NEW YORK (March 24, 2025) --- The
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association is renaming two of its major awards in memory of legendary St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca, and former collegiate administrators Peter A. Carlesimo and Jack Powers. “The Looie,” to be given to the MBWA men’s Coach of the Year, previously was named in memory of Peter Carlesimo.
The MBWA’s Distinguished Service Award previously did not carry a name but now will be jointly called the Carlesimo/Powers Distinguished Service Award. Carlesimo and Powers were the first and only two fulltime executive directors of the National Invitation Tournament, which was established by the Met Writers in 1938.
The newly named awards will be presented at the 92nd MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards dinner scheduled Thursday, April 24, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY. The Haggerty dinner is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States.
The usually soft-spoken but sometimes excitable St. John’s coach, whose outlandish sweaters became an emblem of his team’s Final Four run in 1985, died at 99 this past Nov. 30, a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday. The university in a statement said the Hall of Fame coach “endeared himself to generations of New Yorkers with his wit and warmth.”
Born Luigi P. Carnesecca on Jan. 5, 1925, the son of Italian immigrants, he grew up in East Harlem in Manhattan. After a stretch in the Coast Guard during World War II, he became the coach at his high school, the former St. Ann’s Academy now known as Archbishop Molloy. In 1958, he took an assistant’s job in basketball under Joe Lapchick at St. John’s, his alma mater, where he had played baseball on a team that reached the 1949 College World Series.
As head coach of the now nicknamed Red Storm, Carnesecca produced a record of 526 wins and 200 losses (.725 W-L pct) over 24 seasons (1965–70, 1973–92), taking a break for three seasons to coach the ABA New York Nets. In November 2004, St. John's University officially dedicated and renamed its historic Alumni Hall as Carnesecca Arena.
A longtime coach and athletic administrator, Carlesimo was a particularly dear friend of the Met Basketball Writers. For years, he served as a coach and administrator at Scranton University before moving to his alma mater, Fordham, as athletic director (1968-78).
After considerable accomplishments at both those schools, he became the first fulltime executive director (1978-88) of the National Invitation Tournament. He was instrumental in launching the preseason NIT, which has added so much vitality along with an exciting event to the world of college basketball. For years, Carlesimo attended the annual MBWA postseason awards dinners, often serving as the keynote speaker. A native of Newark, NJ, he died in 2003 at the age of 87.
John J. “Jack” Powers, who was raised in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, passed away this past Feb. 27 at the age of 89. A longtime Eastchester, NY, resident, he attended Manhattan Prep before embarking on a stellar two-sport career at Manhattan College in baseball and basketball. A 1958 graduate, he led the Jaspers basketball team to two NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT berth, solidifying his playing legacy with a 29-point, 15-rebound performance in an 89-84 NIT upset over Jerry West’s West Virginia team.
After a brief stint coaching at Mamaroneck (NY) High School, Powers returned to Manhattan in 1968. Over 10 seasons, he led the Jaspers to four NIT appearances, a 1973 ECAC Holiday Festival title and a 142-114 record. As Director of Athletics following his coaching career, he oversaw major growth in both men’s and women’s programs at Manhattan while advocating tirelessly for student-athletes.
Powers succeeded Carlesimo as executive director of the NIT in 1988 and served in that role until 2005, when the NCAA purchased control of the event and subsequently moved the tournament’s Final Four out of New York following the 2022 season. For nearly 20 years under Powers’ administration, the NIT was the title sponsor of the MBWA’s All-Met Haggerty Awards dinner, enabling the prestigious postseason program to continue and thrive.
Each year, the MBWA presents one or more Distinguished Service Awards at the Haggerty dinner. It was previously announced that Big East Conference commissioner Val Ackerman and Bloomfield men’s basketball coach Gerald Holmes would be this year’s DSA honorees.
Click here for a list of the MBWA’s Men's Division I Coaches of the Year (year-by-year).
Click here for a list of the MBWA’s previous DSA honorees: Distinguished Service Awards (year-by-year).
-- MBWA --