor talked about seeing Carnesecca on campus and stopping to say hello.
“He was such a part of the fabric of New York,’’ said Frank Alagia who played for Carnesecca from 1972-76. “He followed Joe Lapchick and became bigger than that legend and in sports, how many times can you remember when a legend follows a legend like that?”