With the St. John’s Red Storm honoring legendary coach Lou Carnesecca — who died last Saturday at age 99 — current men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino paid tribute in a uniquely fitting manner.
Pitino has been known for donning a wide array of slick, styled Italian suits on the sidelines throughout his career, but he opted for a look against the Kansas State Wildcats that would make Carnesecca proud — a patterned sweater.
It wasn’t just any sweater, either.
“The Sweater Game”… 40 seasons later pic.twitter.com/VgZtNwUcMV
— St. John’s Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) December 7, 2024
Much like Pitino and his suits, Carnesecca was well-known in his own coaching heyday for sporting loud sweaters. Perhaps his most iconic knit look came during the Red Storm’s 1985 Final Four season, when Carnesecca wore a brown sweater with a red and blue “V” pattern on the front during a winning streak.
The 19-game win streak came to an end with “the sweater game” between top-ranked St. John’s and the then-No. 2 ranked Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden, where Georgetown coach John Thompson walked up to Carnesecca before the game and revealed he was wearing a replica of the lucky sweater himself.
“I didn’t mind him trying to upstage me, but what was the worst part, he beat me that night. That really hurt. He could have kept the sweater!” Carnesecca recalled years later.
Pitino had his own replica of the iconic brown sweater tailored, which he set down on the midcourt logo at Carnesecca Arena once the game concluded.
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang also paid tribute to Carnesecca with a purple sweater of his own. The Red Storm defeated the Wildcats 88-71 to move to 7-2 on the season.
