Conard Alum, Former Coach, Inducted into New England Basketball Hall of Fame

Two members of the Conard community were honored last week when the New England Basketball Hall of Fame held its sixth annual induction ceremony at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA.

West Hartford was well-represented at the ceremony, as Jen Francis, Conard '07, was inducted as a Scholar-Athlete, and former boys basketball coach John Benyei was honored as a Contributor.

Former Northwest Catholic girls basketball coach Craig Tanner was also inducted, as was one of his former players.

Francis, a graduate of St. Mary's College in Maryland, was a three year starter at the point guard position for Conard, and received CCC-West All-Star recognition as a junior and senior in 1996 and 1997. The Scholar-Athlete category also recognizes Francis' success in the classroom.

Benyei was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Contributor, in recognition of the hours spent running basketball clinics throughout the year. He retired after 30 years as Conard's girls basketball coach in 2012, and during that time amassed 223 wins. During his tenure Benyei also coached girls and boys lacrosse, boys soccer, and girls volleyball.

Francis and Benyei joined three other members of the Conard community who were previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Former boys head coach Bob Zuffelato, who guided the Chieftains from 1964-66 and helped them win the Central Connecticut Interscholasic League title in 1965, was inducted in 2009. He is a scout with the NBA's Toronto Raptors.  

Kathy Cermola, the only all-state player in Conard girls basketball history (1977-79) and their all-time leading scorer, was inducted in 2006.

Former head coach Pam Moffo (117-23 record from 1973-80), who coached the Chieftains to CCIL titles in 1975, 1978, and 1979, was inducted in 2004. The 1978-79 team, that went 24-0 and won the Class "LL" state championship with Moffo as their head coach, was also inducted in 2006.       

Craig Tanner, the Northwest Catholic girls coach from 1985-2007, was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame last week.  During his 22-year career, Tanner, who was named Coach of the Year in 1998 by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, helped the Indians win 10 league titles and three state championships in 1988, 1996 and 1999.

Tanner was joined by one of his former student-athletes, Sarah Gaspar, who went on to play collegiately at Georgia Tech, and was inducted for her success as a high school player from 1989-93.  Gaspar is the only player from Northwest Catholic to be named three times to the all-state team while accumulating a Northwest record-setting 1,629 points during her four year career.   

Information contained in this article was obtained from a submitted release.