The Big Three is something you hear about and have seen in the NBA.
In years past, the Golden State Warriors constructed a roster of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. The Boston Celtics had Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce and of course, the Miami Heat won an NBA Championship with LeBron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.
I could continue to list more examples, but you get the point. A basketball team having a ‘Big Three’ and three go-to scoring options increases your chances of winning a lot of games.
Although it’s an entirely different situation, the 2025-26 Hopewell Boys basketball team have been able to put together their own version of ‘The Big Three’.
Head coach Doug Biega came into the season knowing sophomores James Armstrong and Brody Rock would be huge offensive weapons and point producers for his team but soon found out he had another player with bigtime ability.
Sophomore forward Justin Shegog moved into the Hopewell School District after playing last season at Freedom. Biega and Hopewell’s opponents soon found out about Shegog’s game as he’s carved out a role for himself as not only a prime scoring option but also an above average rebounder and a really good defender.
Hopewell’s Justin Shegog
Because of this, Shegog’s addition has been a huge reason for Hopewell’s success this season and why they’re currently preparing for a home WPIAL playoff game tomorrow night against Greensburg Salem.
On Wednesday, Vikings Sports Now sat down and talked with Shegog before practice about his season and move to Hopewell.
“I’m having a lot of fun this year,” said Shegog. “When I got here and we started practicing, I knew right away that we were going to be good. The first four games, we went on a 4-0 run, and I knew right then we had a really good chance of going to the playoffs. After that we went into a little drought, losing I think 3 games in a row but then we came back and won 6 in a row and we finished the season strong.”
“Personally, I’m having a lot of fun, winning, scoring, passing the ball more and my defense has gotten a lot better. A lot of times I’m assigned to guard the other team’s top scorer and am trying to hold them below their normal average, which is a fun challenge. Overall, I’m just having a lot of fun here at Hopewell.”
Joining this program has no doubt been an adjustment for Shegog as he’s been forced to change some things in game, which in the end have made him an overall better player.
“Definitely less shot taking because I have so many people around me that can score as well,” said Shegog. “Because of that, I knew that my passing had to get better. I also knew my defense had to get really better because last year, I didn’t do it a lot and was focused mainly on scoring. This year, as I mentioned, I’m assigned to guard specific people, play box and one.”
“On this team, I have a lot less pressure to score. Last year when I had the ball, I just felt like I had to shoot whenever I had the ball and score all the time. This year, I feel like if I’m not open, I can get it to my teammates, and they can either get it back to me or they can take the shot and make it. It’s a lot easier with the option of getting it to my big man inside (James Armstrong), who scores 20 points a game.”
“Justin has been a tremendous addition,” said Biega. “He came to us from Freedom as a scorer and has now become someone that we have come to rely on as one of our top 1 or 2 defenders. Often, we put him on the other teams’ best player. So, for him to completely change his game and his mindset for the betterment of the team, that’s what this is all about.”
“The more threats that are out there, the harder you are to defend. Now, with us having 3 legitimate scorers out there, coaches have to pause.”
Along with his defensive game, Shegog also tells me that two other areas of his game that have improved are- 1) his jump shot 2) dribbling ability and his ability to use his left-hand. While it still has room to improve, Justin says he has the ability to go left when needed.
Having attended a number of Hopewell games this season, an area that really stands out to me about Shegog is his toughness down in the paint and the way he fights the opposing team for rebounds. If he or one of his teammates miss a shot, there’s a good chance you’re going to see Shegog in the scrum trying to grab the offensive rebound. That’s not really a skill level, that’s all about mindset, toughness and want to. Shegog has all three of those.
“Really, I’ve always felt that when I get the ball down low, when I’m focused and with my strength, no one is going to stop me. Also, this year, our coaches have told us that if we rebound well, we’ll win games and make the playoffs. So, I’ve really been trying to rebound and work hard down low in order to get us to where we want to go.”
Mission accomplished because Shegog and his teammates not only made the playoffs but finished in 2nd place and earned the No. 5 seed in Class 4A. Justin is excited for Friday night and is excited to see how far this team can go.
“This is my first year in the playoffs so I’m really looking forward to it,” said Shegog. “I feel like we’re a really focused team right now, we’re all really excited and the practices this week have been good, and everyone is focused. We’re going to do everything we can to try and make it to the WPIAL championship. ”
