MANCHESTER – East Catholic boys basketball coach Luke Reilly got his 500th win, joining his father Joe and his uncle Gene, who both won over 500 high school basketball games, with a 92-42 victory over Manchester Monday night.
“He’d be so fired up,” said Luke of his late father, who coached at South Catholic for 27 years and won five state titles before the school in Hartford closed in 1991. “I remember, during one of his milestones, he said, ‘It’s about the faces you see, the people who come back, it’s about the community.’”
Many alumni returned to celebrate with Reilly, in his 26th season at East Catholic, and a video with several alumni and individuals who influenced Reilly’s life, was played following the game. His brother Joe, who has coached at Wesleyan for 17 years, was also there, along with several other family members.
Joe Reilly Sr., who died in 2004 at age 66, won 518 games at South Catholic, Bloomfield and Newington. Gene Reilly, who coached at Portland High School, won 547 games. He died in 2014 at age 70.
“They were the icon coaches of that era, especially to me,” said Luke, who has won five state championships with the Eagles, the last in 2023. “It’s really cool to be a part of it. I feel like I’m a small part of it because I’m just doing what they taught me.”