By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
North Pocono prepared for its Lackawanna League Division 2 boys title defense by playing other teams in the same position.
In what turned out to be the team’s last two games before the start of league play, the Trojans beat two other Lackawanna defending champions and projected contenders.
After leading the two victories by making a variety of contributions, North Pocono senior point guard Ryan Ruddy has been selected as the Brucelli Advertising District 2 Boys Basketball Player of the Week for the period of Dec. 20-26.
While surrounded by several new faces after last year’s senior-driven championship run, the four-year starter’s scoring average is up nearly five points per game. He may need to look for a couple more shots each game, but otherwise Ruddy is not about to change the style that made him a first-team Division 2 all-star last season after two previous years as a second-teamer, according to NEPABasketball.com.
“I’ve got to look to score more because we lost two of our big scorers, but at the same time, I just have to play my game,” Ruddy said. “I trust the kids that I play with now.
“They’ll knock down shots if they’re open.”
The efficiency with which Ruddy runs the offense often helps make that happen.
“I try to make the right decision every play,” he said. “If somebody’s open in the corner, I’ll find them and hit them.
“I just want to do whatever I have to, to make sure that we get the win.”
Ruddy did plenty in the two wins over fellow defending division champions.
Ruddy had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals in a 58-51 victory over Riverside. The Trojans opened a 13-point halftime lead, then held on.
“I think in the Riverside game, we showed good composure at the end of the game,” Ruddy said. “They got on two big runs where they hit multiple 3s. We stepped up, came back, made shots when we needed to and everyone played good defense at the end of the game.”
Ruddy had a similar performance against Elk Lake with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals in the 53-34 victory.
“We knew we had to play fast,” Ruddy said.
North Pocono used a 20-point second quarter to open a 31-18 halftime lead.
“We had to get out and run against them because that was to our advantage,” Ruddy said. “They like to slow the game down, get the ball inside.
“We just knew we had to speed them up. That’s what we did and it ended up working out pretty well.“
The win improved North Pocono’s record to 5-1 going into the start of league play, which could come as early as Tuesday as the Trojans come out of a COVID break.
Ryan is the son of Dennis and Gretchen Ruddy of Roaring Brook Township.
Connor Cranage from Blue Ridge and Tristan Lee from West Scranton also received consideration for the award.
Cranage had 24 points, including one buzzer-beater to force overtime and another to win the game there in a 62-61 victory over Old Forge. He also scored 17 points during a loss to Holy Cross in which the Raiders led at halftime.
Lee had 18 points in a 58-51 win over Mid Valley and 19 in a 64-55 victory over Lakeland.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Dec. 6-12: Austin Finarelli, Dallas. https://nepabasketball.com/2021-22/Awards/BPlayer1Finarelli.
Dec. 13-19: Jason Shields, Scranton. https://nepabasketball.com/2021-22/Awards/BPlayer2Shields.
