Gonnelli another symbol of excellence, officially speaking
Our modestly sized corner of the world punches above its weight in many categories, not the least of which is exporting Major League Baseball players. Who knew our little hamlets would produce a McDonald, Davis, Harvey, Walker, Campbell, Fordyce, Carignan, Leone and maybe a few others, right?
And now comes our latest foray: professional basketball officials. Josh Tiven and Matt Boland, alums of Eastern Board 8, have made their way to the NBA. Now comes Ajay Gonnelli and Kastine Evans (column coming on Evans at a later date), officiating their first season in the NBA G League, the league’s official minor league that prepares players, coaches, officials, trainers and front office staff for the NBA.
Gonnelli, a 2013 graduate of Lyman Memorial, has quite the story. Born in Bulgaria, Gonnelli and his twin brother Chris were adopted at a young age and grew up in Chaplin. It wasn’t all that long ago that Gonnelli was on Board 8, often a choice to call big high school games throughout the region. He even remembers his first varsity game in 2019, the Plainfield girls at St. Bernard.
“I wasn’t good enough to play anymore. But when I went to high school games, I’d watch the JV games and think that I could ref that,” Gonnelli was saying one day last week by phone from Sacramento on a road trip that also took him through Portland, Salt Lake and Atlanta.
“It was a way to stay attached to the game I love. I tried officiating right out of high school. I didn’t know where it was going to take me. I always wanted to be a professional in something and be alongside the best. I’m a competitive guy.”
The NBA holds three invite only camps for prospective officials: grassroots, mid-level and elite. Qualifying for the G League requires officials to graduate from the sequence of camps, the best of whom must master the elite camp to get hired into the G League. This year Gonnelli said was the lowest acceptance number ever (five). And to think one was Gonnelli and the other was Evans, who played on one of Bill Scarlata’s seven state championship teams at Norwich Free Academy.
“I was prepared, but still maybe a little bit nervous at those camps,” Gonnelli said. “Every game I work, I pretend all the bosses and all the management are watching. It’s like studying for a test.
“The most challenging part is trying to show that just because
I’m a rookie doesn’t mean I’m not prepared. People seeing you as a new referee are not familiar with you. It’s building everyone’s trust. The biggest difference here is communicating more with players. Players are more adamant, whereas at the college level, it’s the coaches who are communicating primarily.”
This time of year is normally when Connecticut begins to understand the quality of Eastern Board 8. Its officials were awarded one of the state’s Division I boys’ quarterfinals earlier this week (East Catholic vs. Notre Dame of Fairfield) and Board 8 will officiate the state boys’ Division II title game (Windsor vs. West Haven) Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
No other board in Connecticut can boast of four officials in professional basketball at the moment.
“I started training with (rules interpreter) Mike Thomas, (veteran official) Dave Cruz and Josh,” Gonnelli said. “They took me under their wing. My main mentors. I would not be here without Josh. Unbelievable guy. Not only a fabulous mentor but he’s always interested. He’ll turn on my G League game randomly and send me notes about it. Great teacher.”
And of why Board 8 cranks out such quality?
“I really think it starts with a solid structural foundation,” Gonnelli said. “Like in anything, whenever you start to do something, it starts with good fundamentals. Our board does a great job teaching them. When you are feeling the most pressure, you always lean on your fundamentals. If they’re strong, you’ll be good at your job.”