BCR Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Princeton’s Noah LaPorte soars to great heights

A conversation on a youth soccer pitch led Noah LaPorte to great heights on the basketball court.

He had just played a Princeton Youth Soccer game against Jordan Reinhardt and was approached by him and his dad, John, about playing on their travel basketball team.

“I played basketball when I was younger at the Met, but it wasn’t anything too serious. Jordan and John asked me after a soccer game about playing basketball, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll try it.’

“Haven’t looked back since,” LaPorte said.

He was destined for stardom in basketball the moment he picked it up. He went from an understudy role as a sophomore starter on Princeton’s 2022-23 No. 1-ranked sectional finalist to the leading role on two more Sweet 16 teams.

This season, LaPorte averaged 20.3 points, 12 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 BPG and about a dunk a game.

Along the way, he became Princeton’s all-time scoring leader, garnering all-conference and all-state honors.

For all of his accomplishments, LaPorte is the repeat BCR Player of the Year in 2024-25.

“What more could you ask for of a kid?” Tigers coach Jason Smith said. “He was a leadership-by-example kid and would speak up when needed to. He took pride in being the guy that would outwork you.

“When you have talent to go with that, that’s a perfect combination. He’s so humble and kind. You just don’t find too many Noahs at his age that has the talent that he does with the attitude and humility he has. It’s pretty special.”

Smith said LaPorte’s absence missing five games – all losses – with an early-season ankle injury showed his importance in many ways.

“He meant so much to our team in just his presence and leadership alone,” Smith said. “He took a lot of pressure off of so many others because of the attention he would get. He was a starter on three straight regional championships and played a significant role in all three. He will definitely go down as one of PHS’s all-time greats.”

LaPorte said it was a great senior season, although it didn’t end the way he wanted it to.

“So many great memories, and I had a great time playing with the kids I grew up with and winning a lot of games and playing for my coaches,” he said. “Just a great experience overall. One of the best seasons I’ve ever been involved with.”

One shining moment LaPorte will never forget is when he broke Grady Thompson’s two-year school all-time scoring record with the game-winning, last-second shot to lift the Tigers to a 53-51 win over Byron. He needed 27 points to tie the record and got 29.

“That was unreal. Kind of crazy how it drew up to be that exact moment because I missed five games,” he said. “I could have broken it earlier, or I could have broken it later, but it happened at that exact bucket, at that exact time, which is crazy. It was like a movie.”

He went on to score 145 more points over the final eight games, bringing his school record to 1,616 career points.

LaPorte said he learned how to “be a basketball player and control the pace of the game” playing with Thompson and Teegan Davis, both 1,000-point scorers from the Class of 2023 during his sophomore year when the Tigers were ranked No. 1 in Class 2A for much of the season.

“Every year I’m just trying to get better and learn from my mistakes,” he said. “Last year, I kind of let things get under my skin a little bit. This year, I tried to let things go. Think I did a better job, but there’s always room for improvement. It’s not going to get any easier from here on out.”

Princeton fans will remember LaPorte for many things on basketball court, especially his dunks. He aimed to please.

“I know the crowd and my teammates fed off those,” he said.

After he takes his final swings for the Princeton baseball team this spring, LaPorte will continue his athletic endeavors playing in Big Ten football stadiums for Northwestern University. While he will miss playing basketball, he knows there are bigger things ahead for him.

“There’s always certain ways to look at things. I may never play basketball again, but I’m going to play college football. I’m going to go have fun,” he said. “It’s just how you look at things. If you think of it in a negative way, it’s going to be negative. But if you think about it in a positive way, it’s going to be positive. That’s kind of how I think about it.

“I don’t regret anything when it comes to basketball. I’ve loved every moment with my friends.”

LaPorte said his parents always thank John Reinhardt for asking him to play on their basketball team.

Coach Smith often thanks the Reinhardts, too.