CONNELLY’S COMEBACK: Star senior embracing team concept as Freedom boys thriving

Athleticism has never been an issue for Amore Connelly.

Connelly, who’s now a senior guard on the Freedom boys basketball team, was dunking by the time he was in seventh grade playing on the AAU circuit. He had graduated to throwing down windmills and alley-oops before his middle-school graduation — during his undefeated Foothills Athletic Conference title-winning eighth-grade season at Walter Johnson.

When he jumped to Freedom as a freshman in the 2021-22 season, it was evident from day one that Connelly was still superior athletically, being named Burke County player of the year, All-Northwestern 3A/4A Conference, All-NWC tournament, All-Freedom Christmas Invitational, and All-District 10 second team as he averaged 19.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.

The 6-foot-3 Connelly rolled that into another stellar campaign as a sophomore when he averaged 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.3 steals per game as his Patriots repeated as NWC regular-season champions and won 20 games, reaching the second round of the NCHSAA 3A state playoffs for a second straight season as Connelly earned both NWC player of the year and all-district first-team honors.

“Amore is one of the best athletes to ever come to this school, period,” said Freedom sixth-year head coach Clint Zimmerman, who has the pedigree to make that claim.

Zimmerman is the only coach in Burke County history to claim a state title in his first year, and his teams won three league crowns in his first four seasons. Zimmerman had spent the prior 11 seasons as an assistant coach at FHS, winning a state title in that capacity too, following four years as a standout player with the Patriots in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“We’ve had a lot of really talented players and a lot of really talented athletes,” Zimmerman continued. “He’s up there with the entire existence of the school, not just the last six, 16, 18 years, whatever it’s been.”

Still, the road for Connelly and the Patriots got bumpy last winter as a junior.

Connelly played just a handful of games — including in FHS’ first two losses ever to crosstown rival Patton — when frustration boiled over. He was removed from the team before Christmas and transferred to finish his season and play prep ball on the other side of the country, in Arizona.

There were both positives and negatives from that experience, Connelly said.

“It helped me get around new people. It helped me with a lot of discipline because I was by myself,” he said. “I was living with my coach and another teammate, but didn’t have my parents, didn’t have people I knew.

“It was a good experience for me. It helped me learn to control my emotions better, my mouth, not talking to people reckless or in a way they could take it wrong. I feel like it helped me a lot. ... I just didn’t like the environment I was in. It wasn’t the team, it just wasn’t the best situation for me. I didn’t feel like I belonged in that position.”

Instead, Connelly knew where he belonged. Back in Morganton, where he grew up from age 4 onward playing recreation ball at the former Mountain Crest alongside his close friend Zion Thomas for Thomas’ father, Brandon, who was their coach.

“Started out, I was running all over the court, sliding down the court, had my Chuck Taylors,” Connelly said. “But Coach Thomas helped me a lot, developed me all the way through middle school (at Walter Johnson).”

Connelly asked to come back to play for the Patriots in the offseason, and Zimmerman agreed.

“I love it here,” Connelly said. “Things had gone south (last year), but they welcomed me back. I’ve changed a lot, and I’m glad I’m back.”

Zimmerman has certainly noticed the change, and it has helped the Patriots roll to a 12-2 overall record, within one of last year’s win total already, as they’re tied atop the NWC race early on at 2-0.

“Not only Amore, but our maturity across the board in the locker room is tremendously higher than it was at this time last year,” Zimmerman said. “He’s really poured himself into the locker room, and they have poured themselves into him. And it’s just a family again. It’s not just him, they’ve all bought into that.

“For those who have watched us play this year, I think that’s evident on the court. It’s a fun group to watch play. It’s a fun brand of basketball to watch and cheer for. It’s very evident on the sideline. It’s not just one person trying to do it, it’s everybody. He’s just as responsible for it as everyone else, no more so because of his playmaking ability, and they’re all doing their part to maintain the locker room dynamic and pulling for each other.”

Connelly noted two facets to his personal growth in maturity: embracing the team concept and learning to control his emotions.

“I feel like I still need to play with passion,” he said, but noted the fine line between that and playing with too much passion that can spin out of control.

And while he still leads all county boys players in scoring at 17.4 points per game, his field-goal attempts are down, and his shooting percentage is up as he’s not reliant solely on creating and making as many tough shots.

Zimmerman said Freedom hasn’t had a player take over 15 field-goal attempts in a game all season and said, “when you’re averaging 80 points per game (as a team), that’s a lot of shots to take, but they’re team-distributed.”

“He’s not forcing the issue,” Zimmerman added. “I think he’s a very underrated passer, and he’s always been that way. He passes it as well or better than he does anything else, and it goes back to the relationships and trust that we now have built up. He trusts his teammates to get their jobs done and allows them to do that.

“The biggest thing is those relationships, and if you could see the way they interact behind closed doors here, they really love coming to practice. Trust is something you’re always working to improve, and he’s absolutely doing his part there.”

One factor that likely makes it easier for Connelly to trust his teammates on the floor is that the current version of the Patriots represents the most talented group around him during his time at FHS. Sophomore guard King Johnson (13.4), junior wing Kobe Johnson (11.0), and senior guard Braxton King (10.6) are also averaging double-digit points. And senior post Elijah Davidson was an all-county player last year who set FHS single-game records for made 3-pointers and blocks and who is coming back from an injury that cost him most of December.

“I’m trying to get everyone involved,” Connelly said, “keep people’s confidence up for later in the season at states because we’re going to go get there.”

Connelly hasn’t played beyond round two yet, however, and neither has Freedom since sharing the 2019-20 state title, something Connelly certainly aims to change this season.

“Keep doing what we’re doing,” Connelly said of how the team will achieve its goals. “We had a tough challenge in the Christmas tournament against a very good team (Asheville Christian). ... I think that helped us a lot, so we know how to navigate that now.”

Looking ahead, Connelly has some options at the collegiate level next season. He has scholarship offers from NCAA Division I programs Western Carolina, College of Charleston, and Ohio as well as D-II Fayetteville State, all of which came prior to the start of his junior season.

He’s also drawn interest from N.C. State, Wake Forest, and Tennessee as well and acknowledged “I didn’t get those offers because of what happened last year when I left.”

But Connelly also went on a visit to watch UNC Asheville host a game on Wednesday night.

He said he expects to play point guard at the next level but is largely regarded by scouting services as a combo guard with the ability to also play off the ball at the shooting guard position.

Connelly is thus far undecided on a college program but has a vision for where he wants college ball to eventually take him.

“I’m trying to go to the league (NBA),” he said. “I hope that’s everybody’s dream. And I want to stay there and make a difference in the league.”

And Zimmerman doesn’t doubt that Connelly can get there.

“(The ceiling is) whatever he wants it to be,” Zimmerman said. “And it’s not going to just be determined by his athleticism, it’s just going to be how much he wants it. Time will tell.”