Best High School BB Coach Ever in the State of Connecticut

[HCCForever]

I went to South Catholic as well. Joe Reilly was my gym coach. Day 1, he handed out hockey sticks and I thought "Cool. We're going to play hockey." Nope. We used them as rifles as he taught us to march and do thinks like "Present....arms", "Right shoulder.....arms".

Another day he challenged anyone in the class to a push up contest. A couple of the football players took him up on it and, at maybe 60, he embarrassed them both.

Joe Reilly used to have us play his version of football ( razzle dazzle or some other name). You could throw a forward pass anytime you wanted to and catch the football off the stands or partition that separated the boys side of the gym with the girls. Joe used to take the guys like me who were picked last since I was about 5'2'' at the time and looked 12. His teams often won.

He did introduce us to street hockey. Which was good for me, since I was better than a lot of the jocks. In fact, my name is on the inaugural "Tea Cup" given to the champion intramural street hockey team.

Good dude, tough but fair.

 

[Delrayhoops]

Championship in '86, they beat McMahon.

I was a freshman 12th man on that McMahon team. I played a few minutes in garbage time. We didn't know what hit us.

 

[Delrayhoops]

I was gonna list Berry from Norwalk. Had a great run in the 80's. Played with and against those guys. In the 80's S. Norwalk was a hotbed for basketball talent. Guys simply couldn't get out of their own way toward D1 scholarships, but certainly plenty of D1 talent for Norwalk high and McMahon.

Roodner Court is the mecca of Norwalk basketball.

 

[olehead]

I was a freshman 12th man on that McMahon team. I played a few minutes in garbage time. We didn't know what hit us.

The House had a lot of athletes that year plus Tharon. That was a great team by any measure.

 

[Griffman]

Boys Basketball - Vito Montelli - St. Joe's

Girls Basketball - Dave Strong- Masuk 704 career wins. Did it with an average sized public school.

 

[olehead]

I don't pick Catholic school coaches. Walsh didn't win until he got kids from NY coming in on the train. I'm an FCIAC guy and I think King and Barry were fantastic, as was Usher. Bentley did great things at Harding (some of it in the FCIAC). Currently, I love watching Joel Geriak's teams at Wilton HS.

I hear you, but I used to hear schools like New Canaan and the Stamford schools somehow end up with a NY kid loosely tied to their respective catchments .. all the way through basketball season.

 

[olehead]

I do think there's something to this. Says a lot when you just win with who ya got.. However, I played against his teams in high school when they were state championship level good - and then coached against him when he was on his way out the door & then the odd duck run @ Tourtellotte. While the win total is remarkable, he won many of those games playing a very weak QVC schedule, and then feasting on tech schools. 609 is 609 whatever way you slice it, but he'll never be revered as many others in this thread.

Oh, and course I nominate myself.

Coach, who were you coach for and when?

 

[Kenny11]

I hear you, but I used to hear schools like New Canaan and the Stamford schools somehow end up with a NY kid loosely tied to their respective catchments .. all the way through basketball season.

Yup. This happens all the time but in fairness to the good catholic school programs and the good public school programs a lot of these kids weren't really "recruited" like everyone claims. I knew kids from Hartford and Bloomfield that found an address to play at Windsor High for example and I know of future D1 players that played at a catholic school and the coach didn't even know they were coming until they enrolled.

 

[uconnfan68]

Both great guys. I see Don around town frequently. Played a mean men's slow pitch softball as well. Just a great athlete. Played at PC and was pictured in SI covering Dr J.

I saw him playing around 1990. He was with an old friend of mine and they were ringers for Iffland Lumber's team. I saw him playing baseball and basketball in hs, as he played against my friends at Portland.

 

[Deepster]

Joe Reilly used to have us play his version of football ( razzle dazzle or some other name). You could throw a forward pass anytime you wanted to and catch the football off the stands or partition that separated the boys side of the gym with the girls. Joe used to take the guys like me who were picked last since I was about 5'2'' at the time and looked 12. His teams often won.

I played that and I think it was razzle dazzle! That's funny you remember that too. Good times.

 

[olehead]

Roodner Court is the mecca of Norwalk basketball.

West Main also, cage like, lot of battles there.

 

[Kurebeach5]

I hear you, but I used to hear schools like New Canaan and the Stamford schools somehow end up with a NY kid loosely tied to their respective catchments .. all the way through basketball season.

kjnn
WHAT are you talking about ? Who lived in NY and played at New Canaan ?? The COACH who followed Don Usher's retirement came from NY Cath. Lg. power Arch. Bishop Stepinac in White Plains but no players

 

[Woof 101]

I have to submit Wally Camp. There is no such thing as best basketball coach in CT ever as there are so many variables. This is basically an opinion thread. No attack on the OP...
I refer to Wally because he kept a small cow town team relevant in the shoreline conference for years. Won a
state championship and is in the CT high school coaches hall of fame with over 500 wins.

He was a coach and understood that is just another word for teacher. Great man, teacher and coach, deserves to be in the conversation.

Gold Key winner Wally Camp of Coginchaug dies at the age of 87

Wally Camp, the long-time basketball coach and athletic director at Coginchaug Regional in Durham, died on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at the age of 87. Camp was awarded a Gold Key by the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance in 1991. A graduate of West Haven High, Camp went to Southern Connecticut...

www.ctsportswriters.com

Also undefeated against Jim Calhoun in his high school beginning. A running joke between them as Jim had a ton of respect for Wally and he showed it by speaking at a couple of the the schools award dinners. My first up close meeting and actually have a conversation with Jim was at Wally's invitation. I was in awe of JC at the time and enjoyed the conversation immensely. Wally introduced me to Jim as UConns most rabid fan, which was not a lie. Have 1990 season JC autographed poster over the cellar fire place.

 

[nadav]

I'm a lifelong resident. Got Al Weston's autograph when he taught our gym class when I was in grammar school. So even as a 2nd grader I knew he was someone special.
My brother graduated in 1980. I remember looking in his yearbook and seeing they played and beat big basketball schools, like Holy Cross or Harding, that level.

So you know that the best Middle School basketball coach of alltime was John Turro!

 

[olehead]

kjnn
WHAT are you talking about ? Who lived in NY and played at New Canaan ?? The COACH who followed Don Usher's retirement came from NY Cath. Lg. power Arch. Bishop Stepinac in White Plains but no players

80's.

 

[Kurebeach5]

80's.

Names ?

 

[Fairfield_1st]

So you know that the best Middle School basketball coach of alltime was John Turro!

He was my middle school social studies teacher. But at the time I was there, Al Holowesko was the boys' hoops coach.

 

[nadav]

He was my middle school social studies teacher. But at the time I was there, Al Holowesko was the boys' hoops coach.

I had Mr H for gym, he despised me. I had Mr Turro during the Dream Season, he was a huge fan.

 

[8893]

Montelli book reveals tales of basketball and friendship

The 88-year-old coaching legend, Kentucky’s John Calipari and sports writer Seth Davis...

www.ctinsider.com

 

[XLCenterFan]

Montelli book reveals tales of basketball and friendship

The 88-year-old coaching legend, Kentucky’s John Calipari and sports writer Seth Davis...

www.ctinsider.com

My father played for Vito. So did my Godfather, and my Godfathers son! I used to go to the hoops camp at St. Joe’s that Vito ran - Metro Basketball Camp, I belive it was called. I have this book sitting on my dining room table. Really looking forward to reading it. Just have to finish the other books I’m working on.

 

[uconngb]

He was my middle school social studies teacher. But at the time I was there, Al Holowesko was the boys' hoops coach.

What year? I was 1980

 

[JohnFSilver]

I am partial to the catholic school guys as a St Thomas Aquinas alum. Joe Reilly at South is legendary but I only saw his team once when I was in 8th grade.

For high school hoops in my domain, Luke Reilly at East is outstanding. College level coach and the team executes incredibly.

Ken Smith is terrific. He gets 1-12 motivated to play and his team always bring intensity.

 

[Kenny11]

Ken gets his kids to play so hard and the defense is really intense but his teams only play one way and are often not able to adapt to good teams where the man to man press doesn’t work as well. Of course, this only applies to like 5-10% of total games

 

[the Q]

I am partial to the catholic school guys as a St Thomas Aquinas alum. Joe Reilly at South is legendary but I only saw his team once when I was in 8th grade.

For high school hoops in my domain, Luke Reilly at East is outstanding. College level coach and the team executes incredibly.

Ken Smith is terrific. He gets 1-12 motivated to play and his team always bring intensity.

I go the other way.

Since they get to recruit, they better be historically dominant to be in the discussion.

 

[T-Squared]

Jake Salafia, Cromwell HS (Class S). Won five State Championships in a row 1967-68-69-70-71; lost in State Finals 1972, 1978; won State Championships 1979-80; coached UConn’s Al Weston to four All-State selections; placed four players on the Class S All-State team in 1969; was approached to coach UConn in the ‘70s and declined, stating that he wanted to coach his son in high school in a few years. Amassed a 455-119 record from 1961-86, averaging an 18-5 record annually over the course of his 25-year career. Member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.