View of the Mountain 2026 #2 – By Mason Smith 

It’s the last full week of contests for the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams on the mountain, and while it’s mostly shaking out as expected, there is one surprise that has made things very interesting.

Pocono Mountain West girls’ basketball, now led by Danielle Palazzi after Jim Dempsey stepped down in December, are making a last-minute push to qualify for the District 11 6A playoffs, and the odds are looking better every day. The Panthers have won their last three games against South, East and North, and if they win the final four games against Pleasant Valley, East again, Stroudsburg and Panther Valley, they will guarantee a playoff berth.

There’s also a scenario where West gets in even without winning out; Northampton, who’s No. 9 in the power rankings, already has 12 losses and faces a much tougher schedule to end the regular season. The top-8 are guaranteed a playoff spot, so if West is No. 8 when it’s all over, West gets to go dancing.

In fact, depending on how Dieruff finishes, West could actually qualify for the EPC Tournament.

Outside of the Panthers, the odds for any other Pocono girls basketball teams making the playoffs are slim. The next best odds are Notre Dame – East Stroudsburg, who’s on the outside looking in within the 1A class, and East, who’ll likely need to win out and need Bangor to drop a game or two. Stroudsburg’s loss to Liberty gave the Mounties 12 losses; and the other teams have long since been eliminated from playoff contention.

Now on to the boys…

Pocono Mountain West boys, despite the numerous injuries, sits atop the 6A District 11 power rankings and are currently fighting for positioning in the EPC playoffs. KJ Coles continues to deliver, but it’s been the play of sophomore forward Teddy Stiehler and senior wing Nate Cruz that have anchored the success of the Panthers.

The next best team is still in the same school district as Pocono Mountain East became the second area team to win 10 games after a 10-point win over Pleasant Valley. Joe McManus has built a balanced offensive ecosystem that works to the strength of his roster. The Cardinals rely heavily on the senior duo of Dominic McManus and Aiden Pierre to push them forward, and both have delivered in different ways.

Additionally, Scott Lockley, Kenyon Bell and Anthony Tapia have rounded out the backcourt rotation while Isaac Infante and Fred Allicock are manning the interior. East is also in contention for EPCs, but with the losses to Nazareth and Northampton, it’s going to take a sound game plan to pull off the upset.

Stroudsburg High School has taken a big step forward, from winning only 4 games last season to probably reaching the district playoffs with mostly underclassmen. The EPC hopes may be over, but this could be a fun team to watch in the postseason. Tae El-Bassiouni and Jarel Jackson are going to be really good, and Josh Ivers-Green and Isaac Gibbs could be a dangerous 1-2 punch as athletic forwards.

Notre Dame – East Stroudsburg is technically still alive in the 1A playoff hunt, and they’ve looked good at times, but with a tough Catasaqua team coming in and North and South on the horizon, the odds are not in the Spartans’ favor.

The remaining teams – East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South and Pleasant Valley, are eliminated from playoff contention, and they each have a different outlook. South has freshman Marcel Staple and junior Aaron Purse to build around next year; Pleasant Valley has a reliable double-double forward in Sebastian Sacci who’ll be back for another season; and North, although fundamentally deficient in some areas, have promising guards in Brandon Bowen and Landon Love, along with juniors Keegan Montouri and James Payne in the frontcourt.