Someone forgot the memo for Hampton boys basketball that this is supposed to be a down season.
Despite losing a legendary coach, an all-state guard and a 1,000-point scorer from last year’s 25-5 WPIAL finalist and now facing a tougher Class 5A schedule with five new starters, the Talbots are optimistic for the 2024-25 season.
“We’re being underestimated,” senior guard/forward Griffin Jarrell said after a Thanksgiving Eve practice. “I’m confident that this team is going to be a lot better than people think.”
For sure, the program underwent changes from top to bottom.
Former assistant coach Joe Cangilla was promoted in June to replace Joe Lakfo, who stepped down after going 489-251 in 28 seasons at Hampton and 548-331 in 34 seasons overall.
Cangilla, an assistant at Hampton for the past four seasons, coached the Talbots’ JV team to a 20-1 record last season and many of those same players will comprise the new-look varsity lineup.
While star guard Peter Kramer (Lehigh) and 6-foot-9 center Liam Mignogna (Pitt) are at the next level, the new starters excelled for the JV team and were hardened during a 2023-24 season facing an all-senior lineup as the scout team.
“We’ve shown we can compete,” 6-3 junior forward Zack Danner said. “Even last year, playing against two Division I guys and a team that made it to the WPIAL finals, we played against them every day and ran with them and competed. That gives me a lot of confidence.”
Said Jarrell, “Obviously, none of us last year got significant varsity minutes. But I think on a lot of other teams we would have been high varsity players or starters. Yeah, we didn’t play much varsity, but we played against them every day in practice and that made us a lot better.”
The roster was bolstered by a trio of multi-sport seniors who came out for the team, including 6-foot Porter Kelly, the football team’s quarterback who will handle point guard duties after skipping last basketball season. Forwards Brady Smith, a 6-2, 205-pound baseball player, and Ray Kirsopp, a 6-3, 205-pound all-conference wide receiver, are providing leadership and muscle under the basket.
Another forward, 6-4 senior Brandon Grossman, is sidelined until mid-January with a lower-body injury.
A pair of junior shooting guards, Andrew Butler and Jonas Cupps, displayed an ability to score in the summer and fall leagues. Other key players are forward Luca Romero-Lauro, guard Gavin Guinn and guard/forward Luke Claus, all juniors.
Many of the juniors went 19-3 as eighth-graders and then won the Pittsburgh Basketball Club summer league freshman championship in ‘22.
“There’s 10 guys who are going to be fighting for minutes,” Cangilla said. “Our main focus will be to get the best shot. We don’t have a Peter Kramer or a Liam Mignogna to go to this year. Let’s make that extra pass and get the best shot and play a little bit faster to get some stuff easy in transition.”
Cangilla, 36, who coached Northgate from 2016-20, and his assistant, Joe Lagnese, take over a program that has reached the WPIAL playoffs for 20 consecutive seasons. The Talbots enter a new landscape after the move up from Class 4A. They will compete in Section 2-5A, along with schools such as Penn Hills, Kiski Area and Shaler, which went 25-4 last season and reached the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA quarterfinals.
Jarrell said the new varsity players are excited to show what they can do.
“I’ve been working for this since middle school. This has been my goal,” he said. “It’s a much different role than it was for me last season. Same with a lot of other guys. But we’ve worked really hard. If you look at us from the spring league to now, it’s come a long way and we look like a completely new group.”