Kenny Klein arrived in Queens with a big reputation. He was a College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Famer, a Louisville legend. A man universally admired. 

I didn’t know much about him. We had only crossed paths a few times. I wasn’t sure what to expect. He was a giant in the college basketball world. 

Then, we met. 

“I’m here to offer a helping hand,” he told me. 

He undersold it. 

He did so much more than just help. He became part of the St. John’s fabric. He made reporters’ lives easier. He developed friendships with just about everyone, always greeting you with a smile and some friendly banter. He wanted to be an aid, Klein often said, without getting the way.

It felt like you knew the guy for decades. There was a rare warmth about him. 

On Thursday night, Klein died at the age of 66, after a tragic episode at a dinner on June 11. He never regained consciousness. The news of his passing led to a flood of deserved tributes on social media. You couldn’t find anyone who would say a bad word about him because he didn’t have enemies. He left an impression on people who only met him a few times. He had that magnetic of a personality.

In his final hours, he was surrounded by friends and family. More people showed up for an honor walk celebrating Klein’s status as an organ donor. Even in death, he was helping others. 

There were many touching stories shared, so many of them including a photo of Klein with that trademark smile of his. One of them came from Andrew O’Connell, who works in the St. John’s sports information office. 

He retold a story about the night St. John’s won its second straight Big East Tournament title in March. As the Red Storm got ready to cut down the nets, Klein was giving players instructions on how to properly handle the tradition so everyone would get an equal strand. Afterward, O’Connell made his way to the interview room. 

“The door opened and someone shoved something into my hand,” O’Connell wrote. “In that perfectly smooth southern accent he said, ‘wanted to make sure you got one of these.’ It was a piece of the net.” 

It was classic Klein, always thinking of others. There were so many similar stories shared. 

Klein worked as a college administrator for over 40 years, 39 of those at the University of Louisville. He arrived on campus in 1983. He was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame in 2015, and two years later, he became a member of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was awarded the 2012 Katha Quinn Award, presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, for providing outstanding service to media covering college basketball.

“That’s what I view my thing as — I’m trying to help people,” Klein said in 2017. “How can I do that in my role? What can I write? How can I connect these people to national media? How can I make this television announcer’s job better by providing him quality information on our guys that can make the telecast better? That in turn makes it better for our fans to watch. How can I help people? That’s really the way I view my job.”

He retired in 2022, but stayed on to assist the Louisville basketball program for another year. Then, his old friend, Rick Pitino, asked him to assist at St. John’s the last two years. 

“Kenny Klein is the most selfless person I’ve met in my lifetime,” Pitino said. 

Together, they added more hardware, a pair of Big East regular season and postseason crowns. 

He did so much more than offer a “helping hand.” In only two years, he left a lasting legacy in Queens that mirrored his life’s work.