Danny Nemitz, Callejas highlight all-district boys basketball team

Al Callejas in his final game as Holy Cross coach. (Tim Drewes Photo)

Through a senior season of change, Danny Nemitz kept Mid Valley in contention in two of District 2’s most competitive races.

In his final season, Al Callejas led one last championship season and kept his team in the state title hunt longer than any other in the district.

For their efforts as on- and off-court leaders throughout the 2022-23 season, Nemitz and Callejas highlight the NEPASportsNation.com all-District 2 boys basketball team.

Nemitz is the Player of the Year and Callejas repeats as Coach of the Year in conjunction with the all-district team that was released Saturday night.

The first team is led by Blue Ridge’s Connor Cranage, the only repeater from the all-District 2 team selected by NEPABasketball.com last season.

Prior to the start of this season, NEPABasketball.com was merged into NEPASportsNation.com to combine coverage of all District 2 sports on one site.

Cranage was a second-team, all-District 2 choice last season.

Three players who, like Cranage, led their teams to regular-season titles join him on the first team.

Jacob Hunter of Holy Redeemer, Darius Wallace of Dallas and Eli Yusavage all were named to the team along with Joey Macciocco from Old Forge, the only district player to receive all-state recognition in 2022.

Holy Redeemer is the only team with two players selected. Zach Perta made the second team.

Holy Cross also had two people recognized. Hayden Hosie represents the Crusaders on the second team.

The extended Nemitz family has two all-district selections. A.J. Nemitz from North Pocono, Danny Nemitz’s cousin, is another second-teamer.

Mason Fedor from Abington Heights and Ben Chilson from Tunkhannock complete the second team.

As the 2021-22 season ended, Mid Valley was on target to have the top returnee in District 2, but first-team, all-District 2 selection Gabe Tanner transferred during the summer to the Perkiomen School, a prep school which he helped lead to the Pennsylvania Independent Schools state title.

When the winter season arrived, Mid Valley’s lineup was further altered by injuries.

The Spartans, however, still had Danny Nemitz, a three-time, first-team Lackawanna League Division 3 all-star as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

Player of the Year Danny Nemitz from Mid Valley. (Tim Drewes Photo)

Danny Nemitz kept Mid Valley in the deep Lackawanna Division 3 title race until the final night of the regular season. He brought the Spartans to the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza to meet Holy Redeemer, the state’s top-ranked Class 3A team at the time, for the district title. And, before ending his career as Mid Valley’s all-time leading scorer, Nemitz led the Spartans into the second round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament.

While shooting 44 percent from the floor and a team-best 80 percent from the line, Danny Nemitz led the Spartans in points (17.4 per game), assists (3.8), steals (2.0) and blocked shots (0.5) while also grabbing 5.6 rebounds.

Callejas informed his team of his retirement on the night, as District 2’s last boys representative, it lost in the state semifinals at Martz Hall in Pottsville against eventual PIAA Class 2A champion Lancaster Mennonite.

The Crusaders made the state playoffs their home from the time the school was created by the merger of Bishop O’Hara in Dunmore and Bishop Hannan in Scranton in 2007.

With Callejas as their only coach, the Crusaders made the state tournament in each of the 15 seasons that they participated in the playoffs. The only exception was when they sat out because of a COVID outbreak in 2021.

Callejas kept the Crusaders in the state race even after learning during the 2021-22 season that he had cancer. Holy Cross won Lackawanna Division 3 and District 2 Class 2A on the way to the state semifinal appearance to cap a 22-6 season. They put together nine- and 10-game winning streaks after starting 3-3.

Cranage, a junior, repeated as Lackawanna Division 4 Player of the Year and led Blue Ridge to the first division boys basketball title in the school’s 70-year history.

Also a first-team division all-star as a freshman, Cranage’s junior season included surpassing 1,000 career points and leading the Raiders to their first arena appearance. At 5-foot-11, the guard still managed 8.6 rebounds per game to go along with his 20.9 points and 3.6 steals.

Hunter, a key part of the guard rotation a year ago, emerged as the leader as Holy Redeemer again had the only unbeaten league boys basketball record in District 2. The Royals were perfect in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2, won the WVC Tournament title and repeated as District 2 Class 3A champion in a 26-3 season that was ended in the second round of state play by eventual champion Philadelphia West Catholic.

The WVC Division 2 Player of the Year shot 59.1 percent from the floor, a stunning figure for a guard, while hitting 37.4 percent of his 3-pointers and 72.6 percent of his free throws. Hunter hit nearly two 3-pointers per game while averaging 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals.

Wallace followed a similar path to Hunter, who took over for 2021-22 District Player of the Year Justice Shoats. He rose to prominence after the graduation of four-year starters, 1,000-point scorers and first-team, all-District 2 guards Austin Finarelli and Nick Nocito.

The WVC Division 1 Player of the Year led the repeat division champion Mountaineers with more than 14 points per game while running the team’s high-speed offense.

Yusavage led Valley View to its first division title since 2004. The Lackawanna League Division 1 Player of the Year made more than 32 percent of his 3-point attempts while averaging a team-high 14.6 points along with 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals.

Macciocco, a third-team Class 2A all-stater last season (this season’s all-state teams have not been selected), led the Blue Devils to a 17-7 record. He shot 42.8 percent from the floor, 32.2 percent on 3-points and 78.7 percent of free throws while managing 18.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals during a season in which he was the focal point of opposing defenses.

Perta was prominent in the most successful two-year stretch in Holy Redeemer history. The repeat WVC Division 2 all-star averaged 13.5 points, 1.8 3-pointers, 3.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals. He shot 54.3 percent from the field, 39.0 on 3-pointers and 73.8 on free throws.

The Royals ended both seasons in competitive games against the teams that went on to win PIAA Class 3A state titles, Devon Prep and Philadelphia West Catholic.

As a repeat, first-team Lackawanna Division 3 all-star, Hosie ran the show on the floor for Holy Cross. He led the Crusaders in assists (3.8 per game) and steals (1.2) while also averaging 11.3 points and 2.9 rebounds.

A.J. Nemitz, a Lackawanna Division 2 first-teamer last season, was the division’s MVP this season while leading North Pocono to the title. A 38-percent shooter from beyond the arc and 92-percent shooter from the foul line, he averaged 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals.

Fedor was the leading inside force as Abington Heights won a District 2 title and reached the state quarterfinals in Class 5A. He averaged 12.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots as a first-team division all-star for the Comets, who matched Valley View for the best division record during the regular season.

Chilson, the WVC’s top Division 1 scorer and one of its most prolific 3-point shooters, is a repeat Division 1 first-team all-star. The 1,000-point scorer was a second-teamer as a sophomore. He averaged about 19 points and 2½ 3-pointers per game this season.

The full all-star team list:

ALL-DISTRICT 2

Coach of the Year

Al Callejas, Holy Cross

Player of the Year

Danny Nemitz, Mid Valley senior

First Team

Connor Cranage, Blue Ridge junior

Jacob Hunter, Holy Redeemer senior

Joey Macciocco, Old Forge senior

Eli Yusavage, Valley View senior

Darius Wallace, Dallas senior