The final week of the regular season is almost here, and of the seven boys basketball teams in the Poconos, three playoff futures are still to be determined.
The two with the clearest path are Notre Dame – East Stroudsburg and Pleasant Valley. In short: if both teams at least two of their final games, they’re in district playoffs. The Spartans currently stand at 9-9 in Class 1A with Catasauqua, Wilson, Moravian Academy and East Stroudsburg South left on the schedule. Senior guard Preston Protheroe has done all he can up to this point, scoring at a ridiculous clip. In their last win against Lehigh Christian, he had help from fellow senior Marc Jackett, who led the way with 27 points. If they can win two of their last four, Notre Dame will qualify and likely play Weatherly in a play-in game in the 1A district tournament.
Pleasant Valley’s path has no room for error. After a Thursday night loss to Stroudsburg, the 9-11 Bears must win their final two games against East Stroudsburg South and Moravian Academy to qualify as the 10th team in the 6A district playoff bracket. Bobby Hahn’s squad should be favored in their final two games, especially with Pocono Player of the Year candidate Zach Prator and rising star Sebastian Sacci. Then again, they were favored against Stroudsburg.
The last team with an unclear future is East Stroudsburg North. The Timberwolves are hanging on to the final spot in the Clas 5A rankings, and they’ve helped that case by winning against South and Stroudsburg this week who are, despite their record, two 6A schools which the power ranking looks favorable upon. The math challenge is Athens Area, a District 4 team with five games remaining on its schedule, including a four-game stretch in six days. If Athens Area gets to .500 or better, it’s possible the team could leapfrog two others to get that final spot. If not, the power rankings favor North.
Regarding the other four teams: Pocono Mountain West and East have long since clinched their spot in the district playoffs. Those teams are still fighting for EPC playoff positioning though, as West wants that 1-seed, and East could be anywhere from the 5-seed to the 8-seed depending on the Cardinals’ final game against North.
Stroudsburg and South have both been rebuilding this season with the young players on their rosters. The Mounties have a number of guys who are promising, from Tae El-Bassiouni to Jarel Jackson to Joshua Ivers-Green. The Cavaliers don’t have as much, but Julian Acevedo and Joshua Levine should be good players for them, along with several rising freshmen and sophomores that are hungry and ready to compete.
The girls side of the mountain is much more clear-cut. Stroudsburg is far and away the best team this year, led by 1,000-point scorer McKayla Strunk. The Mounties’ attention is on performing well in the postseason.
Pocono Mountain East and Notre Dame – East Stroudsburg are pleasant surprises after being at the bottom of the mountain last year. East is third and Notre Dame is second in their respective classes, and while they’re not the favorites to win the title, an appearance in the district and maybe state tournament should serve as good experience. A lot of credit should go to East coach Ben Battle, who took the job almost as late as you can and still made this team competitive. The Spartans also have a bright spot – junior guard Olivia Protheroe, who broke the single-game girls scoring record with 50 points against Lehigh Christian.
North, South and Pleasant Valley leave little to be discussed, but West, who has a lot of young talent coming through the ranks, look to have more sustainable success in the future with Emma Campusano and Zyairrah Lanier.