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07/14/2016 12:00 AMEast Haven resident Ben Bagnoli began his high school basketball career with the Yellowjackets before transferring to Notre Dame-West Haven for his final three years. Ben made the decision after then-Head Coach Jim Reynolds left East Haven to coach the Green Knights following Ben’s freshman season. Three years later, Ben is an All-State athlete who scored more than 1,000 points in his high school career and was also a captain for Notre Dame.
“When Coach Reynolds [left East Haven] at the end of my freshman year, I only wanted to play for him at East Haven, so I decided to go to Notre Dame,” says Ben, who recently graduated from Notre Dame. “My older brother went to Notre Dame, my mom loved Notre Dame, and, when I went to go visit there, I really enjoyed it. I liked the basketball coach. They’re a good program, so it seemed like a good fit.”
Coach Reynolds put Ben on the floor as a freshman at East Haven and Ben thrived in his rookie season. Reynolds has also coached Ben on an AAU team in recent years.
“Ben is probably the best pure point guard I’ve ever coached at the high school level. He knows the game so well. Then over the years at Notre Dame, he became such a terrific foul shooter, scoring point guard, and was well deserving of his All-State status,” says Reynolds. “He’s 5-foot-8, but I’ve never had a player with the hand strength of Ben. He has such incredible hand strength and the hands are one of the most-important things for a basketball player. His eyesight, knowhow; he’s a kid that just got it. He understood his teammate’s strengths and weaknesses. When you talk about what you want in a point guard, he has everything you need.”
Ben says he felt plenty of pressure stepping on the floor as a freshman for Reynolds. It wasn’t easy, but Ben worked hard to keep his spot on the floor all season.
“It was very tough. Coach Reynolds didn’t teach me like a freshman; treated me like any other player. I couldn’t act like a freshman. I was smaller, weaker, and everyone else had more experience than me,” says Ben. “It pushed me to work harder in practice and accept the challenge and do my best. Coach Reynolds had the confidence to play me and I had to go out there and prove it.”
Although Ben brought some varsity experience to Notre Dame, he quickly realized that things were going to be much different as a member of the Green Knights.
“I definitely had to earn my time. I played JV, did not start, and played a lot less minutes for varsity. There were games I’d only play a few minutes. I had to prove myself,” says Ben. “It was a big step for me going from starting as a freshman to being a bench player and knowing your role at Notre Dame. It definitely helped me and made me realize you have to continue to work hard no matter where you come from. I had to work my butt off. It made me realize I had to put in work and not make excuses.”
Ben wound up surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his high school basketball career in his final game last winter. When the season concluded, Ben was named to the New Haven Register All-State Team.
“It was one of my goals to get to 1,000 points, but I knew it would be hard to reach. One thousand points is humbling. To do it in my last game was a special moment that I won’t forget. It shows all the hard work can turn out the way you want it. You just need to continue pushing forward,” says Ben. “I’ll do whatever I do to lead my team to victory. I was captain, so I had to be the leader on the floor, put my guys in right spot, score, pass. I had to do it all. I wouldn’t accomplish anything without my teammates.”
Ben considered going to college at either Roger Williams or Colby Sawyer to play basketball, but has instead elected to attend Sacred Heart University and attempt to walk on to the team. The fact that Sacred Heart is a Division I program was a key reason for Ben’s decision.
“I’m going to try and walk on and see how it goes. It’s always been a goal of mine to play Division I college; nothing like Kentucky or UConn, but something smaller,” says Ben. “I thought Sacred Heart was a good choice and something I thought was realistic. I have to put in a lot of work. As long as I make the effort and put all my effort into it, I should be happy with the result.”