BY KEN MORSE
CITIZEN’S NEWS
Long before Naugatuck boys basketball coach Mike Wilson left his legacy on the Greyhound hoop program as a coach, the fiery jump-shooting guard left his mark as the school’s all-time boys leading scorer with 1,642 points.
Wilson recently announced that he has accepted the boys basketball head coaching position at Holy Cross, where he has been a guidance counselor for the past five years.
“To come back to where it all began and have the opportunity to coach the team that you left your mark with, is something that is rare and as a school and a community we were fortunate to have him here,” said Naugatuck athletic director Brian Mariano. “Mike cares so deeply about the kids and has so much pride for Naugatuck and the Greyhounds. It’s part if who he is. It’s obviously going to be a big hole to fill. Mike has a special ability to work with kids and has a heart for them and created a family atmosphere for them and they excelled in that environment. We will definitely miss him, and we wish him well.”
Wilson played two years at Rider University and finished his collegiate career at St. Francis College, scoring 977 career points. He served two years as an assistant coach at St. Francis before coming home to be the Naugatuck freshman coach.
“Naugatuck will always be in my blood,” said Wilson. “This was the hardest decision I have ever made. But at the end of the day I need to think about what is best for my family and coaching at the place where I work just made so much sense in so many ways.”
In his 14 years as head coach the Greyhounds accumulated a 170-128 record won NVL championships during the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons. Among the numerous state tournament appearances, it was the 2015 team that finished as the Class L runner-up.
“I grew up playing in Naugatuck and was fortunate enough to have the kind of career that offered me the opportunity to play in college,” said Wilson. “As a head coach the wins and losses are great but they really are secondary. The building and molding of boys into young men who can become leaders in their community is what inspired me. It’s the community and the culture of Naugatuck basketball that made me who I am today.
“Sometimes it doesn’t always work out and that’s the hard part, but that was always the goal to try and help these kids grow into successful young men. I always told the boys it’s about looking at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day.”
Toward the end of his career at Naugy, the Greyhounds went 71-12 over a four-season span that included three NVL championship game appearances and two NVL titles.
“I coached the freshman team for four years under Kevin Wesche, my former high school coach, so yes, it was like a homecoming,” Wilson said. “It was a blessing and I was honored to be coaching at the school where I learned the game of basketball.
“Even when I took over as head coach I didn’t feel any pressure. I felt at home. We struggled that first year and went 3-17, but what I do remember was we gave everyone a fight. The kids bought into what we were teaching them.”
The past two years the Greyhounds have been in a rebuilding phase, going 10-10 in the regular season. The Hounds made a quick exit in the NVL and state tournaments, but no one will ever forget that Naugatuck came close to running Holy Cross right out of the gym in the NVL quarterfinals last season before the Crusaders staged an improbable comeback.
“I have been fortunate to have had so many coaches to talk with over the years,” said Wilson. “John Minicucci with a wealth of knowledge about the game of basketball. Coach Tom McCray is one of the most influential people I’ve had in my life. And having Jamaal Francis as my assistant since day one made all the difference in the world. He was the strategy guy and the in-game adjustments, he was the key part in all of that. He could get a head coaching job anywhere.
“I know in my heart that the Naugatuck program is going to continue its success and a lot of it is because of the boys in that program. I know one thing, the program is a lot bigger than Mike Wilson.”
