By River Mitchell
@rivermitchell27
In the penultimate game on the first day of the 2024 Spalding Hoophall Classic, Northwest Catholic defeated Pope Francis 74-50, continuing the success it’s had all season. However, for Lions guard Gianni Mirabello, playing in this game means more to him than some people would recognize.
It had been Mirabello’s dream to play for Northwest Catholic since he was a little kid, going to games and watching his father coach. Gianni’s dad, John, has been the head coach at Northwest Catholic for 37 years where he also coached his two older sons, Luca and Dante.
“I first fell in love with basketball going to Northwest games when I was just a little kid,” Gianni said. “It was never really a question for me. It was always a dream to play for my dad at Northwest and follow in my brother’s footsteps. It was a no-brainer for me.”
Gianni turned in an excellent performance Thursday night against the Cardinals, putting up 20 points, equaling his teammate Ryan Tolliver.
Gianni has played a crucial role for the Lions all season, and credits a lot of his success to his father.
“I know who he is [and] he knows who I am,” Gianni said. “He wants the best for me and I don’t have to worry about that.”
From John’s perspective, he looks at his son’s success as a culmination of his own hard work and personally takes no recognition in his son’s basketball success.
“He gets all the credit for this,” John said. “His work ethic has been unbelievable. His love of the game, his passion [and] he plays with an incredible motor. I’m hard on him and he catches it more than anyone else on the team [and] I think he understands why. What he’s doing has been amazing.”
On top of being an extremely proud dad, John has also forged a very close bond with his son.
In the years that he’s coached his son, he’s seen him grow as a player each and every day. The same thing applies when the two of them step off court as well. Even if you take away the game of basketball, John has cherished being able to watch his son grow into the person he is today. Gianni also recognizes the special relationship he has with his dad, and takes great pride in it as well.
“It’s a really special thing to watch him,” John said. “I know how hard he works [and] to see him do the things he’s able to do on the court and what he’s done to get his body strong and the sheer joy he plays with is really [special to watch]. I try not to, but sometimes I’ll catch myself just kind of watching and being a dad. I’m cherishing the time. I wish I could give him a lifetime contract.”
“We’re closer than we were in the past,” Gianni said. “We’re growing together. I’ve always been a knucklehead but he bears with me. It’s awesome.”
Photo by Braedan Shea/The Student