Lou Carnesecca was the heartbeat of college basketball, especially in New York. He had 526 wins in 24 years and also was the 2x National Coach of the Year with St John’s Red Storm. But in 1992, during his Hall of Fame enshrinement, Looie said, “It’s going to be very difficult to put the ball down, but the time has come” and retired from coaching. And on 30 November, at the age of 99, Lou Carnesecca passed away. Ever since then, the basketball world has been mourning and sharing the highlights of Carnesecca’s tenure. One such throwback photo also includes Michael Jordan before his Bulls era.

This one picture, taken before the 1983-84 season features top players of the college game gathered for the 1984 Playboy All-American Team. Carnesecca was the coach of this squad that also had two North Carolina Tar Heels players on its roster: Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins.

In the front row, it was James Banks, Leon Wood, and Lancaster Gordon. Besides the coach, Lou Carnesecca in the second row was St. John’s Chris Mullin. With the Red Storm duo were Wayman Tisdale and Michael Jordan. In the last row, Melvin Turpin, Hakeem Olajuwon, Sam Bowie, and Sam Perkins made the lineup. Interestingly, 7 players from this list would go to be in the top 10 draft picks of the 1984 NBA draft.

Yes, the draft class where Hakeem Olajuwon was the #1 pick and Michael Jordan and Bulls legacy began. During his time with North Carolina, MJ had faced coach Lou Carnesecca a couple of times. And the head-to-head result would be a 1-1 draw. After winning the Championship in 82, the following season, the Tar Heels faced the Red Storm. It was a Tip-off Classic game, in the Springfield Civic Center (now called MassMutual Center) which turned out to be a classic overtime game.

Looking back at Lou Carnesecca’s encounter with Michael Jordan

The 3x Big East Coach of the Year had an uphill task since North Carolina was a better-ranked team. In the battle between the 3rd and the 19th Red Storm, not many expected the latter to win. And even the coach seemed surprised by it. “There was a little bit of shock. That’s the best word. Not because of the result. Because of the way it happened.”

Yes, Coach Lou Carnesecca’s team won, 78-74 in overtime in the opening game of the college season. In that game, Michael Jordan still showed out with his 25 points and an apparent cast on his left wrist as per The New York Times. But the next encounter was even more thrilling. The following year, after their Playboy All-American Team meet-up, MJ and Coach Looie faced each other.

Both teams were unbeaten at that stage when they met in December. Tar Heels were 7-0 and the Red Storm was 8-0, and the battle was in the Madison Square Garden. In front of 19,591 fans, Lou Carnesecca and Co. tasted their first defeat of the season (64-51). Despite the loss, the coach appreciated their opponents.

“While he may not agree, they may not have a James Worthy, but this team has the potential to be the best at North Carolina ever. They don’t have that one player they have to rely on. And this team’s starting five will all be wearing N.B.A. jerseys.” This sums up Carnesecca’s character and that’s why the NBA world expressed their sadness when they heard about the passing of the legend.