City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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One of two Division II conferences with a heavy presence in the CoBL coverage region, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conferece (PSAC) is a competitive league full of players from Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

Though none of the schools are directly in Philadelphia (West Chester is the closest), they’re littered with Philly-area talent throughout their rosters.

The teams that make up the PSAC West are California (Pa.), Clarion, Edinboro, Gannon, Indiana (Pa.), Mercyhurst, Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill and Slippery Rock.

Here are CoBL’s picks for the best players in the East division as well as how we think things will play out:

All-League Consideration
*Josh Johnson (14.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg)--Jr., Kutztown
Jamal Nwaniemeka (12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)--Sr., ESU
Justin McCarthur (12.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg)--Soph., Shippensburg
Rasheed Moore (12.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg)--Jr., ESU
Matt Wiseley (8.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg)--Sr., West Chester

* = Division Player of the Year

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1. East Stroudsburg Warriors
Coach: Jeff Wilson, 14th season (232-139, .625)
Last year: 19-10 (16-6 PSAC), lost in PSAC semifinals (67-59)
Key Returnees: Jamal Nwaniemeka (12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg), Rasheed Moore (12.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg), Will Brown (8.9 ppg)

Outlook: Gone are the all-conference and all-region backcourt of Matt Tobin and Whis Grant, taking their nearly 2900 points and loads of experience with them, but there’s still plenty for Wilson to work with this season. Nwaniemeka, a 6-2 guard who came to ESU by way of Rider, and Moore, a 6-5 junior, will be the leaders this year, but several young guards will be ready to chip in; former Imhotep guard Jakwan Jones, plus freshmen Najee Walls (La Salle HS) and Nick Giordano (Marple-Newtown) were all high school standouts ready to make a mark at the next level.

2. Kutztown Golden Bears
Coach: Bernie Driscoll, 16th season (237-186, .560)
Last year: 19-12 (14-8 PSAC), lost in PSAC semifinals (Gannon, 69-56)
Key Returnees: Josh Johnson (14.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg), Howard Sellars (9.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg), Austin Biedelman (8.7 ppg, 3.0 apg)

Outlook: Things are trending up for Driscoll and the Golden Bears, who will have their top few players around for the next two years, with most of their key players juniors or younger. That includes Johnson, Sellars and Biedelman--all juniors--plus sophomore guard Ethan Ridgeway, the former Rustin guard who averaged 3.4 ppg and 2.7 apg in 16.7 mpg as a freshman. But these next two years will be the reign of Josh Johnson, a 6-8 forward from Norristown who was an all-PSAC East Second Team selection a year ago, and after picking up eight double-doubles in 2014-15 he should be a threat to do it every single game as a junior.

3. West Chester Rams
Coach: Damien Blair, 7th season (107-60, .641)
Last year: 16-13 (14-8 PSAC), lost in PSAC quarterfinals (Kutztown, 77-54)
Key Returnees: Mike Wilson (8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg), Matt Wiseley (8.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg), Avery Brown (8.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

Outlook: The Rams utilized a balanced attack last season, with eight different players averaging between seven and 14.4 ppg, led by now-graduated Cory Blake. For of those players return, meaning there’s plenty of time for a group of talented underclassmen to step up. Former McDevitt wing forward Tyrell Long averaged 4.1 ppg in 20 games as a freshman, while Trinity alum Josh Trumpy, a 6-6 combo forward, could join the rotation as well. And look for one or two out of a group of freshmen guards--Matt Penecale, Malik Jackson and Dejour Williams--to have an impact.

4. Shippensburg Red Raiders
Coach: Chris Fite, 3rd season (16-37, .301)
Last year: 13-14 (9-13 PSAC), lost in PSAC first round (Kutztown, 77-54)
Key Returnees: Justin McCarthur (12.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Abe Massaley (9.7 ppg, 4.3 apg), Jay Hardy (9.1 ppg)

Outlook: The Red Raiders took a big step forward in Fite’s second year, increasing their win total by 10 as they approached their first season of .500 or better since 2006-07. Leading scorer Dylan Edgar (15.7 ppg) is gone but the next four return, all starters from a year ago, which is more than any other team in the PSAC can boast. And many of them are young--McCarthur and Dustin Sleva (8.7 ppg) are just sophomores, while Massaley, who hit the game-winning layup for Imhotep in the 2013 Public League championship game, is a junior. If there’s a dark horse for the PSAC East title, it’s Shippensburg.

5. Lock Haven Bald Eagles
Coach: Mike Nestor, 4th season (33-71, .317)
Last year: 10-17 (10-12 PSAC), lost in PSAC first round (Millersville, 74-67)
Key Returnees: Bootsie Walker (10.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Al Blount (8.9 ppg)

Outlook: The Bald Eagles graduated three starters but return five other players who appeared in at least 25 games--the two returning starters are Walker, their second-leading scorer from last year, and Blount, who hit 47.4 percent of his 3-point attempts. Lehigh transfer Cole Renninger, a Lock Haven native and 6-3 guard, should jump in immediately in the backcourt and contribute, while Kutztown transfer Tracy Peal, Jr., a 6-6 senior forward, will help solidify the frontcourt. Keep an eye on 6-7 sophomore Ra’eese Hunt, who averaged 5.1 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 12.2 mpg last year.

6. Millersville Marauders
Coach: Fred Thompson, 18th season (268-211, .559)
Last year: 16-14 (11-11 PSAC), lost in PSAC quarterfinals (East Stroudsburg, 79-62)
Key Returnees: Shawn Williams (9.5 ppg, 3.4 apg), Tommy Patterson (3.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

Outlook: There’s been a ton of turnover on Millersville’s roster since last season, with only five returners from a team that had only one scholarship senior a year ago. The top six scorers are all gone, but only two of those six played in more than 20 games last year, including Williams. Adding Cecil College (Md.) forward Scott Slade will help up front, and Coatesville grad Jon Lott should add depth in the backcourt right away as a freshman.

7. Bloomsburg Huskies
Coach: John Sanow, 10th season
Last year: 10-16 (6-16 PSAC), DNQ for PSAC playoffs
Key Returnees: Christian Mortellite (14.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Charles Haigler (12.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

Outlook: Super sophomore Mortellite, a 6-5 wing from N.J., returns to lead a Huskies squad that’s comprised entirely of seniors, juniors and sophomores. But they’re not as experienced as one would assume, with Mortellite and Haigler the only two of the top five who have returned, with a number of young players who played reserve roles a year ago ready to step up. Sophomore Alex Prisupsky shot 40.4 percent from the 3-point line to average 5.7 ppg as a freshman; he, Mortellite (42.9 percent) and senior Ashkan Naderi (44.8 percent) are all very capable from beyond the arc. To move up in the PSAC, they’ll need to rebound the ball better (-2.1 rebounds/game last year) and improve a team assist-to-turnover ratio that was below 0.8-to-1.

8. Mansfield Mountaineers
Coach: Rich Miller, 12th season (130-139, .483)
Last year: 11-15 (9-13 PSAC), DNQ for PSAC playoffs
Key Returnees: Thomas Moore (14.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg), Andreas Katopodis (7.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg)

Outlook: The Mountaineers won the division title in 2011 but haven’t finished above .500 in league play (or overall) since then, and it won’t be easy again this year after graduating a four-man senior class that included the team’s best two players in Joe Bell (16.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Charles Pemberton (14.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg), one-two on the team in both scoring and rebounding. Moore, a 6-0 guard, is the only senior, and Howard Community College transfer Ian Vasquez is the only junior, leaving Miller with a roster of nine sophomores and two freshmen plus the two upperclassmen. They’ll need a few newcomers to make an impact, including former Constitution big man Raheem Liggins, a 6-6 forward, and 6-4 wing Joe Marshall, a freshman out of Susquehanna.

9. Cheyney Wolves
Coach: Dominique Stephens, 8th season
Last year: 2-25 (1-21 PSAC), DNQ for PSAC playoffs
Key Returnee: Juwan Mullen (7.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg)

Outlook: It’s been a rough two seasons for the Wolves, who have a total of five wins in that span after a 14-12 season in 2012-13. To make matters worse, one of the program’s promising young players, PSAC East Freshman of the Year Kevin Larkin, is no longer with the team after averaging 17.8 ppg and shooting 40.7 percent from 3-point range a year ago. He and the other top four scorers from a year ago are gone, and only Mullen remains of the team’s top nine producers. Stephens has put a roster together of a mix of sophomores, juniors and seniors, but it’s going to be a long road ahead this season.