New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Hoops roots run deep in Class MM title game
CROMWELL — They don’t intrude. They don’t even cast questioning glances.
But they are there.
When Sheehan girls basketball coach Mike Busillo and Northwest Catholic counterpart Alison Connors take their teams into Saturday afternoon’s Class MM state championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena, there will be some famous faces watching their work.
Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo’s daughter Maeve is a senior forward for Northwest Catholic.
Former UConn coach Dom Perno’s granddaughter Bella and current University of New Haven coach Ted Hotaling’s daughter Susie suit up for Sheehan.
No pressure, Coach.
And that’s actually the beauty of it, Busillo and Connors say. Those famous faces are content to stay in the background.
That said, the coaches are more than happy to tap into a deep well of know-how right behind them in the bleachers.
“She’s very kind, offers help when we need help and her advice when I need advice,” Connors said of Lobo. “Otherwise, she’s just one of our parents.”
“I think if I was younger it would affect me a little bit more,” said Busillo. “I’m almost 30 years in; I don’t really care what anybody else thinks — that’s not meant to be offensive.
“But, listen, I use Ted as a resource; I’m not stupid,” Busillo continued. “Hopefully, next year, I’m a better coach than I am this year. It’s a lifelong learning thing, and Ted knows more basketball than me, so I ask questions.”
There is a generational and gender gap between the two coaches who have led their teams to the Class M title tilt. Busillo is 53 years old and in
his 18th year at Sheehan. He was an assistant coach 10 years prior to that.
Connors is 28 and in her fourth year at Northwest Catholic. A 2013 Northwest grad, Connors went into coaching when she suffered her second knee injury in college and realized her playing days were over.
She was working as an assistant at Conard when she was hired by her alma mater just 10 days before the delayed (and abbreviated) COVID season of 2020-21 began.
“It was one those sink or swim moments,” Connors said. “I would like to say we were able to swim.”
Indeed, Northwest has. After an 8-12 season in 2021-22, Connors led the Lions to last year’s Class S state crown and now has them in position to land a second straight two divisions higher.
This year’s senior class has been with her all the way. So has her father, Ed Connors, one of her assistant coaches.
“The senior class, they’ve been my rocks,” she said. “We’ve been on this path for the last four years. I’m really proud of them. They helped me build this program.”
Northwest has been in 10 previous state finals, winning four of them.
Sheehan is 1-2 in state finals and looking to win its first title since 1976, the third year the CIAC held a girls tournament.
Busillo took the Titans to the 2019 Class M final, falling 60-51 to Cromwell. The 2020 team rolled into the quarterfinals and seemed destined for a return to Mohegan Sun when the onset of the pandemic prompted the CIAC to cancel that year’s tournament.
Under Busillo, the Titans have charted a steady path to sustained excellence. After missing out on the postseason in his first two seasons, Busillo has taken Sheehan to 15 straight state tournaments.
In the last six, Sheehan has gone to the quarterfinal round or beyond in all but one.
The difference between Busillo’s early years and now? He’s grown old enough to know he doesn’t have all the answers.
“I thought I knew everything and I didn’t know anything,” Busillo said. “The saying about you don’t know what you don’t know? It’s really true. It was a big adjustment becoming a head coach. It probably was a bigger adjustment than I thought it was going to be. It took me a while to learn and get better.”
Which is why Busillo has no qualms about turning to Hotaling or any other coach.
“I’m still learning and trying to figure out how I can be better,” he said at Wednesday’s CIAC championship luncheon at TPC River Highlands.
Casting an eye around, Busillo added, “I was going to ask Sam Zullo from Simsbury — his teams are always just terrific defensively — I’m going to pick his brain at some point. I can always be better. I still ask a lot of questions.”
Ditto on the opposing bench.
“I take any and all advice from anybody,” chucked Connors. “I am still learning every day.”