Pocono West could get a battle for top of the mountain

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference boys basketball season begins Tuesday and for the first time in a long time there’s some doubt about who will win the EPC North.

Pocono Mountain West is the perennial favorite in the division, and the Panthers are off to a 2-0 start. But so is East Stroudsburg South, which also made it to a district final last year and had success in the state tournament.

East Stroudsburg North is another program attracting attention after a strong showing in the fall league and Stroudsburg is also expecting improvement under first-year coach Tarik El-Bassiouni.

Stroudsburg is the only team in the division still in the 6A classification for districts. All of the other five are now 5A, which means some of division’s best teams could see each other often this winter.

Here’s a close-up of the EPC North where Pocono Mountain West rode Morning Call co-player of the year Christian Fermin to a 10-0 mark in the division last season and the EPC’s best regular season mark overall at 15-1:

5 players to watch

Stroudsburg’s Eric Card: He was one of the Mounties’ leaders as a sophomore last year when he averaged 7.6 points per game and is looking to take on an increased role this year.

Pocono Mountain East’s Sebastian Fermin:

He averaged 10.7 points per game and made 35 3-pointers as a junior last year.

Pleasant Valley’s Jarod Moore: After a solid football season, Moore, a senior, makes the transition to the hardwood where he averaged a team-high 13.2 points per game last year.

Pocono Mountain West’s Juju Pagan: The explosive senior guard already showed off his ability with back-to-back performances against Bethlehem Catholic and Notre Dame-Green Pond to help his team win the Jeff Dailey Memorial Tournament.

East Stroudsburg North’s Nathaniel Wilder: He made his mark as a sophomore last year when averaged 8.7 points per game and got to the foul line a team-high 73 times.

4 questions to be answered

1. Can Pocono Mountain West begin the post-Christian Fermin Era with a season that could match or better last year’s 21-win total?

2. Can Tarik El-Bassiouni bring back Stroudsburg basketball to the success of the 1990s when he was a star player on Shawn Thornton’s championship teams?

3. Can East Stroudsburg North have thesamekindofsuccessinthewinter that it had in a local fall league?

4. Can East Stroudsburg South make another postseason run as it did last year in reaching the District 11 5A final and getting to the second round of the state tournament?

3 league openers

On Tuesday night, the EPC schedule begins with East Stroudsburg North at Pocono Mountain West; Pocono Mountain East at Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg South at Pleasant Valley.

2 special dates

Parkland travels to Pocono Mountain West on Jan. 14 for a nonleague game and a rematch of last year’s District 11 6A final.

Stroudsburg hosts Notre DameEast Stroudsburg and former Mounties coach Matt Gallagher on Jan. 28.

1 man’s opinion

Predicted order of finish: 1. Pocono Mountain West; 2. East Stroudsburg North; 3. East Stroudsburg South; 4. Stroudsburg; 5. Pleasant Valley; 6. Pocono Mountain East.

Here’s a team-by-team look at the EPC North:

EAST STROUDSBURG NORTH Coach: Denzal McKenzie (second season)

2021-22: 9-13, 4-12 EPC

2022-23: 0-1, losing to Dallas 85-75 Players to watch: Nate Wilder (6-2, Jr. G); Emmanuel Kenyi (5-11, Sr. G); Bryson Gilchrist (5-9, Sr. G/F); Bryce Dobie (5-11, Jr. G).

Outlook: The Timberwolves finished last season with four wins in their last five games and carried that momentum into a strong offseason that included an appearance in the finals of a fall league at East Side Youth Center. North was leading Allentown Central Catholic for much of the championship game before losing at the buzzer. McKenzie has a talented team that will play with scrappiness and push the pace with quality guard play. The team is also deep at several positions. If there’s a concern it’s that the team lacks size and could struggle on the glass. McKenzie said his team needs to play with defensive discipline and with physicality.

EAST STROUDSBURG SOUTH Coach:

Shawn Munford (11th season, 127-104)

2021-22: 18-9; 10-6 EPC. Lost to Pocono Mountain West 60-27 in the EPC quarterfinals. Beat Southern Lehigh 52-48, lost Pottsville in the District 11 5A tournament. Beat North Pocono 47-44, lost to Penn Hills 55-44 in the state tournament. 2022-23: 2-0, beating Bloomsburg 65-41 and North Penn-Penn 59-54 Players to watch: Logan Santos (62, Sr. G); Michael Patterson (5-8, Sr. G); Xavier Carnegie (6-1, Sr. F); Jaen Chatman (6-1, So. G); Jamal Watts (6-3, Sr. C); Collin McCallister (5-10, Sr. G); Jonathan Levine (5-9, So. G). Outlook: The Cavs lost seven seniors and a lot of experience last year — including all-EPC 3rd team selection player Jahsan Simms.“But we come into this year with a talented group of guards, and some new forwards that need to accelerate their learning curve for understanding how to compete at this level,” Munford said. “Jaen Chatman has made huge strides this year and should be one of the best players in the conference. Logan Santos should be one of the better all-around players this year, and Michael Patterson’s steady leadership will hopefully pace us throughout the season.”

PLEASANT VALLEY Coach:

Bobby Hahn (fifth season, 16-63)

2021-22: 4-17, 4-12 EPC

2022-23: 0-1, lost to Blue Mountain 63-59

Players to watch: Jarod Moore (6-2 Sr., G/F); Pat Moore (5-9, Sr. G/F); Sean Hallenbeck (5-10, Jr. G). Outlook: Hahn said last year’s 4-17 record didn’t tell the true story of the season. PV’s 17 losses were by an average of six points.“We competed in every game.”Hahn said.“This year, we hope to take it a step further and win the close ones.”Hahn said the program has a mix of key returners and some newcomers who will contribute.

POCONO MOUNTAIN EAST Coach:

Mark Dudley (eighth season, 46-96)

2021-22: 5-17, 2-14 EPC

Players to watch: Sebastian Fermin (6-3, Sr. G); Taemas Jones (6-0, Jr. G), Brian Cruz (5-11, Sr. G).

Outlook: The Cardinals will be one of the youngest teams in the league. Dudley said he will start two seniors, two sophomores, and a freshman and the role players off the bench will be sophomores. Look for Jones and Fermin, who combined for 23 points per game last year, to provide most of the scoring. But the key will be improving a defense that allowed just under 69 points per game last season.

POCONO MOUNTAIN WEST Coach: Rich Williams (sixth season, 71-44)

Last season: 21-7, 15-1 EPC. Lost to Nazareth 67-56 in the EPC tournament semifinals; beat Liberty 55-54, beat Northampton 59-55, and lost to Parkland 58-33 in the District 11 6A tournament. Lost to Abington 47-43 in first round of the PIAA tournament.

Players to watch: Juju Pagan (6-3, Sr. G) 13.3 ppg; KJ Coles (6-2, Fr. G); De’von“Day Day”Smith (6-4, Sr. G) 4.2 ppg; Ethan Sakwa (6-0, Sr.

G); Adrian Brito (6-5, So. F); James Stewart (6-2, Sr. F); Eryan Silva (5-10, So. G); Jayden Huggins (6-0, So. G); Ty Zubairu (5-1, Sr. G).

Outlook: The Panthers already made a statement by beating Bethlehem Catholic and Notre Dame-Green Pond to win the Jeff Dailey Memorial Tournament and Pagan put on a show in both games in earning tourney MVP honors. He figures to be one of the most dynamic players in the area coming off a season in which he scored 13.3 points per game and had 31 3-pointers.“I really like this team this year,”Pagan said.“We have a lot of guys who can go out and run the floor. We can trap and we can go 10 deep. Last year we only had six or seven guys and were relying on Christian [Fermin]to do everything for us. Everybody can create this year.”

STROUDSBURG

Coach: Tarik El-Bassiouni (first season)

2021-22 8-14, 5-11 EPC. Won the Riverside Lions Holiday Tournament 2022-23: 1-1, lost to Nazareth 41-36, beat Monticello, N.Y., 51-42

Players to watch: Eric Card (6-0, Jr. G) 7.6 ppg; Richard Gilmore (6-5, Jr. G) 3.6 ppg; Kamoni Smith-Johnson (6-1, Jr. G); Denzel Key (6-4, Jr. F); Chaseley Lynch (6-4, Sr. F); Micaiah Brown (5-9, Jr. G); Nayven Perez (6-2, Jr. G-F); Kevin Polonia (6-4, Jr. F); Byron Moore (6-0, Sr. G-F); Jeremy Bruzzesse (6-0, Sr. G).

Outlook: El-Bassiouni replaces

Matt Gallagher, who was not rehired after four seasons. He is a former Stroudsburg star who scored more than 1,400 career points and was a state tennis champ.