St. John's honors Lou Carnesecca

Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca will be honored by St. John's for his more than 50 years of service to the school.

Carnesecca, who graduated from St. John's in 1950, was an assistant under Joe Lapchick from 1957-65, and he succeeded the Hall of Fame coach in 1965.

He left for three years to coach in the American Basketball Association, then returned to finish his 24 years at St. John's with a 526-200 record and 24 postseason berths, 18 in the NCAA tournament. The Redmen reached the Final Four in 1985 when the team was led by All-Americans Chris Mullin and Walter Berry.

The school will present Carnesecca the St. Vincent de Paul Medal at Sunday's commencement.

St. John's renamed its on-campus arena after Carnesecca in 2004.