Langhurst coaching career stays in New England

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. — Jimmy Langhurst is a basketball nomad. The sport has taken the all-time leading scorer at Willard High School and in Huron County history all over the country, and even the United Kingdom. But this time, the 2006 Willard graduate was finally able to stay put with his latest roundball adventure. In late May, Langhurst accepted a position as an assistant coach on the staff at NCAA Division I Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. Langhurst had spent the previous two seasons in the same position at Stonehill College in Eaton, Mass. The two schools are only about an hour apart — with Boston in the dead center between them. "There were a lot of things to like, but I didn't have to uproot the family and move to take them far away," Langhurst said of his wife Caroline and their young son, EJ. "It just made sense and checked a lot of boxes for us." Though he was quite happy at Stonehill — which had made the move to Div. I in the Northeast Conference during his tenure — there was a lot to like about Merrimack. For starters, both Merrimack and Sacred Heart are joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this coming winter. The 13-team league has seen its share of NCAA Tournament success. Iona has long been a league power in the MAAC. Just two years ago, Saint Peter's captivated the country by upsetting Kentucky and Purdue en route to the Elite Eight. But perhaps more importantly, fifth-year head coach Joe Gallo was a driving force behind the decision. Gallo arrived to Robert Morris — where Langhurst nearly scored 1,000 points and appeared in multiple NCAA tournaments — shortly after the former Willard star graduated. He then helped Langhurst get his foot in the door as an assistant coach at Div. II Le Moyne College in Syracuse. "Joe was a great friend and we stayed in touch," Langhurst said. "When I was at Le Moyne, we played Merrimack all three years I was there. "He knew (former head coach) Patrick Beilein really well and that's how I got connected with him. When he had the assistant opening this past spring, I was his first phone call." Merrimack has won at least 19 games in all four seasons of Gallo's tenure to date, including three straight years of at least 20 wins. His teams are 81-45 entering 2024-25. "We are going to a bigger and better league with the MAAC, and all our games are available on ESPN+," Langhurst said. "Joe has been on a roll here and has a lot of things going. "I've known him a long time, and I wanted to be part of making a jump to a bigger league." Playing an important role in recruiting, the location from Stonehill to Merrimack also proved seamless for Langhurst. "I've already been up this way for two years, so you get to know the New England prep scene as far as coaches and players," he said. "I kind of have the lay of the land. "But it's kind of recruiting the hot pockets of where Joe has been successful with, and that's places like New Jersey and Philadelphia. Those are areas I've also recruited, but it's where he's done really well." When Merrimack announced the hire, Gallo pointed to Langhurst's six league championships he's been a part of at the college level. "We always talk about how hard it is to win and Jimmy has been a part of a lot of winning in both his playing and coaching careers," Gallo said. "I have known Jimmy for a long time. "He will bring great energy to our gym everyday and will be a huge asset for our players." Learning defense While Langhurst jokes he didn't play much defense in high school — he was busy scoring 2,199 points for the Crimson Flashes — he's also getting a crash course on the subject now. Gallo has made his zone defense so unique that he's become in demand from coaches and players at all levels of basketball. Merrimack uses a 2-3 zone defense that focuses on not allowing 3-pointers and creating turnovers. In 2019-20, Merrimack's Juvaris Hayes set the all-time NCAA steals record across all divisions with 457 career steals. The Warriors were fourth in Div. I last season in steals. "I'm in a similar role with recruiting and everything else, but it's been an adjustment to the 2-3 zone," Langhurst said. "When we're on the road talking to players and coaches, Joe is kind of known as the zone king. People email him every single day asking for information on it. "The amount of people that come up to him to talk to him about his zone defense is amazing. It's very unique and different." What has Langhurst picked up on the defense so far? "It's about creating chaos with two guards up top and wings who are active," he said. "It's an aggressive zone, and they like to say, 'we are going to take your ball.' It fits my personality about being fiery with energy and chaos in practice." When he was hired, Gallo showed Langhurst three clips from practice. They were from the first day, then the third week, and the third month. "And it was the same practice with the same intensity every time," he said. "It never lets up. We are like this 24/7. We call it day one energy. It's the identity of our team and program." Rising the ranks After his record-setting career at Willard — the Flashes went 81-17 with three district titles and two Northern Ohio League championships — Langhurst became a four-year player at Robert Morris near Pittsburgh. He was a part of three 20-win seasons, two NCAA tournament appearances and one NIT appearance. Langhurst went on to play professionally in the British Basketball League for the Sheffield Sharks, leading the team and ranking sixth in league scoring after averaging 19.2 points per game. He then got into coaching, starting with a stop at Indiana University of Pennsylvania during the 2014-15 season. He helped the Crimson Hawks earn a national championship bid after finishing the season with a 31-7 record. The next three years were spent as an assistant at Le Moyne, where he was named an Under Armor 30 Under 30 award recipient from the NABC. He was also ranked the No. 9 Div. II assistant coach by CoachStat.net. With the Dolphins, Langhurst had two 20-win seasons and two Div. II NCAA tournament appearances. That included a trip to the Elite Eight in 2018. Before the past two years at Stonehill, Langhurst spent four years as the director of operations back at RMU. The Colonials won the Northeast Conference championship in 2020, earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. As he prepares for another season, Langhurst does not shy away from his goal to become a college head coach. "That's why I do this," he said. "Keep moving, trying to take jobs that allow me to move up and be successful with where I am. The goal is to just learn from different leaders, coaches and other assistants. "I want to morph that into one day taking all those things, the good and the bad, and try to make it on my own as a head coach," he added. "Hopefully someday I'll get the crack at it. But yeah, I just have to keep working hard, have success and good things will happen."