Rich Williams put it on himself.
Pocono Mountain West went 15-1 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season a year ago, earned the top seed for the EPC tournament, and then lost to Northampton in the championship game.
They were second-seeded in the District 11 6A tournament, but didn’t win a game, falling to seventh-seeded Allen in the quarterfinals.
The abrupt ending was stunning for a team that had been the area’s most dominant much of the season, and Williams, the team’s veteran coach, took the responsibility.
“Last year, I wasn’t willing to play some of these guys who are playing this year, and that’s on me,” Williams said. “I didn’t trust them yet. I probably should have brought them along earlier in the year, and I didn’t do that. The teams that beat us at the end of last year deserved to win those games. I just thought that I didn’t give us the best chance to win toward the end of the year because I hamstrung our guys by just playing five. After Eryan Silva went out toward the end of the season, I was playing with five guys, and that wasn’t enough. This year, we’re going to play nine. I feel comfortable playing nine. We’re deep. These kids are ready.”
Pocono Mountain West showed off its depth Saturday with a 74-46 win over Frankford from Philadelphia in the semifinals of the Jeff Dailey Memorial Tip-Off Tournament at Notre Dame-Green Pond. While several new names made significant contributions, it was KJ Coles who got his senior season off to a flying start with 34 points. Coles was 9-for-18 from the field with five 3-pointers and 11 of 13 at the foul line.
“KJ played really well,” Williams said of the first-team all-EPC selection last year. “He worked hard in the offseason, and he’s bigger and stronger and getting the ball to the hole more. He’s also getting to the foul line more, and he’s a great foul shooter. He’s got to understand that those are the easy ones. He played well, and some of the younger guys played, and many of them didn’t play last year, and again that’s on me.”
Williams praised Nate Cruz, Aydin Smith, and Teddy Stiehler, who had eight points apiece, and Brady Behr, who had nine points, 10 rebounds and three steals and three assists.
“Nate played JV ball for us last year, and he was the guy out there who was flying around and diving on the ball, getting steals and blocking a shot,” Williams said. “He was kind of a Swiss Army knife for us today. Teddy Stiehler, a sophomore, also played well. I like where he’s at. He just needs to be a little more aggressive, but he’ll figure it out. I yell and scream at him because he can be a little timid. But Teddy is going to come along. And Brady Behr, in my opinion, is the most underrated player in the league. He does so many things for us that allow us to do what we want to do offensively and defensively. We have some good players, and some of them nobody knows about yet.”
Williams said he believes the league is going to be strong this year and thinks his team should be in the title-contending mix.
“Our measuring stick is always when we come down here,” Williams said. “We’ll see how we fare down this way, and we’re playing a lot of the best teams down here. … Parkland, Liberty, Allentown Central Catholic. And we’re playing Northampton in the Hoop Group event, so we’re going to be tested.”
Pocono Mountain West at a glance
Coach: Rich Williams (ninth season, 138-60, including Saturday’s win)
Last season: 22-4, 15-1 league (first in Monroe Division).
Postseason: In the EPC tournament, beat Freedom 56-34, beat Whitehall 55-52 in OT in semis, lost to Northampton 55-54 in OT in the championship game. In the District 11 6A tournament, lost to Allen 66-62 in quarterfinals.
Players to watch: Nate Cruz (6-3, Sr. F); KJ Coles (6-3, Sr. G); Tru Godwin (5-9, Sr. G); Aydin Smith (6-0, Jr. G); Marvin Dienhouse (5-9, Sr. G); Brody Williams (5-9, So. G): Brady Behr (6-1, Sr. G); Ayden Guzman (5-9, Jr. G); Ayden Apote (6-3, So. G); Caleb Adediran (6-3, So. F); Jaybrien Roman (5-9, So. G); Teddy Stiehler (6-6, So. F).
League opener: Monday, at East Stroudsburg South.
Nonleague games: Sunday in the Jeff Dailey Tip-Off tournament finals; Dec. 22, host Abington Heights; Jan. 17, host Scranton Prep; Jan. 24, at Scranton; Feb. 1 vs. Northampton at Parkland in Hoop Group Showcase.
League cross-division games: Dec. 9, host Becahi; Dec. 12, at Parkland; Dec 18, at Liberty; Jan. 6, host ACCHS; Jan. 9, at Dieruff; Jan. 15, host Nazareth.
Of note: Panthers averaged a league-high 67.04 ppg last season while allowing 47.7. … They made 169 3-pointers last season, second only to Northampton’s 183, and allowed 133. … West’s point differential of plus 19.3 was the league’s best … . Brito and Coles both went over 1,000 points in their careers last season and finished second and third in the league in scoring, averaging a combined 41 points per game. … In league games only, West had the best free-throw shooting percentage of 71.5% and was 69.8% overall. Coles was eighth in the league in free-throw shooting at 82%. … Coles entered the season with 1,308 career points and 214 3-pointers. … West’s coaching staff features former Pleasant Valley coach Ken Piontkowsi as the varsity assistant, Tyrel Dixon as the JV coach, Kyon Coles (KJ’s father) and Quindell Brice as freshman coaches, Jerusalem Strckland as 8th grade coach, Chadrick Zamor as 7th grade coach and Rasheed Walters and TJ Murphy as volunteer assistants. … Pocono Mountain West reached the finals of the A-Town Throwdown in July before losing to Malvern Prep.
