Hampton boys basketball used the motto “Bring the Noise” last season.
This offseason was more about the sound of clanging steel plates inside a secluded weight room.
“We’re not getting pushed around anymore,” senior forward Zack Danner said. “Everyone has put on weight. Everyone is much stronger. Guys are jumping higher and looking a lot faster. Everyone is looking good.”
With an all-senior starting lineup and an intense offseason of lifting and conditioning, Hampton brings high expectations into the 2025-26 season under second-year coach Joe Cangilla.
The Talbots used a strength coach and held workouts three or four times a week as they look to improve on last season’s 11-12 record and a WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff exit.
“We really focused on strength and conditioning,” Cangilla said. “We were focused on trying to transform our bodies and be a little bit stronger and therefore a little bit more confident. That has shown in practice and in the summer and fall leagues. They all got stronger, and they are ready to go.”
Danner, a second-team all-Section 2-5A pick last season, added about 15 pounds to his 6-foot-4 frame, bulking up to 215.
Senior wing Gavin Guinn, who last season averaged a team-high 10.4 points, also earned second-team honors as Hampton joins Penn Hills as the only teams to return multiple all-Section 2-5A players.
Point guard Andrew Butler, shooting guard Jonas Cupps (10.2 ppg) and versatile forward Luca Romero-Lauro round out the starting lineup for Hampton, which is looking to reach the WPIAL playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season.
“They are hungry,” Cangilla said. “They are excited for the year. I think they want to make their own mark and prove to people that we’ve gotten better.”
The Talbots, playing in Class 5A last season after moving up from 4A, proved they could compete with the section’s top teams. They split two games with eventual section champ Kiski Area and lost twice to runner-up Penn Hills by a combined 11 points, including once in overtime. But Hampton, with five first-year starters, was inconsistent. The Talbots were the only section team to lose to last-place Armstrong (1-11, 8-14).
“Our sophomore year, none of us really had a lot of varsity experience,” Danner said. “We didn’t really know the speed and strength that you needed. Last year was kind of a wake-up call, and now we’re ready.”
In between their weight-room and conditioning workouts, the Talbots played about 15 offseason games. They went undefeated in the Northgate spring league and posted a winning record in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club summer league.
The seniors were hardened during practices as sophomores for the 2023-24 team that went 25-5 and reached the WPIAL Class 4A title game and the PIAA semifinals.
But after posting only the program’s third losing season in the past 25 years, the upperclassmen are determined to go out on a high note.
“The seniors have had a little reflection, where they realize this is their last season,” Cangilla said. “They’ve been positive, and they are helping the young kids, but they have also brought the noise.”