Sean Connolly named Prep basketball coach

DANVERS – Sean Connolly has been a familiar face in the St. John’s Prep gymnasium over the years, but up until yesterday, he was either playing for or coaching the opposition. This season, he’ll be sitting on the home bench.Connolly, who has been the head coach at Bishop Fenwick for the past four years, has been named the new St. John’s Prep boys basketball coach, replacing Dan Letarte. Letarte stepped down after 14 years in the top job (16 years total) to spend more time with his family.Prep principal Edward P. Hardiman, Ph.D., and athletic director Jim O’Leary announced Connolly’s hiring Thursday night at The Prep. O’Leary said he received 18 resumes from head coaches.”We are very pleased to have Sean join the basketball program at St. John’s,” Hardiman said. “He brings a passion for the game, experience as a head coach, and his own outstanding record as an athlete at the highest level. Most importantly, as a teacher-coach, he shares our commitment to excellence and educating the whole student.”Connolly said the decision to go for the Prep job was a tough one, having played at Fenwick and coached there.”This opportunity came up at the last minute (and I decided to go for it),” he said, adding it’s probably the best high-school basketball coaching job on the North Shore and one of the best in the state.Letarte said when he heard Connolly had been offered the job, he was happy.”I was proud of him,” Letarte said, noting that he has known Connolly since the former Ohio State player was only 12. He said he has a lot of respect for him, both as a player and as an opposing coach.”I can sit in the stands, eat popcorn and not worry about a thing,” Letarte said.Connolly said he’s looking forward to coaching at a school with such a great tradition, and he’s excited about coaching at the Division 1 level and in the highly competitive Catholic Conference.”It’s a great conference. Some of the best players in the state play in the conference,” he said.Although Connolly went to Bishop Fenwick, his brother, Brian, went to St. John’s Prep, so he and his family are no strangers to the school.”He’s like part of our extended family,” O’Leary said, adding that during the interview, he and the others doing the interviewing asked him some difficult questions and received thoughtful answers.O’Leary said the requirements for the job went beyond basketball. He said the person chosen had to mesh with the mission of the school, and Connolly fits the bill.Connolly graduated from Fenwick in 1998, having averaged 28.4 points per game. He left as the all-time leading scorer on the North Shore with 2,473 points. Connolly went on to play at Providence College, where he started as a freshman and averaged 11 points per game. While there, he set the single-season record for 3-pointers by a freshman.Connolly was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team, and he played on the All-Big East Academic Team in 1999. He also played in the National Invitational Tournament.Following his freshman year, he went to The Ohio State University, where he was named to the Big Ten All-Academic Team. He also won the All-Scholastic Student-Athlete Award.Connolly graduated from Ohio State in 2003, having earned two Big Ten championships. He also passed the 1,000-point scoring mark, and participated in the NCAA Tournament and the NIT.Connolly, who is a math teacher at Charlestown High, led the Crusaders to the state tournament three times and the Division 3 North semifinals twice. His team won the Catholic Central League championship in 2007, and he was named Coach of the Year by the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association. Connolly also served as an assistant varsity coach at St. Mary’s High in Lynn.Connolly said he doesn’t know what Fenwick’s plan is as far as replacing him, but he indicated two of his coaches, Mike Kane and John Dullea, would likely go for the job.