ed note: We are
pleased to have the some info from the North Eastern part of the state.
We are pleased to have a long time LLHoops fan , Jon K. to contribute.
Thanks Jon. Hope you enjoy.
UPDATED 12/2/08
WELCOME BACK TO THE NORTHEAST PA BEAT
Let’s call this the Preseason Edition of the NEP Beat. With the last remaining local football teams bowing out of the state playoff this past weekend (Berwick, Dunmore, and Riverside all had fine seasons), all eyes can now turn toward the winter sport hoops calendar which gets underway Friday night. As always there are lots of tip off tourneys across the state and District 2 boys and girls teams will be well represented. A list of some of the top matchups and tourneys is provided below. The NEP Beat will be on hand at Marywood University Friday night for a great early season battle matching the top two boys teams from the final 2007-2008 rankings, Holy Cross and Abington Heights. That should be an outstanding game and Holy Cross comes into the game again considered to be one of the top squads in the district this season. On the girls side, Saturday provides another matchup among the top teams from last year as Holy Redeemer visits Scranton. Holy Redeemer certainly has their sights set very high and Scranton is trying to work through some tough early season injuries. Hazleton Lady Cougars host their annual tourney with Abington Heights, Cheltenham, and Spring Ford.
In this column, we will take one more glance back at the best of 2007-2008 and get caught up on some off-season headlines in the Lackawanna League and Wyoming Valley Conference. In coming weeks, full previews will be posted of the teams and top players, along with the top division races. There were also a number of coaching changes in the district this year and we will discuss all of those as well. Later this month, after the teams develop some personality and strengths, the District 2 Top 10 rankings will be released. As always, the NEP Beat tries to allow every team an even chance to earn a ranking based on their court performance. As in the past, the Northeast Beat covers boys and girls action, and is always keeping tabs on the Williamsport Millionaires who compete through the District 2 tourney into states. Keep an eye on the Cherry and White boys program this year. Who can forget their 4OT thriller against Abington Heights in the 4A District championship and their very respectable showing against Chester in the state playoffs. See you in the bleachers
NEW PIAA CLASSIFICATIONS FOR 2008-2010
As we discussed last season, the new enrollment figures resulted in few classifications changes for District 2 teams. One of the more significant changes on the boys side is that Abington Heights will move from 4A to 3A, definitely a boost for their perennially successful program. Lake Lehman moved from 2A to 3A. On the girls side Pittston moved up from 3A to 4A, while Susquehanna and West Side Tech both went from 2A to 1A. What some players, coaches and fans might not realize is that the qualifying positions for the state playoffs have also been adjusted due to the new enrollments as well as the Philly Catholic teams entering the playoff picture. District 2 only gets 8 total automatic entries vs. 10 in the past (top three seeds in 2A, 3A and champions in 4A and 1A). The runners up in 4A and 1A must now compete in a play-in game against District 1 teams. Though the road gets a little longer for those squads, kudos to the PIAA for opening the door for these teams to still get into the 32 team bracket. The new brackets are available on the PIAA website, but are currently buried within chapters of the PIAA Handbook. If you are interested in viewing them, here is how to find it on their website. Go to PIAA.org site and click on the (orange) Resources drop-down menu and then click on Handbook. Scroll down and look for Section III (Policies and Procedures) and open the PDF file. The 2008-2009 brackets are contained on pages 35 and 36. Whew, no one ever said this stuff was easy.
WYOMING VALLEY CONFERENCE UNDERGOES MAJOR REALIGNMENT
The Wyoming Valley Conference underwent a major realignment this year, going from the three division format to four divisions. There are 5 teams in each division (except for girls Division 4 will only have 4 teams). Schools are divided mostly by size with Division 1 and 2 being the larger enrollments and Division 3 and 4 the smaller ones. Each school plays teams within their own division twice and then plays teams from the other division once (for a total of 13 league games). For example, Hazleton plays everyone in Division 1 twice and also plays each Division 2 team once. The divisions are as follows. Division 1 has Hazleton, Crestwood, Pittston, Wyoming Valley West, and Tunkhannock. Division 2 has Wilkes-Barre Coughlin, Berwick, Holy Redeemer, Dallas, and Wyoming Area. Division 3 has Nanticoke, Hanover, Wilkes-Barre GAR, Wilkes-Barre Meyers, and Lake Lehman. Division 4 has Wyoming Seminary, MMI Prep, Northwest, St. Michaels, and West Side Tech. The conference begins first half play on December 23 and concludes on February 10.
LACKAWANNA LEAGUE HAS MINOR ALIGNMENT CHANGES
The Lackawanna League has only two changes in the 3 division format. Western Wayne moves from Division 2 to Division 3 and Carbondale moves up from Division 3 to Division 2. First half league play begins December 22 and concludes February 12.
2008-2009 SEASON TIP-OFF BOYS TOURNAMENTS
Joseph Nespoli Tourney (Berwick) 12/5, 12/6
Sayre Tip Off (Blue Ridge, Mt. View) 12/5, 12/6
Finan Tourney (Carbondale, Honesdale, W. Scranton, Forest City) 12/8, 12/9
Pocono Mountain East Tip-Off (Delaware Valley) 12/5, 12/6
State College Tourney (Hazleton, N. Allegheny, B. Guilfoyle, S.C.) 12/5, 12/6
Marseco Memorial (Old Forge, Northwest, Pittston, Wy. Area) 12/6, 12/7
Rotary Tourney (Mid Valley, Monticello, Paupack, W. Wayne) 12/5, 12/6
Deposit Tip Off Tourney (Susquehanna) 12/5, 12/6
York Tip Off (Williamsport, Reading, York) 12/5, 12/6
UPCOMING DISTRICT 2 TOP BOYS NON-TOURNEY GAMES
FRIDAY, 12/5
Abington Heights at Holy Cross (Marywood Univ.)
Crestwood at Nanticoke
Dunmore at North Pocono
Hanover at Dallas
Scranton at Holy Redeemer
Riverside at Montrose
Bethlehem Freedom at Wyoming Valley West
SATURDAY, 12/6
Holy Cross at Hanover
MONDAY, 12/8
Wyoming Valley West at Abington Heights
Wyoming Seminary at Crestwood
Scranton at Valley View
TUESDAY, 12/9
Whitehall at Hazleton
Nanticoke at Holy Redeemer
Old Forge at Western Wayne
Wyoming Area at Wilkes-Barre GAR
WEDNESDAY, 12/10
Dunmore at Abington Heights
Wilkes-Barre Coughlin at Hanover
Holy Cross at Pittston
THURSDAY, 12/11
Notre Dame E.S. at Old Forge
Valley View at West Scranton
Williamsport at Shamokin
LLHOOPS NEP BEAT 2007-2008 BOYS SEASON RECAP
District 2 Boys #1 Team of the Year (Holy Cross, 26-4 overall record)
WVC Boys Player of the Year (Adam Fazzini, Crestwood)
WVC Boys Coach of the Year (Ken Bartuska, Nanticoke)
LL Boys Player of the Year (Spencer Liddic, Abington Heights)
LL Boys Coach of the Year (Joe Ferguson, Scranton Prep)
Boys 3A All-State Third Team (Matt FitzPatrick, Scranton Prep)
Boys 3A All-State Third Team (Adam Fazzini, Crestwood)
Boys 2A All-State Third Team (Nico Fricchione, Holy Cross)
Boys 1A All-State Third Team (Stephen Semenza, Old Forge)
GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL
2007-2008 SEASON TIP-OFF GIRLS TOURNAMENTS
Cougar Tip Off (Hazleton, Abington Hts., Cheltenham, Spring Ford) 12/5, 12/6
Pocono Mountain East Tip-Off (Berwick) 12/5, 12/6
Sayre Tip Off (Blue Ridge) 12/5, 12/6
Hawley Rotary (Carbondale, Honesdale, Wallenpaupack, W. Wayne) 12/5, 12/6
WVW Tip Off (Dallas, WVW, Nativity BVM) 12/6, 12/9
Lady Hoopsters Tip Off (Elk Lake, Susquehanna, Tunkhannock) 12/5, 12/6
Lewisburg Tip Off (Hanover) 12/5, 12/6
Lake Lehman Tourney (La. Trail, Lake Lehman, Northwest) 12/5, 12/6
Old Forge Tip Off (Lakeland, Pittston, Wyoming Area) 12/6, 12/7
MMI Tip Off (MMI) 12/5, 12/6
Hughesville Tip Off (Williamsport) 12/5, 12/6
UPCOMING DISTRICT 2 TOP GIRLS NON-TOURNEY GAMES
FRIDAY, 12/5
Montrose at Valley View
SATURDAY, 12/6
Pottsville at Crestwood
Dunmore at Scranton Prep
Holy Redeemer at Scranton
Wilkes-Barre Coughlin at Nanticoke
Riverside at North Pocono
MONDAY, 12/8
Scranton at Hazleton
Holy Redeemer at State College
Old Forge at West Scranton
TUESDAY, 12/9
Scranton Prep at Crestwood
North Pocono at Dunmore
Nanticoke at North Schuylkill
WEDNESDAY, 12/10
THURSDAY, 12/11
Dallas at Abington Heights
Scranton at Dunmore
Scranton Prep at Montrose
Pittston at Nanticoke
Wyoming Valley West at Williamsport
LLHOOPS NEP BEAT 2007-2008 GIRLS SEASON RECAP
District 2 Girls #1 Team of the Year (Scranton, 24-6 overall)
WVC Girls Player of the Year (Paige Venson, Wilkes-Barre GAR)
WVC Girls Coach of the Year (Tony George, Wilkes-Barre Coughlin)
LL Girls Player of the Year (Becky Burke, Abington Heights)
LL Girls Coach of the Year (Tom Gatto, Old Forge)
Girls 4A Player of the Year (Becky Burke, Abington Heights)
Girls 4A All-State First Team (Becky Burke, Abington Heights)
Girls 3A All-State Second Team (Monica Wignot, Holy Redeemer)
Girls 2A All-State Second Team (Lauren Carra, Dunmore)
Girls 1A All-State Second Team (Kim Kaville, Old Forge)
That’s it for the preseason edition of the NEP Beat. See you next time!
Question or Comments, email us at LLHoops.NEP-Beat@att.net
Jon K.
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