Jim Colligan inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame

Shelter Island Councilman Jim Colligan was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame Sunday. He received his honor at a ceremony at the Glens Falls, New York Civic Center.

Mr. Colligan, who coached the Carle Place High School varsity basketball team for 29 years and has been a volunteer assistant coach for the Shelter Island High School varsity basketball team for the past nine years, was elected to the hall by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York.

The plaque he was presented with and which will be on permanent display in the Hall of Fame reads: “Coach Colligan led his teams to 388 wins in 29 varsity seasons and four years at the freshman and JV levels. His varsity teams qualified for the playoffs in 24 of his 29 years as head coach. Carle Place earned five Nassau County Championships, including two as it’s ‘C’ representative, three Long Island Championships, two Southeast Regional Championships, as well as Class ‘C’ New York State semi-finalists (1999) and Class ‘B’ Finalists (200505). He served as president of Nassau County Boys Basketball Coaches Association. He was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame and had its basketball court named in his honor. Sportsmanship, hard work and ‘team-first’ philosophy served as a foundation during his coaching career.”

Before becoming a full-time Island resident, Mr. Colligan was also teacher at Carle Place High School from 1971 through 2006.

During his coaching on Shelter Island, the Indians reached the Class D Southeast Regionals.

In his remarks at the induction ceremony, Mr. Colligan called his coaching on Shelter Island with Coach Mike Mundy and Coach Jay Card Jr. “a privilege.”

The newly-minted Hall of Famer said one highlight a career filled with many, was “as a volunteer coach at Shelter Island winning the school’s first Suffolk County Class ‘D’ Championship against Greenport in 2014. We then went on to beat Clarke Academy by 25 points in the Southeast Regional Semi-Final Game by 25 points in the Westchester County Center in White Plains.”

“Jim has been an absolute pleasure to work with,” said Todd Gulluscio, Shelter Island School Director of Athletics. “Jim’s willingness to share his coaching experience and basketball knowledge on a volunteer basis with the players and coaching staff of our basketball program has been a true blessing. On behalf of the athletic department, I would like to congratulate Jim on reaching this well deserved achievement.”

Mr. Colligan told the audience at the induction ceremony that he attributed his success to his wife, Margaret, their children, the coaches with whom he worked, the dedicated players he coached and their supportive parents and communities that valued the best of high school athletics.

Mr. Colligan said he would always cherish “great memories, both in victory and defeat.”