District 11 4A openers tonight: MVC's rep on the line

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Three games open up the District 11 4A tournament tonight at three different locations.

The one common theme with all three is that there's a Mountain Valley Conference team involved in each game.

We've talked about the MVC a lot.

In talking to some of those coaches over the years, they generally feel as though their league doesn't get enough respect. But they also know that this is the time of year respect is earned.

It's great to win games in December, but you carve your repuattion in February and March.

Until a MVC team wins a championship, Lehigh Valley Conference fans may not give that league the respect it deserves. Note I said fans. The coaches and players in the LVC do have respect for the best players and teams in the MVC.

As for tonight's limited card, the best game should be at Emmaus where the Green Hornets welcome Pocono Mountain East.

Emmaus has Matt Wiseley back and that makes a big difference. The Green Hornets had a nice regular season, but never cracked the big four. Now there's a second chance for them to make a statement and it starts tonight.

Pocono Mountain East has the long road trip and may not be comfortable in the cozy, snug Emmaus gym. They are used to playing on a big floor. I know a lot of teams hate coming to Emmaus because it's so tight and fans are right on top of you. So, the Green Hornets definitely have a homecourt advantage. We'll see if that translates to a big win.

My predictions:

Pocono Mountain East 60, Emmaus 57 -- The Green Hornets physical defense will keep it close, but the Cardinals might just have too many weapons. Next year Emmaus might be the LVC's preseason favorite with all of the kids Steve Yoder has coming back.

Nazareth 71, Stroudsburg 53 -- Only thing that could change this outcome is if the Blue Eagles haven't gotten over the loss to Liberty in the LVC finals. I think they are mature enough to put that one behind them and press forward, knowing that they have an excellent opportunity to get another championship shot.

Bangor 66, Pleasant Valley 56 -- The Slaters are another team that might still be licking their wounds after a disappointing league tournament loss. But I think they're too good not to at least win this one and get to the quarterfinals. I still think they are one of the best teams in the area, and simply weren't ready for how well Salisbury played against them last week. Bron Holland knows the MVC having spent many years there at Pocono East. His team will be prepared for PV, a team it beat by 12 at the end of December.

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/