THE APPLE & THE TREE
Proud grandfather Dom Perno watches granddaughter Bella carry on a family tradition
Sixty years ago Wednesday, on March 13, 1964, Dom Perno stole the ball from Bill Bradley and became an iconic part of Connecticut sports history. “A lot has happened in those 60 years,” Dom’s wife Cindy said Tuesday. Perno, who played for Uconn from 1960-64, would go on to coach the Huskies, helping to usher in the Big East era. He and Cindy moved to Washington, D.C., in the late ’90s so he could work in athletic administration at George Washington, then they went to North Carolina upon retirement.
But now the Pernos are back in Connecticut and Dom, 82, can be found courtside at Sheehan High girls basketball games, where his granddaughter Bella is a senior guard.
Bella, who comes off the bench, had a 3-pointer in Sheehan’s 64-43 win over Berlin in the Class MM semifinal game Saturday night at Plainville High. After the game, she went over to hug her grandfather. Sheehan was headed to the state championship game this weekend at Mohegan Sun Arena for the first time since 2019 and for the fourth time in school history.
“She said, ‘I’m so excited,’ and we were too,’” Cindy said. “It’s so thrilling.”
Bella wears No. 15, like her grandfather did at Wilbur Cross, where his teams won 49 straight games and the 1958 New England championship, and at Uconn, where his steal in the 1964 NCAA tournament second-round game against Princeton propelled the Huskies into rarified air, a 52-50 win over the favored Tigers and a spot in the NCAA tournament regional finals against Duke at Reynolds Coliseum in North Carolina. Uconn had previously only won one NCAA Tournament game before the Huskies beat Temple in the first round of the ’64 tournament.
With the score tied at 50, Perno hit two free throws. With less than 20 seconds left, Bradley — an All-american who averaged over 30 points a game — had the ball andauconndefenderonhim. Perno ran up behind him and took it and dribbled out the clockforthewin.thehuskies would lose to Duke the next game.
Dom still remembers that day: “Sure do,” he said Tuesday. “Sixty years. Wow.”
Bella remembered seeing a photo of her grandfather and Bill Bradley when she was in elementaryschool,backwhen she started playing basketball. Her father, also named Dom, went to Uconn and was the manager for his father’s basketball teams.
“When I found out my grandfatherplayedbasketball, I was like, ‘Oh, I really want to do this,’ ” Bella said.
Even after the elder Perno left Uconn, after coaching through the transition from the Yankee Conference to the Big East, his son was still a student and remembered Uconn’s 1988 NIT victory.
“As a kid growing up, it was fantastic, going from the Yankee Conference to the Big East — those were some great times,” the younger Perno said. “Going on recruiting trips with him, hanging out with the coaches, going to practice every day. For a kid, I wouldhavebeen6-8yearsold whenhestartedasanassistant in 1972, then growing up with it—itwasallpartofyourlife.it was the fabric of our lives.
“I continued to go to games and have season tickets. Most of the family moved out of state; I was the only one still here. My parents went down South, my brother went West, my sister went South.”
Bella grew up going to Uconngames,bothmen’sand women’s,withherfather,who had played basketball at East Catholic. Her father coached her in town basketball and travel basketball.
Three years ago, Dom and Cindy moved back to Connecticutfromnorthcarolina, following their daughter. Now they can watch one of their granddaughters play soccer and run track and Bella play basketball.
Naturally, Dom can’t help but make coaching comments to Bella after games.
“He likes to make his comments about what I should and should not be doing,” she said. “Like, ‘Why is that girl going by you? Why did you take that shot?’ It’s tough love.”
Said the younger Dom: “He’s still coaching from the sidelines. He’s still critiquing her. But he’ll give her a hug, regardless.”
“We would like for her to play a little bit more … but we’ll take what we can get,” the elder Perno said.
“He has said, ‘Don’t be afraid to take your shot,’ ” Cindy said. “Bella will pass the ball. She’s such an unselfishplayer. she’ s a good 3- point shooter. He’ll advise her on that.”
“I like to see her involved,” Dom said.
Bella doesn’t like to make a big deal about her name and family connections.
“I think it’s really cool, but it’s not something I bring up,” she said. “I feel like people make the connection eventually. It’s not the first thing I say when I meet someone.”
Sheehan coach Mike Busillo has a connection to the Pernos: his mother went to Wilbur Cross and was in Dom’s graduating class.
“I was born in New Haven and my mother graduated high school with Dom Perno,” Busillo said. “They both are Wilbur Cross, Class of 1959.
“When I was growing up, and Coach Perno was at Uconn, my mother would remind me frequently what a great athlete he was and that they graduated high school together.”
Sheehan will face Northwest Catholic, last year’s Class S champion, in the Class MM final either saturday or sunday at a time to be determined. All the Pernos will be there.
“I give her all the credit in the world,” the elder Perno said. “She hangs in there and keeps playing and keeps working. She’s as excited about getting to the finals as anybody.”