At Mendham, third-year boys basketball HC Connolly is leading the team into new ear
MENDHAM, N.J. — Mendham basketball, led by Bill Connolly in his third year, is embarking on a new era and headed in the right direction. After winning seasons in his first two years (16-10 and 8-5), the Minutemen were 1-1 out of the gate in 2021-2022 and coach Connolly is optimistic about the program.
“Our goal is to have the best combination of academics and basketball in the state of NJ,” coach Connolly enthusiastically stated.
During his three-year tenure as an assistant coach at Mendham from 2009-2011, under the legendary Jim Baglin, who paced up and down the Mendham courtside for 33 years, the Minutemen won the Morris County Championship each season.
“I learned a lot from coach Baglin as a young assistant,” Bill said. “He made a tremendous impact on my coaching career. He is a true mentor and someone I still speak with regularly.”
Coach Connolly has an interesting background, having begun his professional career as a financial analyst at Pfizer, where he spent five years before entering the coaching ranks at Mendham. In addition to coaching at Mendham, Bill began teaching high school business classes (personal finance and sports marketing for grades 9-12).
Before the start of the 2011-2012 season, the Morristown varsity basketball head coaching position became available—an opportunity Bill jumped at.
“I was growing as a coach at Mendham and enjoying my time there, but I couldn’t turn down the chance to build a program. I wanted to make my mark. While Mendham was great, Morristown was the right place and the right time to go out on my own and prove myself.”
Coach Connelly ran a successful program at Morristown, guiding his charges to the Morris County semi-finals five times, and a state sectional final one year. During his eight years at Morristown, he continued to teach high school business classes (personal finance and sports marketing) to grades 9-12.
Bill is excited about his team’s prospects for the upcoming season, and the pipeline of players waiting in the wings.
“There is a great deal of interest in basketball in the Chester/Mendham area,” Bill relayed. “103 kids tried out for the middle school team, and 70 kids registered for the three high school teams. Not to mention the 120 kids who attended a recent youth clinic. We’re looking forward to giving them something to be proud of, to aspire to.”
The team is scheduled to play a full slate of games, including a holiday tournament and the JP Flynn Memorial Basketball Tournament, which is named in honor of a Delbarton graduate who perished in the Pan Am flight that was shot down over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
The current squad is locked and loaded with six seniors, a few of whom are interested in playing at the college level. All-County 6’ 7” Noah Pitt, who was ranked a top 15 player in the 25-team county, is being looked at by a number of schools.
“The combination of academics and athletics at Mendham attracts [scouts from] some very good schools, most notably Lehigh, MIT, John Hopkins, Williams, Tufts, and Hobart, among others,” Bill said in support of his philosophy that emphasizes the well-rounded student-athlete.
Under coach Connolly, the Mendham High School varsity boys’ basketball team looks to have a bright future—one that is on the path to continuing the great tradition established by previous teams.
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