Final Top 10, plus best moments for this year, best bets for next season
Nate Ellis, Brendan Boyle, Christian Fermin, Isaac Harris, Will Meeker, Kobe Magee, Nashawn Jones, Tyson Thomas, Liam Joyce ... the list of talented boys basketball players who have had their careers end in the last couple of weeks has been sad to experience.
We knew it was coming. We just hoped a few of these guys wouldn’t have their farewells until they reached Hershey’s Giant Center.
Unfortunately, the Lehigh Valley hoops season ended a few stops shy of Chocolatetown as the PIAA basketball landscape remains tilted toward Philadelphia and several of our top teams had the exit doors for the season opened for them by District 12 members.
Of the 24 teams left in the state boys tournament, seven are from Philadelphia and two others are from District 1, otherwise known as the Philly suburbs.
District 11 still has a shot at another gold as Pottsville Nativity is still in the mix for a repeat title in Class A.
But for the Morning Call coverage area, boys basketball is over with the exception of the Lehigh Valley Senior All-Star Classic on March 27 at Northampton Community College.
The all-area and all-state teams have yet to be picked, but for now here’s one last look at the top 10 teams in area boys basketball in 2021-22:
10. Notre DameGreen Pond Crusaders
Record: 18-8, 15-2 Colonial.
Last ranking: Not ranked.
Last game: Lost to Math, Civics, Sciences in the first round of the PIAA 3A tournament.
Best moment: Brendan Boyle becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer and finishing his career with 1,900 points.
Best bet for next year: While the Crusaders don’t figure to be as strong after the graduation of Boyle, Sean Howlett, Lucas Altmire and others, they will remain competitive with Zach Rodgers, Chase Marcks and Colin Boyle returning. Comment: We’ll never know how the Crusaders would have done had Brendan Boyle not fractured his left hand. In the minds of many, Notre Dame was still the Colonial League’s best team but didn’t get to show it in the postseason after Boyle’s injury. It was at least somewhat satisfying that he got to finish his career on the court and had a big game against MCS in the PIAA tournament.
9. Wilson Warriors
Record: 19-8, 13-4 Colonial.
Last ranking: 7th.
Last game: Lost to Cardinal O’Hara 54-46 in the first round of the PIAA 4A tournament. Best moment: Beating Southern Lehigh 56-50 for the program’s first Colonial League championship since 2009.
Best bet: While the Warriors will miss the playmaking ability of Nashawn Jones and the toughness of Cayden Stem, freshman Brady Westbook showed off a bright future and will team with sophomore Andrew Shaw and junior Shamel Gibson to make Wilson one of the Colonial’s top teams next winter.
Comment: Wilson created a lot of excitement with its late-season run. Remember this is a team that lost four out of five games at mid-season including a defeat to Moravian Academy, but regrouped to win the league title and gave Bethlehem Catholic all it wanted in the district final. The always fiery and passionate Mike Glovas will keep this program going in the right direction.
8. Allen Canaries
Record: 14-9, 9-7 EPC.
Last ranking: Not ranked.
Last game: Lost to Northampton 49-47 in the District 11 Class 6A quarterfinals.
Best moment: Beating Muhlenberg Township to win its own holiday tournament and also edging Pocono Mountain 47-44 to give the Panthers their first league loss.
Best bet for next year: Nate Ellis, who finished second all-time on Allen’s scoring list with 1,560, will be greatly missed. He was a key member of three Canaries title teams in his career. While some promising players return, the void created by Ellis’ graduation will be immense. Comment: While nine losses seem a lot, remember that the Canaries played in the most challenging division in the EPC. They lost a pair of heartbreakers to Northampton to close the season and the Konkrete Kids were still playing in the state tournament earlier this week.
6. Pocono Mountain West Panthers
Record: 21-7, 15-1 EPC.
Last ranking: 5th.
Last game: Lost to Abington 47-43 in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament. Best moment: Beating Northampton 59-55 in overtime in the District 11 6A semifinals. Best bet for next year: While Christian Fermin will be greatly missed, plenty of talent returns and Julian Pagan, Justin Love and De’von Smith figure to keep the Panthers among the EPC’s elite.
Comment: The ending wasn’t what Pocono Mountain West fans wanted, but it was another strong season for the Panthers who will stay competitive even as Fermin moves on to what should be a career worth watching at VCU.
5. Executive Education Raptors Record: 14-8. Last ranking: Last game:
4th.
Lost to Holy Redeemer 66-49 in the second round of the PIAA 3A tournament.
Best moment: Beating Dock Mennonite for another District 1-11 subregional title and routing String Theory in the first round of the PIAA 3A tournament. Best bet for next year: While the Raptors will miss Kobe Magee, Jeremiah Bembry, Jalil Schenck and others, the development of 6-foot-9 junior center Moustapha Sanoh will be pivotal for Executive’s bid to secure another District 11 title.
Comment: There’s no sugar-coating it. More was expected from the Raptors, considering everything is geared toward a long PIAA run because of the challenging schedule they play and the fact that the roster had two Division I commits and another major talent in Schenck. At the same time, anyone who expects this program to fade away is only kidding themselves.
4. Allentown Central Catholic Vikings
Record: 21-6, 14-2 EPC.
Last ranking: 2nd.
Last game: Lost to West Philadelphia 59-58 in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament. Best moment: Beating Emmaus three times, including 38-24 in the EPC quarterfinals.
Best bet for next year: The Vikings will miss Thomas, Joyce, and others, but have a lot of talent returning including Jahrel Vigo and Eirc Mushrush who both had their moments as freshmen this year.
Comment: Winning a state title is extremely difficult, but repeating as PIAA champs is even harder as the Vikings found out. It was a team that looked super at times, but struggled mightily at others, especially on offense. All six of the Vikings’ losses were by six points or less and three of them were by a point.
2. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks
Record: 21-7, 12-4 EPC.
Last ranking: 8th.
Last game: Lost to NeumannGoretti 53-42 in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals.
Best moment: Beating Wilson Area 47-42 in the District 11 Class 4A title game.
Best bet for next year: Like so many other EPC teams, the Golden Hawks appear headed for a rebuild in 2022-23 after the graduation of Edixon Gomez, Ryan Glassmacher, Steve Recchio, Louis Vidal, and others.
But Alex Cercado will return and figures to be one of the EPC’s top scorers.
Comment: It wasn’t always easy for the Golden Hawks, who were nearly upset by Northwestern Lehigh in the district quarters. But Becahi pulled it together for a memorable postseason run capped by a valiant effort against mighty Neumann-Goretti in the state quarterfinals. It will need new marquee players to emerge in order to remain one of the EPC’s elite, but Scott McClary will always have the program at a competitive level.
1. Parkland Trojans
Record: 21-8, 13-3 EPC.
Last ranking: 1st.
Last game: Lost to Penn Wood 60-50 in the first round of the PIAA 6A tournament.
Best moment: Routing Pocono Mountain West for the program’s first District 11 title since 2016. Best bet for next year: Nick Coval and Matt Ray figure to form one of the most potent backcourts in the EPC, but the Trojans will need to replace a lot of talent starting with Matt Bauer, Will Meeker, Kharan Joshi, Matt Rantz and Jesse Ruisch.
Comment: It’s hard to sweep both league and district titles and after such an impressive roll through the EPC and district tournaments, the Trojans seemed flat to start states and it resulted in an early exit. Coval is a special talent who is primed for plenty of big moments over the last two years of his career, but Parkland is one of many area teams that will lose a lot to graduation and will need to find a way to replenish their roster while staying at a high level.
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