By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
As the Old Forge Blue Devils made their surprise march to the 2021 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 2A state boys semifinal, Joe Macciocco waited his turn.
After barely playing as a sophomore, Macciocco made sure he was ready for his shot as a junior.
Macciocco made the jump from seldom-used varsity reserve to leader of a completely revamped Blue Devils team that made it back to the same round in 2021-22.
For the way his executed his new responsibility as the leader of the Old Forge offense, Macciocco has been named third-team Class 2A all-state by Pennsylvania Sports Writers.
The Class 2A team was released early Wednesday morning.
“I really hit the weight room around July and August and really tried to get quicker and stronger,” Macciocco said. “I tried to extend my range and really worked on my ballhandling, too.
“Being able to handle the ball under pressure was something I wanted to improve on.”
The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 15.2 points per game on the season, earning Lackawanna League Division 3 first-team honors from NEPABasketball.com.
Macciocco averaged 17.7 points during the postseason, helping Old Forge get back to the semifinals by what was a longer route with the state tournament back to its full 32-team field following the COVID-reduced, district champions-only tourney of a year ago.
Old Forge made it back-to-back state semifinal appearances despite bringing back just one starter and one key reserve.
The Blue Devils repeated two of their 2021 victories with Macciocco scored 25 points against Wyalusing Valley in the state opener and 18 against Lancaster Mennonite.
“We all knew it was a great run we had (in 2021),” Macciocco said. “It was fun. Just getting that experience gave my teammates and me confidence coming into this season that could really do this and make a run at it.
“Everyone that was coming up to replace the guys who left, we’re all really good friends. We all play basketball only. We play year-round together.”
Macciocco also works on his game with the NEPA Elite AAU program out of Riverfront Sports in Scranton.
When the Blue Devils needed to find more offense, he was ready.
“I knew I would have to come in and be one of the scorers,” he said. “That was what one of my roles was supposed to be.
“I was totally ready for it. I’ve been waiting on it to get into the lineup and be a bigger part of the team. I worked hard in the offseason.”
The Blue Devils were a losing team when they started their postseason runs to a district title and state semifinal in 2021.
Old Forge was again a losing team until the last day of January when it beat eventual Lackawanna League Division 3 champion Mid Valley in overtime in the second game of a stretch in which it won 13 of 15 games. The Blue Devils, once 5-7, finished 18-10.
“We always knew we had a chance to make a run,” Macciocco said, “but the real turning point in our confidence came after we beat Mid Valley and went on a winning streak.”
Three of the seven Sports Writers all-state teams – non-PIAA, Class A and Class 2A – have been announced. The remaining teams will be announced one per day, Class 3A up to Class 6A.
Macciocco is the first District 2 boy to be recognized in the process.
Five District 2 girls – repeat first-teamers Moriah Murray and Ciera Toomey from Dunmore in Class 4A Kylie Lavelle from Riverside in Class 3A and Kaci Kranson from Holy Cross in Class 2A, as well as Class 3A second-teamer Kaeli Romanowski from Western Wayne – received all-state recognition from Pennsylvania Sports Writers.
