With Joe Conefry now at Molloy, Steve Gnus takes over as Holy Trinity boys basketball coach
Joe Conefry (left) and Steve Gnus (right) are honored after Conefry became Holy Trinity's winningest basketball coach. Credit: Holy Trinity HS Athletics
Joe Conefry has served as a pillar of success and consistency as Holy Trinity’s boys basketball coach for nearly two decades. Now, Conefry is going back to college.
Conefry was named as Molloy’s men’s basketball coach in the spring, taking over for Charlie Marquart, who spent the last 31 years as the Lions’ head coach. Longtime Holy Trinity assistant Steve Gnus will take over as the Titans’ head coach.
Over the last 19 years, Conefry amassed 284 wins and leaves as Holy Trinity’s winningest basketball coach. Prior to his time at Holy Trinity, he served as an assistant coach at several colleges, including Nassau CC, Hofstra and Columbia University.
“People would ask me if I would ever go back to coaching college and I was like, ‘It would have to be the perfect situation,’” Conefry said. “This is a great situation and a great school. I’ve had kids from our program go and play there, so I’ve always had a lot of interest in what was going on there.”
Conefry guided the Titans to three league championships and the CHSAA Class A state title in 2014. He was Newsday’s Nassau Coach of the Year in 2014 and has developed more than 50 players that went on to play collegiately.
“We were fortunate to win a decent amount of games, but that’s not why you’re in it,” Conefry said. “You’re in it to have the relationships and to develop guys and have an impact on their life. You never realize as a coach how much of an impact the kids are gonna have on you.”
Gnus has been coaching at Holy Trinity since 1995. He started as the Titans’ freshman head coach and spent 20 years as the junior varsity coach. He’s been an assistant for the varsity for the last 10 years.
“I don’t know if I would’ve taken a job with any other school besides Holy Trinity,” Gnus said. “I’ve joked around and said that the only two teams I would coach are Holy Trinity and the Knicks.”
“I love the fact that he’s gonna be the head coach. He’s such a humble guy,” Conefry added. “I was usually the loud one and he was the calm one. Guys always knew if Coach Gnus got upset, then we definitely had a problem.”
Gnus knows that expectations are always high at Holy Trinity, but he’s been a big part of the program’s success for 30 years.
“[Conefry] worked hard and made it look easy,” Gnus said. “They’re big shoes to fill. I was here while he was building the program and there’s a little bit of pressure to keep it going the same way, but I’m excited about it. He set it up nicely for me and we’ve got a good group of guys this year and next year, so we’re excited.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
