They were two high school basketball players in New York City in the early 1980s who could have gone on to various nationally renowned college programs.
But Chris Mullin and Mark Jackson had one goal in common. It was about wanting to play for St. John's and head coach Lou Carnesecca.
Asked about the first time he met Carnesecca, Jackson recalled a game he played for Bishop Laughlin in Brooklyn.
“I remember Coach sitting there and I remember Coach being in the gym,” Jackson said. “It was like the spotlight was just on him. There was a bright light in every room he walked into, in the gym, on every sideline he captained. There was something about him. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a member of the St. John's basketball team because there was something special about it.”
Marin and Carnesecca's history goes back even further, with Marin attending Carnesecca's camps from around the age of 10 and noting different aspects of his personality.
“I met Coach at camp, and he was more low-key, giving lectures, teaching basketball, telling stories,” he said, starting his high school career at Power Memorial in Manhattan and attending Xaverian College in Brooklyn. said Marin, who graduated. “When he recruited me, he was also very modest. I couldn't stop laughing on the first day of practice. This guy is running around. [and] Jumping. [I said] “Who is this person?” I have never met this person. ”He had a unique ability and got into that mode in practice and in games. Once that was over, he was just a normal guy. ”
The Carnesecca connection brought them to St. John's to play. And on Friday, Carnesecca returned to pay tribute to his former coach at St. Thomas More Church after he passed away Saturday at age 99.
Walter Berry, who was scouted out of Benjamin Franklin High School in Manhattan at the time, and Bill Wennington, who finished his high school career at nearby Long Island Lutheran, were all part of the 1985 Final Four team.
That bond lasted for the rest of Carnesecca's life, including during Mullin's struggles with alcohol early in his NBA career.
“I had my challenges, but he always supported me,” Marin said. “When he spoke, he was honest and direct, but at the same time caring and loving. That's a unique way to live almost 100 years of life. He never changed.”
And that consistency, according to Mullin, is what led Carnesecca to such heights at St. John's.
“Even when I needed to be disciplined and serious, he always let me know it was okay,” Marin said. “As a coach, you always talk about speeches and x’s and x’s, but Coach went above and beyond because he lived it.
“All you had to do was watch him every day,” Marin said. “He was very basic in his coaching and teaching and very basic in his way of living, but when you do that consistently every day, it becomes extraordinary.”
Marin said Carnesecca always preached the importance of practice.
“If you stick to the basics, you can win,” Marin said. “And that's why he was the ultimate winner.”
