Andrew Ciaglo was already well versed on Hopkins Academy basketball by the time the 2019-20 season started.
As a seventh grader, he played junior varsity and was called up for the postseason.
As an eight grader, he spent half his time on JV and half on varsity. He was a full-time varsity player by his freshman year.
His fourth season in the program turned out to be his best to date. The guard averaged 20.5 points per game in leading to the Golden Hawks (14-8) to the Western Massachusetts Division 4 Tournament semifinal.
For his effort, Ciaglo has been named the Daily Hampshire Gazette Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
“I was just trying to do more than just score, try and do a little bit of everything and I think I did that more this season than last season,” Ciaglo said.
Ciaglo had older influences growing up, from his brother Justin, cousin John Earle and friend Jon Morrison.
“Looking up to them and their game, and looking at their game and trying to take parts out of their game and put them into my game, that really helped,” Andrew Ciaglo said.
At 5-foot-8, Ciaglo isn’t the biggest player on the court, but he has learned to play more with his head than his brawn.
“As I’m playing I’m trying to figure it out, work on my craft,” he said. “I’m not the biggest, strongest kid, most athletic, but I’m going to try and control parts of the game that I can control and just try and do my thing.”
Second-year Hopkins Academy coach Adam Ginsburg saw a big change in Ciaglo’s play this season.
“He grew and matured in his approach on how to win a game and it wasn’t just scoring all the time, it was decision-making, his IQ,” Ginsburg said. “Andrew has a special ability to make plays for himself or teammates at the end of games as well as in the shot clock. He made several deep clutch shots and also consistently gives his body up to draw fouls. He wants the ball at the end of games and delivers.”
Ciaglo knows there is room for improvement.
“Get better on the defensive end and get my teammates more involved, just be more of a leader,” he said. “I think I was lacking on that this year.”
Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com. Follow on Twitter @mikemoranDHG.
Zayd Sadiq, sophomore, Amherst Regional
Evan Stewart, sophomore, Amherst Regional
Jordan Lanoue, junior, Belchertown
Nathan Sajdak, sophomore Belchertown
Nathan Schiffer, junior, Belchertown
Mike Brown, senior, Easthampton
Gabe Colenback, junior, Easthampton
Owen Morse, junior, Easthampton
Peter Carey, junior, Frontier Regional
Donovan Hoffman, senior, Frontier Regional
Sean Richter, junior, Frontier Regional
Evan Cortis, junior, Gateway Regional
Nate Breault, sophomore, Granby
Ryan Gaughan, sophomore, Granby
Brandan Wishart, sophomore, Granby
Justin Forest, junior, Hampshire Regional
Dom Lewinski, senior, Hampshire Regional
Jael Cabrera, sophomore, Holyoke
Brian Cristobal, junior, Holyoke
William Cruz, junior, Holyoke
Jovaughn Smith, senior, Holyoke
Ryan Antes, senior, Hopkins Academy
Andrew Ciaglo, sophomore, Hopkins Academy
Colin Earle, sophomore, Hopkins Academy
Addison Phiffer, junior, Hopkins Academy
Jake Brittain, senior, Northampton
Seth Finnessey, junior, Northampton
Nate Moynihan, junior, Smith Academy
Andrew Pierce, senior, Smith Vocational
Carlos Rivera, senior, Smith Vocational
Jackson Venne, senior, Smith Vocational
Hunter Carey, senior, South Hadley
Nick Cirone, senior, South Hadley
Brady Marion, senior, South Hadley