Inside the Family Culture Joe Mantegna Has Built at Blair Academy

Published: Thursday, May 15, 2025

by Miguel Freire

When Joe Mantegna was hired as the boys basketball head coach at Blair Academy 26 years ago, it marked the beginning of a new environment and culture being built – one centered not only on winning, but on family.

Year after year, Blair Academy produces elite talent at both the NBA and collegiate levels, as shown by their numerous state championships and awards. However, the success that Mantegna has brought to Blair Academy on the court starts with the values that he instills in his program off of it.

“If you were lucky enough to grow up in a family atmosphere, I think people from those family environments thrive,” said Mantegna in an interview with WSOU Sports. “I think if your basketball program is like that, I think you can get incredible growth and incredible things can happen when people become vulnerable and they’re willing to fail in front of one another. That’s the sort of family kind of atmosphere we’re trying to create.”

During Mantegna’s tenure, Blair Academy has won a total of seventeen Mid-Atlantic Prep School titles, five New Jersey State Prep A titles, and the New Jersey Prep Open title this past season. He has also developed more than 80 players who have gone on to play at the Division I level.

When asked what sets his program apart from others, he said it’s who he recruits to the school that makes them different. Along with high-level talent, Mantegna looks for players with strong character. Many of his players come from backgrounds where they are exposed to tough love and reality, as he believes those players are best suited for his style of coaching.

“We call them ‘O.K.G’s’ – Our Kind of Guys,” said Mantegna. “We really look for guys who want to be coached, believe in incremental progress, guys who will just grind. Those are the types of guys that we’ve had here, and the guys that have gone on to be really successful.”

Beyond Blair Academy, Mantegna’s coaching resume includes serving as an assistant coach at four different collegiate programs, as well as a recent appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics as an assistant coach of the South Sudan National Team. Yet, even with his long list of accolades and impressive coaching resume, Mantegna emphasized that the relationships he has built along the way are even more meaningful.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’ve won two straight state championships, and we’ve won a lot of titles and a lot of big games, and I love that,” said Mantegna “But I think the relationships that you make are even more important and, to me, more meaningful.”

The bond that Mantegna has with Blair goes much deeper than just being a basketball coach, as his wife works for the school, and his three kids are Blair Academy graduates. For Mantegna, the school is more than just a workplace – it’s home.

“The lines are all blurred between work and life and family, and honestly, I love that,” said Mantegna. “It’s a community, it’s a neighborhood, it’s our workplace, it’s impacting young people, and it’s all sort of mixed together. It’s been home for us for over a quarter of a century.”

Blair Academy will forever be home to Mantegna and his family, but his journey is still far from over. He continues to seek more titles, create more memories, and grow the Blair Academy family.

Miguel Freire can be reached at miguel.freire@student.shu.edu.

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