Ryan Hughes is back as head coach of the Sto-Rox boys varsity basketball team.
Not that he ever wanted to be anywhere else.
Hughes was let go as the Vikings coach following the 2019-2020 season, despite the fact he led them to a 20-7 record and a berth in the WPIAL Class 2A final. Hughes’ squad also reached the PIAA quarterfinals before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the season to end early.
“I wanted to be here the whole time,” Hughes said, when asked why he chose to return to his alma mater – he’s a 1996 graduate of Sto-Rox.
“I never wanted to leave, but circumstances were what they were. Now I’m back and I couldn’t be happier.”
Hughes, who also coached one season at Ambridge in 2022-23, was an assistant at Sto-Rox from 1999-2004 and from 2008-2012, and then was hired to lead the program in 2016. He said the current squad reminds him of the team he took over in 2016.
“I see a lot of the same characteristics of that team – young with a chance to grow,” he said.
That youth will be on display for the first time at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, when the Vikings visit Ellwood City for their season-opener.
Hughes said in the early going this year, his team appears to mirror the place they call home. “I see what McKees Rocks should be in these kids – and that’s good to see,” he said. “A lot of kids with a lot of passion who want to be great. They’re willing to put the work in and do it.
“We have some good building blocks – a good foundation to start from. It has the potential to be something pretty special, like it was when I started in 2016.”
Back then, Hughes said, the Vikings ended up starting a number of freshmen. “For the first two years, there were struggles at times,” he recalled. “But once the kids bought in and realized the type of talent we had, by our third year we made it to the second round of the (WPIAL) playoffs and the first round of the state playoffs.”
Hughes said because he wasn’t hired until July, his team didn’t have much of a summer season. The Vikings did play some fall league games, though, and Hughes said they improved each game – and that was the team’s main goal.
“Now it’s a process of putting everything in and getting everyone on the same page,” he said. “I’m happy with the progress we’re making. We might struggle in the beginning, but by the middle of the year, we should be a hard team to beat.”
Hughes will count on a pair of returning players in Marcus Griffin, a 5-foot-10 junior, and 5-9 junior Marcus Thomas. “We’ll be pretty much guard-dominated,” Hughes said.
Newcomers Chase Jefferson, a junior, and seniors Shaiky Yates and Khayyan Smith should contribute, as will some younger players.
“One day it’ll be one guy and the next day it’ll be another guy,” Hughes said.
Hughes said he plans to use his team’s quickness to its advantage on the defensive end. “We’ll be a pressing team for sure,” he said, “with us not being very big. But we are very athletic, and we can use that to our advantage. We plan to use a lot of guys and wear teams down.”
The Vikings finished 5-7 in Class 3A Section 2 last year and 10-13 overall, falling to Deer Lakes in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. They’ll be in the same section this time around, and they’ll be joined by newcomer Bishop Canevin – making the jump from Class 2A. Hughes said the Crusaders could be the strongest team in the section, which also includes Carlynton, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey and Washington. “I’d say the rest of us are on the same playing field,” he said. “I think there’s a great opportunity to make it to the playoffs and see where we can go from there.”
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