Michael Coggins had one thought as he lined up a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter of the Suffield boys basketball team's North Central Connecticut Conference tournament quarterfinal game at Ellington on Feb. 23: The Wildcats were down six and his team was counting on him to come through.
The 6-foot-4 senior guard delivered as he's had so many times in four seasons. But while he had cut Suffield's deficit in half, Coggins had lost count of his own point total. Entering the game he needed 31 points to tie his current assistant coach Jeff Viggiano's 22-year-old school record of 1,637 career points. His corner trey gave him 34.
"I didn't think I would get it that night since our games with Ellington have always been low-scoring," Coggins said. "But I had like 20 in the first half and I thought, you know, it's possible. But I went with the flow.
"I didn't know. I didn't know at all. But I looked up at the scoreboard that lists the players and points and saw what I had and that's how I found out. Our athletic director (Todd Zenczak) went to the scorer's table and there was an announcement. It was hard to put the emotions aside. It's a tight game and there's a lot on the line. It was great to be able to share it with my family and friends. My mom was crying. My teammates were happy. But my goal that night wasn't to break a record but to win a game."
Coggins finished with 37 points but the Wildcats fell short as the host Knights came away with a 60-58 victory to advance.
He'll look to keep Suffield's season and his high school career alive Monday when the No. 19 Wildcats (11-10) travel to Bristol to take on 14th-seeded St. Paul in a CIAC Division IV state tournament first-round game.
"I never really thought about scoring that much," Coggins said. "It was always in the back of my head. I wanted to go down my senior year as one of the best to do it at Suffield High. My coaches have coached me to be the best that I can be and they trust me to be the best person I can be.
"As I got closer, Coach Viggiano would rub it in. He'd tell me how he would sit out a lot of times because the teams he played on were so good. It's an honor to be where I'm at and I'm very blessed. Look at the people that have scored 1,000 points at Suffield and I have more than anyone. It's humbling. There's definitely some relief having (the record). No matter how I do now my four years have been a great success. But we're not done."
Coggins is a three-time NCCC all-star and two-time CHSCA All-State selection. The CHSCA will announce its 2024 teams later this month.
He became the ninth Suffield player to hit 1,000 points on Feb. 15, 2023, reaching the plateau at Tolland in a game that he would hit a foul-line jumper at the buzzer to give the Wildcats a 53-51 win. He joined Viggiano (1,637), Eddie Danek (1,539), Ted Lyon (1,464), Chris Stone (1,184), Rich Favreau (1,149), Larry Krough (1,119), Ray Young (1,067), and Keegan Delk (1,047) in Suffield's 1,000-point club.
According to Coggins, it was Lyon — a star on Suffield's 1985 Class S state championship team — who taught Coggins' father, John, how to shoot as they lived in the same neighborhood and his dad passed along that knowledge to him.
He learned his lessons well and had the desire to succeed.
"Michael works extremely hard," Suffield coach Mike Barile said. "I first saw him as an eighth grader in the summertime at the high school and it's like a 100-degree day and he's out there on the court. His work ethic hasn't changed whatsoever. He puts in a ton of time on the court and in the weight room.
"One of his strengths is his ability to get to the basket with a 6-3, 6-4 frame. He does a really good job of getting high-percentage shots for our offense. He can play any position and he does it all for us. He's also very unselfish. He gets his teammates involved."
Coggins enters the St. Paul game averaging 26.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.
Barile, in his second season at Suffield, spent the previous five years with the Rockville boys so he has coached with and against Coggins.
"I knew he was a good player, he actually made a couple of shots that beat us in a close game his sophomore year," Barile said. "I knew he was talented. Every team we play focuses on taking him away. He gets double-teamed or triple-teamed every night. And despite every team's best efforts to do that he still produces. His ability to be consistent has stood out to me. It's been impressive.
"One of the things about Michael that doesn't show up in statistics is how good of a kid he is. He's extremely humble. People will talk about his accomplishments and he almost doesn't like it. He'd rather downplay it. He never mentioned the scoring record to me. I brought it up a couple of times. The night he broke it, he was happy. But immediately after he was recognized, he went into our huddle and said, 'Hey, let's win this basketball game.' That's all he cared about. He puts the team ahead of anything individual."
Playing with his friends is important to him.
"Michael enjoys playing with the kids that he grew up with," Barile said. "I know he had plenty of options, like prep school. But you see it when he interacts with his friends. I respect the fact that he chose to spend his senior year with us and enjoy the moments that go by so quickly."
As he pursued the scoring record, Coggins also went through the recruiting process and got looks from all three NCAA divisions.
He recently committed to Keene State and coach David Hastings. The Owls have won three consecutive Little East Conference tournament championships and faced the University of Saint Joseph in an NCAA Division III tournament game Sunday.
"Coach Hastings and I are big family guys and during my visits there was a great family vibe and they play great basketball," Coggins said. "It's a great atmosphere."
Coggins plans to major in business at Keene State.
But there's still a state tournament for him to play. If Suffield wins Monday, it would either host No. 30 Woodland or visit third-seeded Innovation Wednesday. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday with the semifinals March 12. The championship game will be held either March 16 or 17 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
"I tell my teammates to embrace every big game, every big moment," Coggins said. "Let's go to St. Paul and enjoy it. These are the times you remember for the rest of your life."
With 1,643 points and counting, Coggins' efforts won't be forgotten.
March 3, 2024
Staff writer
Carl Adamec joined the Hearst Connecticut Media Group in June 2023 when the company purchased the Journal Inquirer. A graduate of Putnam High in Connecticut and St. John's University in New York, he's been honored by the Connecticut Girls Soccer Coaches Association and Connecticut American Legion baseball program in his time at the JI and was inducted into the United States Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.