Mastery North grad Lakeem McAliley isn’t a prototypical big man at East Stroudsburg

A staple of East Stroudsburg coach Jeff Wilson’s offense is a quick swing and post entry. While it may seem like a simple concept, so much of his offense revolves around what the post player does once the ball hits his hands.

Wilson has been the Warriors’ head coach for 21 seasons, with seven Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East regular-season titles, three PSAC championships, and seven NCAA Tournament berths. He’s closing in on 400 career wins and has turned the Warriors’ basketball program into one of the best in Division II.

He has taught players to take that entry pass and turn it into a historic, accomplished career. The next player who is following that blueprint is redshirt junior Lakeem McAliley.

McAliley, a 2019 graduate of Mastery Charter North-Pickett, is doing more than simply scoring around the basket. He’s controlling everything the Warriors do, and it has them scorching this season.

“Coach Wilson saw what I was capable of and felt if it’s working, why not work with it?” McAliley said. “It’s working well for us right now.”

McAliley has changed the dynamic of East Stroudsburg (17-2, 11-2 PSAC East) since entering the rotation in the 2021-22 season. The 6-foot-6, 235-pound forward is averaging a team-high 17.4 points and 6.9 rebounds this season, which includes 16 double-digit scoring games and three double-doubles. He also became the fifth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points after pouring in 23 points against Clarion on Dec. 18.

His game transcends that of prototypical big men, especially on the Warriors, for whom he typically plays in the middle. He has a strong frame with the build of a linebacker, but he complements that with pure athleticism and a smooth feel by corralling rebounds and leading the break at the other end.

“Lakeem is a really talented kid, especially offensively in knowing how to put the ball in the basket,” Wilson said. “There are a lot of things we don’t teach that he does naturally. That popped when we went to see him as a high school player.”

Assistant coach Sean Hanna put McAliley on Wilson’s radar when the big man was playing under Terrence “Nip” Cook at Mastery Charter North, where McAliley played two seasons after beginning his career at Mastbaum.

McAliley was an All-Public League Independence Division first-team selection in his junior season. He earned All-State Class 5A second-team honors in his senior year after averaging 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, which included a career-high 43 points against Harrisburg. McAliley finished his high school career surpassing 1,000 points.

He has found great success at East Stroudsburg for a variety of reasons, but mainly, he said, it’s the comfort he has with his current role trickling in from his high school experience.

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“In high school, I played the big man role as well because I was taller and more physical than other guys,” he added. “I had to get used to it and mold my game around that.”

His college career started slowly as he played one game before a knee injury derailed the remainder of his freshman season and he chose to redshirt. Then the COVID-19 pandemic canceled his sophomore season and he had to wait until Oct. 30, 2021, to showcase what he could do. Patience paid off as he went for 23 points in 24 minutes in his collegiate debut in an exhibition game against Penn at the Palestra.

McAliley averaged 14.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 27 games as a redshirt freshman as East Stroudsburg finished 19-8 and was named PSAC East regular season co-champion with Millersville.

Last season, he was even better, averaging 16.6 points and 5.8 rebounds while the Warriors made the PSAC Final Four and a Division II tournament appearance.

“I have not given much leeway to bigs in the way I give it to him because he has a different skill set,” Wilson said. “Sometimes it backfires on me where he will pick up a bad foul, charge, or turnover, and that’s an area we’re working to get him to understand that if we’re going to let him have the ball, it still needs to be kicked. If you want to play with guard skills, part of being a guard is seeing the next pass, and he’s still evolving into that.”

Wilson compared McAliley to former standout and Martin Luther King graduate Rasheed Moore, who now plays professionally for Medipolis SC Jena in Germany. Moore “was a 6-5 lefty like Lakeem but not as strong and physical” and put together a sensational career as he became the first player in East Stroudsburg history to earn All-PSAC East honors four times.

McAliley flourished in pick-and-roll situations but was not seen as a shooter or facilitator to begin his career. He shot 40.4% from the three-point line last season with 23 makes from deep on a team that nailed 255, and he also dished out 52 assists. His versatility has made him a matchup nightmare for the opposition.

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“Guys take that on and look to improve their game, then I give them more flexibility,” Wilson said. “With Lakeem, that has evolved naturally. As a freshman, he didn’t have the leeway he does now, and hopefully he’ll have even more next year.”

He’s the leader this year playing alongside Jaelen McGlone (14.2 ppg), a former Cheltenham standout who played two seasons at Rider, and West Catholic graduate Nasir Griffin (10.1 ppg).

McAliley has led the Warriors to a terrific start while playing the best basketball of his career. He has simplified his game and everything else in his arsenal has followed suit.

“The basic advice was keeping my head and not feeding into any negative, outside noise,” McAliley said about what he has learned from his coaches and teammates. “They taught me to stay centered.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.