A brief look at his team in less than a week of practice made apparent what third-year Wyoming Area boys basketball coach Anthony Macario may have already suspected.
“With this being my third year at Wyoming Area, this is probably our strongest lineup that we’ve had to this point,” Macario said during WVC Media Day, which was held virtually by boys basketball coaches Dec. 6.
The Warriors return three full-timers and one part-time starter from a team that went 4-10 in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference and 7-16 overall.
“I really like the make-up of my team this year,” Macario said. “Our first couple of days of practice, the energy’s been great, they’ve been really competitive.”
With restrictions on offseason activity and a delay in the start of official winter practices at the school, Dec. 2 was the first practice, 12 days after the first state allowed by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.
“It was the first we’ve been in a gym as a team since the end of last season,” Macario said.
A day after Macario made those comments, practices were shut down again and Wyoming Area will not be resuming preparations until at least Jan. 4.
Wyoming Area graduated its two leading scorers, Sammy Solomon and Cole Coolbaugh.
There is a lot to like, however, about the returning players.
Seniors Jake Greenfield, the top returning scorer, and Jesse Mikoliczyk, a 6-foot-5 center, have each started every game during Macario’s tenure.
“Jake can do a bit of everything,” Macario said. “He’s a good scorer. He put in a lot of work this offseason, working out. He’s gotten himself bigger, stronger.”
Junior Evan Melberger, who was a contributor as a freshman two years ago, started every game at point guard last season.
Jason Wiedl, a senior who Macario describes as the team’s “Swiss army knife” made “six or seven” starts last season.
“He’s our glue guy,” Macario said. “He does a little of everything for us.”
Matt Sorick, a senior, played primarily on the junior varsity last season but also proved to be a 3-point threat during his varsity time.
Nick Elko, who was a significant part of the rotation two years ago as a freshman, is back with the team. He two-way, all-star football lineman.
“He’s huge,” Macario said. “He’s a really athletic guy. We’re excited to get him back to give us some size in the middle.”
Macario said the team should also have improved depth. Senior Nate Winnick and juniors Caden Bonita and John Morgan are players with very limited varsity experience who appear ready to contribute more regularly this season.
There is also help on the way from a strong freshman class that had success on the eighth-grade level. Macario said some may be ready to play this season.
“We have a very tight-knit group, which is more than I can say from what we’ve had in years past,” he said. “ … We have a lot of guys who are very invested.”
Wyoming Area’s challenges in WVC Division 2 could be considerable this season. The Warriors were sixth out of eight teams in 2019-20, but the two that finished behind them are not in the division, with Northwest leaving the conference and MMI Prep sitting out the season over COVID-19 concerns.
Third-place finisher Tunkhannock moved up to Division 1, but the Tigers have been replaced by state Class 5A quarterfinalist Dallas and Class 4A tournament qualifier Nanticoke moving in the other direction.
The Warriors remain in Class 4A of District 2, competing with an expanded group – Berwick, Dallas, Nanticoke, Hanover Area, Honesdale, Lake-Lehman, Mid Valley, Western Wayne and defending champion Scranton Prep – for postseason positioning.
