Williams appointed girls head coach at North Pocono; Antoniacci shines this summer

First-time head coach Kiana Williams is ready for the challenge. 
 
The former Mid Valley High School and Lackawanna College student was recently hired as Pocono’s girls varsity basketball coach. 
 
Lauren Carra has been coaching the program since the 2020-21 season and she has lead the Lady Trojans through the season affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. Team North Pocono was the Lackawanna League Division II champions in the last season. 
 
With the presently available information and statistics, the excitement cannot be doubted, as Williams, 24, opined. It is a pity that here is a great group of girls. It's a young group. Coaching basketball to me is is about teaching and the sport but also other things that are entrenched with outside basketball. 
 
‘This is my first headcoachinexperience; Igod I am ready,’ It is step-by-step thing and I am look forward to get this going with the team. 
 
Mid Valley’s Williams was one of the best during his dynamically productive and successful play under the coaching of Vince Bucciarelli. She averaged 9. Seven points per game; led Spartanettes to PIAA Class 2A playoffs in 2018; Lackawanna League Division III honorable-mention all-star. 
 
During two seasons at Lackawanna College, Williams participated in 49 games and began in 43 of them. The post player on average gets 6. 7 points and 7. 8 rebounds per game. The Falcons’ record in her last academic year was a overall of 12-6, was the Region 19 Division II Runner-Up, beat the Niagara County Community College in NJCAA East District Tournament but lost in the NJCAA Women’s Basketball Division II Championship Tournament. 
 
Scranton Prep’s Bob Beviglia’s staff was graced by Williams who works for PennWood Financial Group and trained his players to become assistants coaches too. The Classics won the Lackawanna League Division I championship and the District 2 Class 4A title last season and reached the PIAA Class 4A final. 
 
‘It was amazing that I was able to learn from coach Bucciarelli and coach Beviglia,’ Williams said. ‘With their help and encouragement I believe that I am ready to take what I learned to establish my own program and my own family here at the North Pocono’. 
 
Riverside’s freshman standout Nico Antoniacci had himself quite the summer to remember on the basketball courts. 
 
That’s exactly what Antoniacci proved at the most recent Hoop Group Future All-American camp, sponsored by Sonny Vaccaro/ABCD camp Aug 1-3 at East Stroudsburg University; he was listed among the outstanding players and was awarded a place in the first team all stars, to the east league. 
 
When the season was over, Antoniacci who is only 15 years of age, found time and went to several prospect camps. In June of the same year, he was able to hit 28 points and 6 of 8 three-point shots during his participation in the sixteen under category of the Hoop Group Atlantic City Jam Fest. 
 
He already had an offer to join Manhattan as a member of the NCAA Division I men’s team that appears five times in the MAAC championship and eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. That came after the Spooky Nook at Manheim, an old manufacturing plant that was turned into the world’s largest indoor sports campus, during the mung bean’s existence. 
 
‘It has been really exciting,’ said Antoniacci. I am just trying to spend the time trying to do what Coach Josh Aniska my team coach and my AAU coach Tommy Dempsey teach me and trying to work to get better for my team. Now, I am concentrating on developing strength because at varsity level the players are strong, thus I have to build on that. 
 
“It is just work in progress and I believe that all the efforts I am putting in will yield me good results. ” 
 
Summer champs 
 
In the hry summer Maddock Agency Summer League that was played at Riverfront Sports, the Scranton girls varsity team and the Holy Cross boys varsity team emerged as champions. 
 
The girls championship game was won by Scranton against Dunmore 46-44, and the boys was won by Holy Cross against Abington Heights 63-51. In this year’s league, Riverfront accommodated 28 teams from District 2.