EDITOR’S NOTE: After the original posting, but long before the teams took the court, a clerical error was corrected after Joe Ross and Tom Robinson’s picks on the Williamsport-Wyoming Valley West game were inadvertently reversed.
Our panel of local basketball experts attempts to give you an idea what to expect from championship games at the arena.
Throughout the District 2 basketball playoffs, editor/reporter Tom Robinson has been predicting the outcome of playoff games, correctly projecting the winner in nearly 88 percent of the quarterfinal, semifinal and third-place games.
With the results a bit more difficult to predict now that the championship matchups are set, for the fifth straight season, we will use a panel to try the project the outcomes. In the previous four seasons, the predictions appeared on NEPABasketball.com, but this season they make their way onto NEPASportsNation.com after the basketball site was merged into our all-sports site at the beginning of the season.
A group of 11 has joined together in the prediction process for the 11 title games over 3 days at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. That group is made up of those who have played a role in coverage of basketball on NEPASportsNation.com or are involved in local basketball through our parent company, Nineteen 9 Sports Inc.
Jason O’Malley, Kevin Clark, Chris Kucharski, Doug Walsh and Ben Magnotta are back to join Robinson on our panel of prognosticators for the district championship season. Joe Ross has returned to the group, joining in along with newcomers Greg Butler, Bill Dempsey, Tara Macciocco and Scott Mackinder.
O’Malley, an attorney from Roaring Brook Twp., is part of Nineteen 9 Sports Inc., a group of local businessmen who own and operate Riverfront Sports in Scranton, along with other businesses, including NEPASportsNation.com.
Clark is co-owner of Riverfront Sports and the NEPA Elite AAU basketball program. He is head coach of the Dunmore boys high school team and NEPA Elite girls teams where he led 17U teams to the Hoop Group Showcase League championship games in each of their first three seasons.
Kucharski, from Riverfront Sports, created and oversees the broadcast side of the NEPASportsNation.com. He will handle the play-by-play for the majority of the district championship audio broadcasts that will be part of NEPASportsNation.com’s coverage of the games from the arena.
Magnotta is a a frequent freelance contributor to NEPASportsNation.com. Also the Student Director of Abington Heights High School Media, he offers a variety of skills, working on graphics, reporting, research and social media.
Walsh has had many roles in local basketball. The former coach and offical is the color commentator for ESPN3 broadcasts of Binghamton University basketball, also serves as an analyst of games in District 2 for WQMY-TV.
Robinson has covered nearly 300 state and district championship basketball games and has been courtside as a reporter for every second of every District 2 championship game that has been held at Mohegan Sun Arena. He handles all aspects of the editorial content of NEPASportsNation.com.
Ross, who assigns officials for the Lackawanna League, also serves as a game analyst on local basketball broadcasts.
Butler is a veteran boys and girls basketball coach, including serving as a head coach of an NEPA Elite girls team.
Dempsey is Executive Director of Program Development at Northeast Rehab. His involvement in local sports includes serving as chairman of the Dream Game, the annual football all-star game for graduating Lackawanna Football Conference players.
Macciocco was recently named Director of Facilities at Riverfront Sports, ending a 23-year run as a local women’s basketball coach. The second-leading scorer in Lackawanna League girls basketball history will continue coaching by leading an NEPA Elite girls team for the second straight season.
Mackinder handles play-by-play duties for NEPAFootball.com, our partner website, and will call the action during some of NEPA Sports Nation’s broadcasts of the championship games at the arena.
Their various roles have kept each in contact with many of the top players and teams in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Here is how they see this week’s title games:
THURSDAY’S GAMES
| CLASS 4A GIRLS Scranton Prep vs. Wyoming Area | CLASS 3A BOYS Holy Redeemer vs. Mid Valley | |
| Greg Butler | Scranton Prep by 14 | Holy Redeemer by 5 |
| Kevin Clark | Scranton Prep by 6 | Holy Redeemer by 8 |
| Bill Dempsey | Scranton Prep by 12 | Holy Redeemer by 6 |
| Chris Kucharski | Scranton Prep by 15 | Mid Valley by 3 |
| Tara Macciocco | Scranton Prep by 16 | Holy Redeemer by 5 |
| Scott Mackinder | Scranton Prep by 13 | Holy Redeemer by 4 |
| Ben Magnotta | Scranton Prep by 18 | Holy Redeemer by 5 |
| Jason O’Malley | Scranton Prep by 17 | Holy Redeemer by 1 |
| Tom Robinson | Scranton Prep by 19 | Mid Valley by 3 |
| Joe Ross | Scranton Prep by 26 | Holy Redeemer by 3 |
| Doug Walsh | Scranton Prep by 13 | Holy Redeemer by 5 |
| Consensus | Scranton Prep by 16 | Holy Redeemer by 3 |
FRIDAY’S GAMES
| CLASS A GIRLS Mountain View vs. Pottsville Nativity | CLASS 2A GIRLS Old Forge vs. Montrose | CLASS 6A GIRLS Williamsport vs. Wyoming Valley West | CLASS 5A BOYS West Scranton vs. Abington Heights | |
| Greg Butler | Mountain View by 5 | Montrose by 9 | Wyoming Valley West by 1 | Abington Heights by 5 |
| Kevin Clark | Mountain View by 2 | Montrose by 7 | Wyoming Valley West by 6 | Abington Heights by 5 |
| Bill Dempsey | Mountain View by 8 | Montrose by 15 | Wyoming Valley West by 8 | Abington Heights by 8 |
| Chris Kucharski | Mountain View by 4 | Montrose by 8 | Wyoming Valley West by 7 | Abington Heights by 5 |
| Tara Macciocco | Mountain View by 5 | Montrose by 10 | Wyoming Valley West by 8 | Abington Heights by 7 |
| Scott Mackinder | Mountain View by 9 | Montrose by 3 | Wyoming Valley West by 5 | Abington Heights by 11 |
| Ben Magnotta | Mountain View by 9 | Montrose by 14 | Wyoming Valley West by 12 | Abington Heights by 6 |
| Jason O’Malley | Nativity by 4 | Old Forge by 3 | Wyoming Valley West by 7 | Abington Heights by 3 |
| Tom Robinson | Mountain View by 14 | Montrose by 20 | Wyoming Valley West by 7 | Abington Heights by 10 |
| Joe Ross | Nativity by 3 | Montrose by 23 | Williamsport by 7 | Abington Heights by 11 |
| Doug Walsh | Mountain View by 9 | Montrose by 10 | Wyoming Valley West by 7 | Abington Heights by 11 |
| Consensus | Mountain View by 5 | Montrose by 11 | Wyoming Valley West by 7 | Abington Heights by 7 |
SATURDAY’S GAMES
| CLASS 3A GIRLS Holy Redeemer vs. Dunmore | CLASS 2A BOYS Holy Cross vs. Blue Ridge | CLASS 4A BOYS Valley View vs. Scranton Prep | CLASS 5A GIRLS Pittston Area vs. Abington Heights | CLASS 6A BOYS Scranton vs. Williamsport | |
| GB | Dunmore by 3 | Holy Cross by 9 | Valley View by 2 | Abington Heights by 1 | Scranton by 2 |
| KC | Dunmore by 19 | Holy Cross by 13 | Valley View by 3 | Abington Heights by 1 | Williamsport by 9 |
| BD | Dunmore by 16 | Holy Cross by 10 | Scranton Prep by 1 | Abington Heights by 2 | Williamsport by 9 |
| CK | Dunmore by 11 | Holy Cross by 14 | Abstained | Pittston Area by 9 | Williamsport by 6 |
| TM | Dunmore by 14 | Holy Cross by 8 | Valley View by 6 | Pittston Area by 3 | Scranton by 7 |
| SM | Holy Redeemer by 3 | Holy Cross by 15 | Valley View by 7 | Pittston Area by 3 | Williamsport by 6 |
| BM | Dunmore by 6 | Holy Cross by 20 | Valley View by 5 | Abington Heights by 2 | Williamsport by 9 |
| JO’M | Dunmore by 22 | Holy Cross by 14 | Valley View by 3 | Pittston Area by 6 | Williamsport by 4 |
| TR | Dunmore by 8 | Holy Cross by 15 | Valley View by 9 | Pittston Area by 1 | Williamsport by 3 |
| JR | Dunmore by 17 | Holy Cross by 18 | Scranton Prep by 1 | Abington Heights by 3 | Scranton by 7 |
| DW | Dunmore by 9 | Holy Cross by 13 | Valley View by 6 | Pittston Area by 8 | Williamsport by 7 |
| Cons. | Dunmore by 11 | Holy Cross by 14 | Valley View by 4 | Pittston Area by 2 | Williamsport by 3 |
PICKS RECAP
In 2019, the first year of our panel, Joe Ross and Tom Robinson tied at 10-1 and Pete Danchak was 9-2, leading a group of six.
The following year, the group expanded to 10. Robinson was 10-1 to finish alone in first, one game ahead of Kevin Clark, Chris Kucharski, Matt Shaffer and the consensus.
The panel reached a dozen participants the past two years. In 2021, Brian Coyle and Shaffer tied for the best record at 9-1, which was one game better than Clark, Kucharski and Paul Gerrity. Last season, Kevin Clark, Tom Robinson and Doug Walsh went 10-1; the consensus was 9-1; and Ben Magnotta and Jason O’Malley were 9-2.
