The St. John’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will wear commemorative “Lou” patches on their uniforms this season to honor the school’s legendary head coach, Lou Carnesecca, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 99.
The Queens school announced multiple initiatives to honor the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer in the coming weeks following his visitation on Thursday at the Thomas F. Dalton Funeral Home in New Hyde Park and his funeral mass on Friday at St. Thomas More Church, which is on the St. John’s campus.
Tributes will be held before the men’s game against Kansas State on Saturday and the women’s game against Wake Forest on Sunday. Fans in attendance will receive a commemorative “Lou Carnesecca 526” pin—a nod to his all-time wins total at the school.
The teams will wear “526” warmup shirts, and a decal will be installed at Carnesecca Arena. Carnesecca’s usual seat in Section 7, Row JJ, Seat 3, will remain empty.
St. Johns’ Jan. 4 game against Butler, which takes place one day before what would have been his 100th birthday, will now be “Lou Carnesecca Day,” where fans will receive a replica of his statue, which is adorned in the arena’s lobby.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to St. John’s University, President’s Office, Newman Hall, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Queens, N.Y. 11439.
