Jeff Gregory began coaching at Wyoming Area soon after his graduation from Wilkes University 28 years ago.
Gregory will be returning to the area after being appointed head girls basketball coach Monday night by the Pittston Area School board.
The former head boys coach at Mountain View and Mid Valley High Schools has spent the bulk of his coaching career in the Lackawanna League. For the last five seasons, Gregory has been assistant coach of the girls team at Scranton Prep.
Gregory is leaving a program that produced District 2’s first perfect season, boys or girls, since 1992-93 when it won Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2 Class 4A titles on the way to the quarterfinals of the coronavirus-shortened state tournament.
“I wasn’t looking for just any job, but a job that I thought would be a good fit, which is what this Pittston job was and what led me to apply for it,” Gregory said.
Scranton Prep allowed just 30.3 points per game and fueled much of its offense with its pressure defense.
Gregory would like to build Pittston Area from that end of the floor.
“I would think first and foremost, we would strive to be an excellent defensive team,” Gregory said. “I just think that no matter what is going on on the offensive end, you can play defense every night.
“Defense should always show up with you.”
Gregory, the Director of Admissions at Lackawanna College in Scranton, was selected to replace Kathy Healey, who coached the team for the past 11 seasons and led the program to its only district championship in 2015.
As was the case in 2018 when the school board also opened the girls basketball position, Healey reapplied for the position. This time, however, she was replaced.
Gregory leaves a team expected to contend for a state title for a program still looking for its first state tournament victory. Pittston Area lost in the first round of its four state tournament appearances, which came in 1980, 1989, 1990 and 2015.
“I know Pittston is a great sports town,” Gregory said.
Before playing in college for the Colonels, Gregory was an all-star guard at Bishop O’Hara in Dunmore.
Gregory left Wyoming Area, where he coached the freshmen boys for one season, to spend one season coaching under Bob Beviglia with the North Pocono varsity boys team. Gregory was head coach at Mountain View 1994-96 and Mid Valley 1997-2001 with the year in between spent as an assistant with the Misericordia University men’s team.
Prior to working at Lackawanna, Gregory was athletic director at Lackawanna Trail.
Pittston Area is coming off a season in which it was 5-9 in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 and 10-13 overall.
Gregory prepared for his chance to improve that mark by working with Beviglia, the Old Forge native who was one of the top contenders for the state Class 4A Coach of the Year award from state sports writers this season for his work at Scranton Prep.
“I would say it was just a very good partnership,” Gregory said. “I’m fortunate – and I’m very thankful to Bob – that he gave me an active role.”
