Lou Carnesecca, the only child of Italian immigrants who ran a grocery store on Manhattan’s East Side and who became one of the most colorful and successful coaches in college basketball history during a 24-year career at St. John’s, died on Saturday afternoon, the Post confirmed. He was 99.

Carnesecca, who would have turned 100 on Jan. 5, retired from coaching in 1992, but kept an office on the Queens campus for more than 30 years in his role as an assistant to the university president and remained a presence at many of the team’s home games until 2022.