Joe Lafko’s break lasted a year.

The longtime Hampton boys basketball head coach was officially approved to be Knoch’s next coach Wednesday night, May 14, at the Knoch School Board meeting.

Lafko spent 28 years coaching Talbots before stepping down in 2024, with six years before that at District 10’s Warren, according to TribLive.com. He replaces Alan Bauman, who stepped down after five years leading the Knights, including to a PIAA playoff appearance this season for the first time in 19 years. Bauman’s sons, Jackson and Brody, are transferring to Moon ahead of their senior and junior seasons.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to coach the Knoch boys basketball team,” Lafko said Thursday night after being approved. “I feel like I have some things that I can help offer the Knoch program.”

Related Article: Knoch boys basketball coach Alan Bauman steps down after 5 years, 1st PIAA berth in 19 years Related Article: Knoch boys basketball standout Jackson Bauman transferring to Moon for senior season

Lafko, who also taught history and social studies at Hampton for 29 years before retiring at the end of this school year, told TribLive.com in April 2024 he was stepping down at Hampton to take a break and “(figure) out the next chapter of our lives” with his wife, Shannon.

Now, he’ll be back roaming the sidelines of a WPIAL Class 4A team.

The Knights got a proven winner. Lafko is 548-331 for his career, according to TribLive.com. He led the senior-heavy Talbots to a 25-5 season in 2023-24, making the WPIAL Class 4A final and the PIAA semifinals.

Lafko’s Talbots have been an all-too familiar foil for the Knights, having gone 29-4 between 2005-24 against Knoch, according to MaxPreps.

“I’ve coached against the Knoch program for many years, going back to when Les Shoop used to be the coach,” Lafko said. “This group, I’m somewhat familiar because we were in the same section two years ago. The team was very talented.”

He’ll take over a Knights team that, even without 1,000-point scorer Jackson Bauman, has a veteran roster led by another 1,000-point scorer in senior Teegan Finucan.

Knoch (19-8) beat Deer Lakes in a WPIAL Class 4A consolation game to earn the district’s final spot in the PIAA tournament this year, ending a 19-year drought. The Knights lost to District 10 champ Cathedral Prep in the first round.

Related Article: WPIAL boys basketball playoffs: Knoch punches ticket to state tournament for first time since 2006

Juniors 7-footer Zane Pacek, Vinnie DeFelice and Derek Lang, and sophomores Roman DeFelice and Liam Avon all are undergrads and played significant minutes this season.

“We’re in the process of now putting together a staff as well as getting some offseason programs started,” Lafko said. “I think one of the parts that I’ve been successful (with) in the past is establishing a system that is geared toward the talent we are coaching.”

Lafko is a Fayette County and WPIAL Hall of Famer who played basketball, football and baseball at Frazier High School and holds the PIAA record with 37 career interceptions, 22 of them in one season. He scored 1,763 points in basketball and played shortstop in the spring. He played basketball and baseball for Westminster College after high school.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to coach the Knoch boys basketball team. ... I feel like I have some things that I can help offer the Knoch program.

Editor’s note: This story was corrected at 9:15 a.m. Thursday to reflect the proper spelling of Teegan Finucan.