Hampton ripped off 19 wins and claimed a section title during the 2022-23 regular season as the Talbots looked like a serious WPIAL title contender.
Only there was one problem.
Star junior guard Peter Kramer was ruled ineligible for the playoffs due to PIAA transfer rules.
Hampton saw its season end in the quarterfinals, but a season later the Talbots have reached the championship game for the first time since 2017.
And this time, Kramer has been able to take part in the postseason fun.
Kramer and his pals will try to lead Hampton to its first WPIAL title since 2009 and second overall when the No. 2-seeded Talbots (22-3) meet No. 1 and defending champion Lincoln Park (22-3) in the Class 4A title game at 9 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Events Center.
“It feels amazing,” said Kramer, one of the team’s five senior starters. “Last year was definitely tough sitting on the sidelines for the playoffs, but I think that kind of drove me. And we’ve got a great team. We’ve played some great basketball at the start of the playoffs, and I think we’re all just excited about Thursday night.”
Kramer, a 6-foot-5 guard and Lehigh recruit, is actually shooting for his second WPIAL title. As a sophomore at Shady Side Academy, Kramer scored 18 points to help the Bulldogs defeat Avonworth, 66-54, in the Class 3A final to bring the school its first WPIAL title in 23 years.
Two seasons later, Kramer hopes to bring Hampton its first crown in 15 years. Kramer has been outstanding this season for Hampton, winner of nine games in a row. Kramer averages 23.5 points per game and pumped in a game-high 25 in Hampton’s 61-39 win against Avonworth in the semifinals. Against Avonworth, Kramer knocked down four 3-pointers and added seven assists.
“He’s 6-5, handles it, shoots it, and he’s going to Lehigh,” said Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski, whose team will try to win a seventh title. “He’s not the biggest guard we’ve played, but he’s close. He’s grown a lot over the last three years.”
Hampton is far from a one-man team, though. One of its other top players, 6-9 senior forward Liam Mignogna, was actually a ball boy on the last Hampton team to reach the final. Mignogna, a cousin of former Hampton stars Bill, Ryan and Collin Luther, was in fifth grade at the time. Mignogna scored 28 points in a quarterfinal win against South Allegheny.
Of course, Hampton comes into the game as a big underdog. Lincoln Park has won 35 consecutive games against WPIAL opponents, is playing in the final for the 10th time since 2010, and features a pair of superstars in 6-4 senior guard Brandin “Beebah” Cummings and 6-4 junior guard Meleek Thomas. Both Cummings and Thomas average 22.9 points per game. Cummings is a Pitt recruit who has scored more than 2,000 career points, and Thomas is considered one of the nation’s top juniors. Thomas has scored 90 points in Lincoln Park’s three playoff wins.
“They’re elite players,” Lafko said. “Not only can they score the ball, but they have length and athleticism. We’ve never faced two players like that.”
Lincoln Park also has an excellent third option in junior guard Rhaki Lum, who Bariski said has taken over the role held last season by DeAndre Moye, who graduated. Lum, a newcomer who transferred in from a school in Delaware, is averaging 14.6 points a game in the playoffs.
A big storyline in this game will be pace, as in what team will be able to control the tempo.
“They’ve played a little bit slower of a tempo than us historically,” Bariski said. “I think whoever controls the tempo will control the game.”
Lincoln Park wants to run. The Leopards average a WPIAL-best 80 points per game and had scored at least 81 in 11 straight games prior to a 74-63 win against Uniontown in the semifinals. Hampton wants to slow this game down. The Talbots have the top scoring defense in Class 4A (45.6 points per game) and have not allowed a team to score 60 points against them since the third game of the season.
“I don’t think it’s our strength to go out and try to run and outscore Lincoln Park, so I think we have to make it a game where the pace is something that benefits our style. Lincoln Park will certainly try to do the opposite,” Lafko said.
A year after watching Hampton’s playoff games from the bench, Kramer said he is excited for the opportunity to help the Talbots — and himself — win a second WPIAL title.
“It kind of seems like yesterday,” Kramer said of winning the title in 2022. “That stage, it’s one of the coolest places to play. I’ll never forget those moments at Shady Side, especially with my brother. Just to be back with this team, these kids I’ve played with since I was a little kid, it’s going to be awesome.”
Class 1A
Imani Christian won its first WPIAL title in 2023.
A year later, the Saints have returned to the final, and their opponent is a school that is trying to do the same as they did last season.
Section rivals will meet for the title as No. 1 and defending champion Imani Christian (13-11) will try to improve to 3-0 against No. 2 Neighborhood Academy (18-5) this season when the teams meet at 5 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy, located in Stanton Heights, was founded in 2001 and is in just its fourth season playing in the WPIAL since joining the league for the 2021-22 season. The Bulldogs previously played in the Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference. A year after winning a WPIAL playoff game for the first time, the Bulldogs have taken another big step this season by advancing to their first championship game.
“The Neighborhood Academy welcomed me with open arms and have been unbelievable since the beginning,” coach Jordan Marks said. “I’m so happy for the kids. They deserve this. And I’m happy for the school getting some notoriety now that we’re in this position.”
Marks previously coached at Sto-Rox and Winchester Thurston, and before that spent eight years at Pitt — four as a student manager and four as video coordinator. So, in a way, this will be a homecoming for the Pitt graduate.
This is a young Neighborhood Academy team that starts three juniors, a sophomore and a freshman. One of those juniors is Courtney Wallace, a 6-3 guard and Yale recruit who is averaging a team-high 21 points a game.
“Courtney can score in such a variety of ways, so it’s hard to stop him,” said first-year Imani Christian coach Khayree Wilson, an assistant on last season’s team. “You just try to contain him and limit the others from going off. You know he’ll have his 25 or maybe 30, but it’s how he gets to that 30 and how the other guys do around him.”
Wallace and fellow junior guard Shamar Simpson have headlined the Neighborhood Academy backcourt since their freshman seasons. Kedron Gilmore is a freshman guard who has made a big impact. He scored 20 points in the Bulldogs’ 62-41 semifinal win against Rochester.
Imani Christian, which is also the defending PIAA champion, has marched into the final in dominant fashion, winning both of its playoff games by 34 points. The Saints thumped Union, 101-67, in the semifinals to improve to 12-0 against WPIAL Class 1A teams. Imani Christian played a very challenging non-section schedule that included a game against the No. 1 team in the country, Montverde Academy. The Saints were thumped, 127-40, and suffered three losses in that tournament played in Florida, but since then the only team able to beat the Saints was Class 4A finalist Lincoln Park, 83-74, Feb. 10.
The Saints have been led by senior guards Nate Brazil and Avery Wesley and junior guard R.J. Sledge. Brazil has had a breakout season and leads the team in scoring with 18.1 points per game.
“He has been phenomenal,” Wilson said. “I’ve had so many people tell me they didn’t even know he played last year. But he’s dedicated to his work and he’s a gym rat.”
Sledge has won two WPIAL titles in his career, claiming one as a freshman at Bishop Canevin. Another of Imani Christian’s starters is 6-5 junior forward Dayshaun Burnett, who is a Penn State football recruit.
Imani Christian won its two regular-season meetings with Neighborhood Academy by scores of 80-51 and 72-56. Both of those games were also played at college gyms, CCAC Allegheny and La Roche. Brazil scored 25 points in the first matchup and 18 in the second, while Wallace had 23 in the first and 27 in the second.
“We played them great the two times we played them, so I don’t think we need to change anything. We just need to be more efficient,” Wilson said.
It’s a different story for Neighborhood Academy, which will likely need to produce its best performance of the season to claim its first championship.
“They’re the Goliath in Single-A,” Marks said. “There’s one recipe to [beating them], and it’s with your defense and taking care of the ball. I know these kids believe in themselves and believe they can win, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.